A Proclamation
"The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come. Others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God....

Chainsaws & Bowling Balls
Juggling is a fascinating act to watch. Three, four, five balls and more hurling upwards and cascading downward in an endless loop. The performer seamlessly switches from juggling upfront behind the back, then under the leg. It’s entrancing and relaxing. What execution! How fun!

Fearing the pain involved, almost all of us attempt to avoid problems. We procrastinate, forget them, pretend they do not exist. We even take drugs to assist us in ignoring them, so that by deadening ourselves to the pain we can forget the problems that cause the pain...This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis for all human mental illness." (The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck, M.D.)

The tragedy is that the substitute itself ultimately becomes more painful than the legitimate suffering it was trying to avoid. And the avoidance of legitimate suffering means we also avoid the growth that problems demand of us.

Do you have a problem? Several dozen? If you listen to the voices around you, you’ll search for an escape route. If you make that choice, you’ll miss an opportunity to stretch and grow. Meet your problems head on and watch your life gain meaning and prosperity.

From "Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life" by Charles R. Swindoll   BACK

Two Story Redemption
Story #1. During the days of Prohibition, Al Capone owned Chicago. He enmeshed the Windy City in everything from bootlegging to prostitution to murder. But Capone seemed untouchable because of his lawyer whose nickname was "Easy Eddie". Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. Capone paid him very well for his service. Eddie’s estate filled an entire Chicago city block.

Playing Twister
A farmer owned land in Tornado Alley and was constantly in need of hired hands. Most were reluctant to work under threat of the killer twisters that frequented the area which also had an affinity for violent and unpredictable lightning storms.

Paid in Full
A young man was completing a successful college career. For many months, he had admired a beautiful sports car in a local dealer's showroom. Knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

On Graduation Day, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son and how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box.

The young man opened the box and found a leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the present behind.

Many years passed. The young man was very successful in business, had a beautiful home and wonderful family. He heard that his elderly father was very sick. He had not seen or spoken to him since that angry Graduation Day. Before he could make arrangements to visit, he received a phone call that his father had died. He was asked to come immediately to handle his father’s final arrangements and estate.

Why didn't the geese fly? After hearing and understanding such a powerful message about the opportunities available to them, they seemed to ignore it. They didn't fly home. The message made no impact on their lives. They continued to do what they had always done. They waddled home. Why, when there were so many good reasons to change, didn't the geese fly?

It is part of the human condition that we don't always do what we know we should. In fact, we sometimes deliberately do things that we know we are going to pay for in the long run. People usually know what they should be doing but choose to ignore or contradict their instincts or reality. And continue to waddle.

In The Bible, the Apostle Paul stated "That which I would do, I don't. That which I don't want to do, I do." Paul says it makes no sense.

As a general rule, our problem is not one of ignorance. In fact, it’s surprising how much we really do know. Our problem is one of action...acting on what we know. How many times have we heard or read something and thought, "I've got to work on that" or "I've got to change that"? Time passes and nothing changes. We continue to waddle.

Sometimes we waddle home because we act as though knowing something is the same thing as doing something. Knowing is not the same as doing. Knowledge must have a context or it is just information. Knowledge must take us somewhere—to a new understanding, to a new attitude, to a new behavior or to a new way of doing things.

In order to make changes in our life, we need to understand the attitudes behind the required actions. Our actions flow from our attitudes.

As kids we are told to do something because our parents said so or because it’s the right thing to do.

Doing what we should do reveals a better answer than "just because". Our knowledge increases and our understanding deepens by doing what we know to do. This helps to integrate our thoughts and actions and, in turn, sets the stage for even greater growth.

Sometimes we waddle home out of fear of the unknown. Change always creates a period of uncertainty. We prefer the familiar to the unfamiliar. All change requires some degree of loss and leaving.

Sometimes we waddle home because it conflicts with our view of ourselves. It is important to envision what we are trying to change to. We must imagine what the promised land looks like. Create a positive image of where you want to be.

When our life is in conflict, pain, tension, fear, confusion or things make no sense, these are signals that change is called for. Once we confront them, the growth process begins. However, waiting to change until pain or necessity demand it is to react to negative input. Real change requires proaction, not reaction.

Be proactive. This does not mean to be more assertive. Proactiveness is not an attitude, but is instead a product of our thinking that comes from being connected to our own behavior; by seeing how we contribute to our own problems. It means to determine in advance your response to any situation that may come your way. Don't allow yourself to just react to the stimulus of your environment. Of course, it's hard to do this when you are in the middle of an action. Your emotions are in the way and your perspective is gone. It's hard to stop and ask yourself, What am I doing? This is why you must think through the events in your life and think through to the conclusion of the approach you are using. If then, you don't like the results, change your approach, before you're caught behaving in way you'll wish you hadn't. A wise person will think about situations he might become involved in so that he might know in advance how he will respond.

Don't just get through a day. Absorb the day. Make it a part of your life. You can't afford to take an aimless approach to life. Take it seriously. If you don't, no one else will. Pick up on everything that is happening around you. By asking yourself, What am I supposed to be doing? How am I going to do it? and When am I going to do something about it? you avoid a lot of mistakes. When you start thinking about your life, many problems disappear. When you live perceptively, when you get in touch with reality, and start doing what you know is right, many problems disappear.

In 1677, the Dutch philosopher Spinoza, suggested that wisdom is seeing things "sub specie eternitatis", that is, in view of eternity. A foundational principle of wisdom is to have a long term perspective; to see the big picture; to look beyond the immediate situation. Of course, an all encompassing, total perspective is possessed only by God. Although it can only be approached by humans, it is an ideal we should seek.

To gain perspective, it is helpful to study events and people throughout history. The past is the sum of all we are today. Understand it. Know why we are where we are today. Napoleon said, "May my son study history for it is the only true philosophy, the only true psychology." Take time each day with those who have left their lives for our example. In time, it will broaden your perspective and deepen your understanding. You will gain many lifetimes of experience in your own.

Walter Lippmann observed that "a boy can take you into the open at night and show you the stars; he might tell you no end of things about them, conceivably all that an astronomer could teach. But until and unless he feels the vast indifference of the universe to his own fate, and has placed himself in the perspective of cold and illimitable space, he has not looked maturely at the heavens. Until he has felt this, and unless he can endure this, he remains a child, and in his childishness, he will resent the heavens when they are not accommodating. He will demand sunshine when he wishes to play, and rain when the ground is dry, and he will look upon storms as anger directed at him, and the thunder as a personal threat." He may know knowledge but he doesn't have wisdom. Wisdom places us in our proper roles in relationship to everything else around us and in so doing helps us to develop emotional maturity.

Wisdom requires humility. You must be teachable. If you are to put these things into practice, you must be willing to take a look at what you thought you knew about yourself and the ideas you hold. It requires an outward focus not a selfish one. Often people who know a lot can't get past that fact and as a result never gain insight into what they know. A wise man never stops asking questions. He realizes that what he knows is but a drop in a sea of knowledge.

As we examine the results of our behavior and learn from the experiences of others, and conform to the laws common to every living thing, we begin to create a yardstick to judge what we know and the knowledge we come into contact with. We can learn what is acceptable. You are the only one that can gain wisdom for yourself. No one can make you wise or make you not wise. It's up to you. Any time you see, hear, or experience a lesson for better living, it's up to you to do something about it. The job of living is to make this decision. Put what you have learned into practice or you will never be wise.

A philosopher, by definition, is a lover of wisdom. We should all be philosophers. You can talk beautiful ideas, but if you don't put them into action, it is as if you know nothing. Ask yourself, what did I learn today? How would I do it differently and how do I transfer this lesson to my own life? Then, apply it. You then begin to live intelligently. To live with understanding. To live with meaning. To live with wisdom.