Weird and wonderful

To be considered weird isn’t usually a compliment. On occasion, perhaps. But very few of you would assume that this word suggests a positive message or sincere praise. It isn’t taken that way.

A light-hearted banter between friends would be the exception. Oh yes, a warm-hearted jest puts all the bad word fears to rest.

Weird and wonderful: this is one explanation and a word combination that is reserved for the use of old friends.

But typically – by definition and cultural consensus – normal is in and weird is out. Way out. Unless, or course, your type of weird suddenly becomes normal and therefore is in. Don’t ask me how these things happen – they just do. All I know, is that everything gets complicated and very confused. And really weird. One minute you’re an outsider and the next you are ushered in. A cold shoulder is replaced with a red carpet. Suddenly the good vibes are coming your way. Your style becomes the style, etc. Soon it is all about you.

Not that I speak from experience. And likely, neither do you. Most of us are probably getting tired dancing around trying to avoid getting stamped with the wrong stamps and hopefully stamped with the right stamps. Stamping other people is reserved for an elite few.

Speaking of stamps, the weirdo label is usually even worse. This six-letter dynamo of a word has been known to stop grown men in the tracks; it has the power to cause determined walkers to turn and walk away. It is one of the heavy-hitters in the English language to be sure. It pack a punch; puts people in their place. It ranks right up there with extremist and sometimes evangelical.

Weirdo is the polar opposite of mainstream. Armed with such vocabulary, people who don’t believe in morality go about making moral statements. Call it modern magic or delusional democracy. Call it what you like. While it used to be a choice between out and in, now the sense is that we are dealing with right and wrong, good and bad. Imagine Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker standing side by side. That’s the idea.

Once you are in with Vader you’re out for good.

Moving along.

For that matter, wacko rarely signs up for word-duty in the same sentence as wonderful either. But maybe enough has already been said. The point has been made. Our attention has deliberately been drawn to the obvious: We all probably tend to prefer what is said to be normal; that is the label that most of us are looking for. At the same time, we often have the sense that our take on things or our society’s take on things is authoritative – even if it isn’t.

It is unsettling and unnerving to be around people who are different. It is awkward. You don’t know what to expect. And then, it is also a challenge to feel like we belong if we don’t know how we are supposed to behave.

For any number of reasons, we feel like we need to conform.

If we were to take things to the next level, it would go without saying that a person who is said to be off their rocker likely doesn’t get a lot of dinner invitations. Few tender souls want to be tiptoeing over for tea only to be confronted with a collection of crazy people sitting across the way on the couch. It’s unnerving. It isn’t normal. Can’t say that I blame them.

For the record, today’s rambling and reflecting about “weirdness” got started because someone I know very well (not to mention any names, or course) said something that caught my attention. The comment went like this:

“People need to take advantage of their weirdness.” Yes, that is a fairly accurate quote of what was actually said.

Rest assured, that believing whatever you like and living however you please was not the focus of the conversation. You know by now that you won’t be hearing a pitch for a purely relativistic philosophy of life here at Career & Life Direction. But how about a clarion call to get in touch with your inner weirdness?

How about that?

Out of control

Feeling like your life is out of control? There are times when it is necessary to allow others to have a large amount of control over your life. But usually this isn’t a good idea. Listen to a brief reflection (1:30) on the importance of having a healthy measure of personal control. Out of control

The gift of guidance

How could you help someone you know and love acquire a more clear sense of direction? Have you ever thought about that?

Are you looking for a way to help your son or daughter, your grandson or granddaughter, get off to a good start? Or, are you trying to simply support and encourage a friend during a time of vocational transition? Perhaps you also want to communicate that you care and want to be involved in their life.

Helping someone you love clarify their career and life direction could make a big difference. Your initiative now may benefit them in many ways down the road. But it isn’t always easy to know how go about it. And the whole process can become awkward. Soon the relationship feels strained.

Guidance that is appropriate for one person may not be as fitting for another

We have all been there before. Offering guidance and advice can be a very sensitive issue. One problem, is that the person you are genuinely trying to help might get the impression that you are disrespecting their personal boundaries in the process. Not good. Rather than drawing you closer together, your attempt to help may actually push you apart. This results in a lose-lose situation. Clear communication is required in order for this to be avoided.

It is a good rule of thumb to always ask before offering? Get their input. Find out what type of assistance or involvement they would appreciate at this time. As children develop into adults, it is a good idea to increasingly do more and more asking and less and less telling. Look for a form a guidance you feel might be beneficial to them, and then ask if they are interested. Always ask.

Asking implies accepting the answer.

Even better, get to know your friend or relative. Spend time with them. And listen carefully to that they say. Encourage them to identify what they need and to communicate freely. It works best if they can take the initiative and ask you for your input or involvement. This way, they won’t feel like you are barging into their life and offering them advice they didn’t ask for and don’t need.

Acquiring a sense of direction can take time. And guidance that is appropriate for one person may not be as fitting for another. Some people need time to wander in the career and life direction wilderness for a while in order to figure things out on their own. But others likely would have benefited if more encouragement and support had been provided early on.

You will need wisdom to know when to step back and wait, and when to step up and offer to help.

Just so you know, it is possible to purchase the career planning and consulting services offered here at Career & Life Direction on behalf of another person. And here is one way of going about it:

1. Tell your friend or family member about these services.

2. Communicate what you would be happy to purchase for them – if they are interested.

3. If they are interested in exploring this online service, ask for their email address.

4. Go to the “Contact Information” page. Enter your name and email address. Communicate briefly what you would like to purchase on behalf of another person. Please include their name and email address in your note. Click “Send” at the bottom of the page.

5. Finally, go to the “Career planning and consulting” page and make your purchase.

6. Your friend or family member will then be registered in the TypeFocus program and soon receive an email telling them how to get started.

I hope that this service will help you help others.

Positive personal power

What type of thoughts are you preoccupied with? What do you tend to pay attention to? And what do you talk about again and again and again? Is there one unpleasant event in your past that you meditate on more than any other? And how is that working for you?

For that matter, what are you thinking about right now? Is your present frame of mind going to help you move ahead in your life – help you become all that you were intended to be – or is it going to hold you back. Will it feed your fears?

It sounds simplistic, but deliberately choosing what you will pay attention to has the potential to alter the course of your life. Yes, it can. You can let other people tell you what to think about, or you can choose what you will think about. Consider the implications of doing that for a moment. All things being equal, self-control via thought control could make all the difference.

What you think determines what you will do.

It is possible to essentially give up your right to manage what goes on in your own mind. Some people abdicate their responsibility. But it is also possible to reclaim this territory – to ram that flag deep down into the earth as if to say, “I claim this untamed wilderness land in the name of the King of…well, ideally the King of kings.”

Chasing the bad thoughts out and trying to drag some good thoughts in can be a daily struggle. But it is worth it. Over the years, engaging in this struggle will help you make a difference. This discipline will shape your future and define your destiny.

Living in denial is not the idea here. Plunging your head deep down into the sand is hardly the goal. The idea, rather, is to meditate – to fix your mind – on what is positive and good and helpful and productive.

Perhaps you have experienced a few very painful failures in your life. Who hasn’t? But, what is important, is not whether or not you feel like you have failed; what matters is how you choose to respond to your life situation. If you are reading this your life isn’t over yet. And may I suggest, that the best (from God’s perspective) may well be yet to come.

While it is a mistake to entertain illusions of grandeur, there isn’t much point in selling yourself short either.

When it comes to dreams and goals, picture yourself doing a little more good in this world than you think you can. Imagine reaching just a bit higher than your present understanding of your abilities allow. Raise the bar too high and you will become discouraged and give up. But a good coach will help you raise the bar, so to speak, just the right amount. I’m indebted to the senior pastor at my home church, Mike Smart, for this general insight. It is good advice.

We all need other people. But at the same time, it is possible to partially coach yourself. My hunch is that many people think negative and self-defeating thoughts on a daily, weekly, and monthly, basis. My guess is that this a very common routine or rut to fall into. Once you are in, it is hard to get back out. Before you know it, negative thinking becomes a way of life. Your thoughts become almost all negative almost all the time.

Opening a window can sometimes let some much-needed fresh air into a room. Opening your mind to a new way of thinking can have the same effect.

Today, you don’t need to let your mind go where you have always gone. It doesn’t have to happen. With some discipline and encouragement you can regularly go to a better place. It won’t be easy, but you can change. Yes, to start things off, consider that encouraging thought.

A word of caution: As far as I can tell, my thoughts do not determine what is real and likely neither will yours. Hurricane Sandy is going to show up on the East Coast and do what it does whether we think it will or not. This isn’t some sort of mind over monster-storm message. Life is filled with difficult and sometimes very dangerous situations that you will need to deal with directly.

But you will be much better prepared to face the future if you are not constantly thinking about problems and painful situations in your past.

The problem of play

*Today’s post tilts towards life direction and explores the relevance of your worldview

Imagine that you are sitting in front of a high-tech device designed to suck positive and authentic spirituality completely out of your life. What do you suppose would be different about your daily life once this machine did its job?

For starters, participation in public worship would be a thing of the past. It simply wouldn’t be a priority. But you may be surprised to observe a lot of other basic human behaviors and traditions making their exit at the same time. Healthy laughter and play would be among them.

There they go. One after another. Going, going, gone.

That is how it works. Eject God from your life, create your own little society, and eventually – at least for the quiet and thoughtful revolutionary – play becomes a problem.

Problems galore

On the surface of things, play is hardly a problem. Play is the one activity in life that people look forward to when surrounded by problems.

The routine is familiar. You come home after a hard day on the job, or perhaps after another long day looking for a job, and collapse on the couch in a daze. You turn on CNN hoping to hear some lighthearted reporting, only to be told that the USA, Canada’s critically important trading partner, is still adding billions of dollars to their national debt each day. Anxiety and frustration sets in. You sure didn’t need to hear that.

Putting down the remote, you wander into the kitchen and notice the latest VISA bill lying on the counter, the one you were hoping would simply disappear. No, your personal finances aren’t looking all that great either – as if you needed to be reminded.

Glancing down the hall, you catch a glimpse of your two-year-old son with his hand in the dog food dish (again) and about to raise it up to his mouth. Exactly what is so fascinating about that Purina Dog Chow? you wonder. Crisis averted, you step out into the back yard for some peace and quiet just as your faithful golden retriever is closing in on a black and white striped creature of some sort over by your neighbour’s barbecue.

Running faster than you have in years, you find yourself seeking refuge from the reek in the front yard, under the basketball hoop, hoping that Bob doesn’t kill you. Finally, after pulling yourself together and catching your breath, you have chance to unwind; a chance to relax and play.

But what if play is really just another problem? “Play? No, not play,” you say in exasperation, “it just can’t be a problem!”

Problems in the West

Problems. We all have them. They come in all shapes and sizes. We all have a daily dose to deal with. But in what sense is play, and healthy laughter in particular, a problem?

Some might be thinking that play is a problem nowadays because too many people are refusing to work and eager to play. Fair enough, if most everyone is toddling around doing a bunch of “whatever” with their lives, exactly who is going to make the gravy for the proverbial gravy train?

But in this case, the problem of play is rather that this basic, popular, and positive human experience doesn’t fit in a specific worldview in the western world. It doesn’t fit. And it has to fit somewhere.

Beliefs that block play

Western liberal orthodoxy, for lack of a better label, is the handy-dandy philosophy of life, legislated worldview, and civic religion, that millions of people have drifted towards and converted to without even realizing it.

It seems to offer so much, and has been marketed magnificently.

It provides the framework or vision for living in the West after God, and Christianity for the most part, has been removed from the minds of the ruling elite. It is presented as the safe alternative to the bad-old-days when, so the story goes, people were always fighting over religion. It is sold as the progressive and enlightened position to hold in contrast to the dark ages in the past. It is the background public philosophy that includes everyone and is supposedly committed to equality. It celebrates a new-found freedom from the oppression of an early era. It is all about love, love, love, while people opposing it are inevitably assumed to be steeped in hate.

All sorts of neighbourly and nice, sincere and kind, educated and ordinary folks are joining this relatively new naturalistic faith.

Which would you prefer? To be considered inclusive, intelligent, tolerant, and loving…or to be known as the guy who is narrow-minded, ignorant, bigoted, dogmatic, and hateful. Yeah, ouch!

There are actually all sorts of problems with this ideology. And the prominent place of laughter and play throughout this world creates one of them. Play is a problem. How do liberals account for a deep conviction held by billions of people? What are they to make of the global consensus that playing is normal? Exactly how do they interpret all the happy, joyful, jumping, and joking around?

When an average person on the street in Calgary or California or Cairo engages in some type of playful activity, what precisely would they say is going on?

Survival stories

You are sure to bump up against any number of nicely nuanced naturalistic theories about laughter during your journey of discovery.

One of my favorites so far, is taken from an essay entitled Laughter by Henri Bergson and endorsed by comedian Mike Meyers in the book Why is God Laughing? Here is a rough translation: Laughter is a reflex response which we humans have in common with crocodiles, and other cheery reptiles, that takes place when we realize we are going to die.

So the next time you share a good laugh with a few friends at the office, on the construction site, or while working out in the field…you can bring up the “Death Reflex” theory as a way of explaining what you all experienced moments ago. Will your friends be convinced? Will they buy it?

And this, far from being a straw man argument, is only one example of the odd attempts to “explain” laughter and play. Hammering a square peg into a round hole is a possibility, but not without doing serious damage to the poor peg.

Play is a problem.

Finding a place for play

People play. All sorts of different kinds of people around the world laugh and play each and every day. Meanwhile, a small number of powerful people in the western world have cobbled together a worldview that does not have place for this basic human experience. Play is a problem for Liberal Orthodoxy in the West. It is a problem for the LOW philosophy of life.

What is the solution? There are several options, some better than others. The attempt to change or redefine play so it fits with secular dogma hasn’t been working so well. So in order to find a place for play it is necessary, first of all, to put down the hammer and try to come up with some really clever stories that might convince some people that authentic laughter and play fits after all. Good luck with that.

Another option is to accept LOW as the truth that trumps everything else (which is what it claims to be anyway) and campaign to convince the world, and maybe even your own kids, that modern and progressive people do not play. Don’t forget to try to convince yourself. In other words, the place for play is in the trash can. For it belongs to a bygone era.

As it turns out, healthy laughter and play fits within the secular faith only in the sense that any and every bizarre and bewildering behavior also fits is this “whatever” worldview.

The problem of play will not go away.

A third option is to search for a different worldview altogether that clearly has a specific place for this basic human experience. Reverse the machine.

Bowing your head in quiet worship and throwing your head back in a fit of laughter have a lot more in common than many people realize.

A need to impress

A deep need to impress others will serve to distort the direction of your life. Likewise, a strong desire to please people will prevent you from fulfilling your true potential.

In the end, devoting your life to doing well in the family or friend or community or culture or – even worse – mainstream media polls is a bad idea. It is a big mistake. For this misguided life emphasis results in giving other people way too much power over your life. Your vision quickly becomes clouded as you lose a sense of your larger life purpose. Instead, sadly, daily life is reduced to playing endless little competitive and comparative games. And that routine gets old and wearisome after a while.

Thinking or believing or doing or saying what you need to simple to please others is a waste of time.

Yes, it is much better if you can break free from an excessive concern about what other people think early on. Find a way to move beyond an obsessive preoccupation with the opinions of your peers. This shift in your thinking will help you move ahead. It will reduce your level of stress and anxiety and free up a substantial amount of time. Relief from the controlling and arbitrary opinions of other people is possible. Amen to that.

One way to do this, is to get to know a wide variety of people. Mix things up. Expand your horizon. Enlarge your social circle. Parachute into another culture if you can. What will you discover? Different people and different groups of people often have different opinions. How about that! What amounts to “Thus saith the Lord” in one setting turns out to be insignificant in another. Oh yes, some people will smile and others will frown no matter what you do with your life. That’s how it works. So expect some criticism and some I-am-definitely-not-pleased-with-you-talk coming your way. This will happen. The trick, however, is in knowing who to listen to.

When people lose a sense of respect for the words of their Creator their own thoughts and opinions have a way of becoming much more important than they should be. Canadian or American or “North Polian” culture suddenly becomes the norm and the standard by which all others are judged. And, of course, the gate-keepers in any one culture become the gods. While there is great variety among the lesser deities, money and possessions and success often becomes the measure of personal worth. The Almighty dollar, for example, is considered worthy of a never-ending chorus of praise.

Think clearly. Remain calm. Learn to see through all the cultural shenanigans. Learn to filter mere human opinion. You will be glad you did.

There is no denying, though, that being put down is often a negative and painful experience. It isn’t likely something that you will look forward to. Comparable to a physical injury, constant condemnation can have a crippling effect. But only if you choose to believe the lies that are coming your way. And failing to impress can on occasion be a positive experience: It can serve to open your eyes.

Stop for a moment and think about a specific time when you managed not to royally impress someone you were really hoping to. It could be a recent experience or more of a distant memory. For whatever reason, you didn’t get the approving nod or the pat on the back. Congratulations were not in order after all. Nobody felt led to offer a word of encouragement or genuine affirmation. Rather, you were given the impression that you were nothing special. Not particularly outstanding in your field or anybody else’s field either.

Looking back, you definitely did not receive the response you were hoping for. But, so what?

Life goes on. So they weren’t impressed. Who cares? Why does one little persons’ opinion get to matter so much? Do you really want the limited perception of another human being to determine what you do with the next twenty years or even the next twenty minutes of your life? Do you want to be controlled by their fickle feelings or inappropriate behaviour? Does that make sense?

It goes without saying that we can all sometimes be much more impressed with our own opinions than we should be. It happens. We decide that we are not amused about this or that, about him or about her, and then assume that the universe must readjust itself to our perspective. So don’t be too hard on the people who put you down or criticize you unnecessarily. Chances are that you have done exactly the same thing in other situations. I have. We all have.

If only we could learn to redirect this partly positive need we have to impress or please someone somewhere.

Living on the edge

One benefit of living in an unsettled state is that you may be in a better position to appreciate how unsettled life actually is.

True enough, too much stability messes with your mind. So-called security clouds your vision; it serves to distort your view of this world. It is like a drug: dulling your sense of what is going on around you. Prosperity and “success” can make you forget about all the possibilities and perils. It blinds you to what may be just around the bend or for that matter – over the edge.

Feeling too settled and safe down here sometimes leads to living in a state of denial. An inappropriate sense of pride quickly obscures 10,000 different ways you can fall.

Meanwhile, living on this earth continues to be comparable to wandering along on the edge of a towering cliff. Yes, it is a very long way down. So choose your steps carefully, my friend. For despite some improvements in the human situation, your journey is going to be precarious, dangerous, and unpredictable. You can’t micro-manage the madness no matter how hard you try. To mix the metaphors, living on this earth is like walking through a minefield over in Kandahar; it is like jumping out of a balloon 20 miles above the earth daily.

Assuming safe passage makes about as much sense as banking on the banks or buying season tickets for the next 10 years to watch the NHL.

Do you think that this is an overly negative assessment of the future? Is it really?

Consider that your life could come crashing down all around you in the time it takes to send a text. It could. In a moment, all that you have built could instantly be blown away. What you thought was solid and trustworthy might turn out to be as flimsy as can be. You might not be able to phone 911 fast enough. And global warming may well be the least of your concerns. Your health could be failing even now; cancer may have settled in. The Ayatollahs might be arming much faster than we think. One good-sized asteroid landing in the ocean could temporarily create ocean-front property here in Saskatchewan. Three-score and ten might turn out to an elusive dream for entire cities, nations, and civilizations.

There are no guarantees that you will live long enough to read to the end of this brief post or that I’ll live long enough to write it. How could we be so brash as to assume and expect such a thing?

But when you have the house, the car, the career, the bank account; when you are connected, part of the community, and feeling like you fit; when you are riding a wave of public approval and savouring your success; when you are packing a prestigious degree and when your country’s GDP is rising higher and higher…right about then, the “movers and shakers” usually begin to shake. No, it won’t necessarily go on like this forever – moving from one level of personal glory to another. That, however, is what we are all tempted to think.

The “my-empire-will-never-fall” talk will one day come to an end.

At this point, some people – people with good intentions – may be tempted to drag God into the conversation as a way to deal with an increasingly awkward and unpleasant situation. Surely the Lord is going to intervene to prevent anything undesirable from happening to me. Right? Not necessarily. Read God’s book from cover to cover, take a good look around, and you may discover that it doesn’t always work that way. Some desperately want to read the Bible that way. But it doesn’t work.

The reality is that bad things continue to happen. The reality is that all hell could break loose and you could get caught in the crossfire. Many of the early Christians did and many of the modern ones still do. Read the Old Testament, but realize that in some ways the old deal doesn’t still apply. Safety and security were part of the package back then and so was brutal destruction if people disobeyed. Over in the New Testament, if anybody had connections and was on good terms with God it was Jesus. And you know how life turned out for Him.

So don’t expect an easy life. I hope you succeed, but don’t let your success deceive you. Don’t expect to avoid danger along the way. But don’t expect that you will be up there all alone either.

Speaking from experience, you will never be alone.

Feeling lost: finding your way

What would it take for you to get from where you are right now to where you need to be? And what do you need right now in order to take the next step in your life?

How would you feel if you were told that what you really need is a large dose of confusion and despair? Sounds good, right? Sign me up. This is going to be great! True, it is usually healthy to possess a measure of calm composure and self-confidence, but there are admittedly times in life when this is counterproductive.

Feeling lost can be necessary on occasion in order to find your way. It can help. Lost people fire off their flares and eventually get found. The desperation pays off after all – in the end. And I wonder if feeling completely lost isn’t, more often than not, a standard part of the career and life direction process.

What do you think? Has this ever been the case in your life? Could it be that a profound lack of direction has been the motivating force guiding even now? If so, where would you be without it?

Men, of course, are famous for refusing to stop and ask for directions. They’ll just keep right on driving all over the place. Those men. Hour after hour they’ll grip the steering wheel, block out the increasingly vocal protests in the back seat and drive on – into the night. The situation has to be really, really bad before they finally pull over and ask for help. Have you ever asked yourself why? Part of the answer could be that simply asking for directions has been interpreted as a sign of weakness and – even worse – as an indication of failure. It is that bad. Men assume that there is sure to be a loss of face and a loss of respect if they admit that they are lost.

Feeling lost and being lost isn’t an option. Getting good and lost isn’t one of the standard things to do if you want to make a good impression. And if you do happen to lose your way, this isn’t probably an experience you enjoy talking about…over coffee…with all the other guys. Now let me tell you all about the time when I really made a fool of myself. Men in particular tend to avoid this experience at all costs. No thanks.

In saying this, I am assuming that feeling respected is a basic and legitimate need that men have. Women need to feel respected as well, but not apparently to the same extent. Please note that I am not saying it is okay to treat a woman with disrespect. It is just that being respected is very, very, very important for a man. Ask yourself how important it is on a scale of one to ten. Ask any man you know.

And yet it needs to be said that feeling lost isn’t typically an experience that men or women would tend to value or celebrate. No, this isn’t likely what either sex will feel inclined to sing about when we remember our favorite things.

Sometimes, though, feeling lost is part of the process.

A number of years ago, I had a vivid dream the night before setting out on my first international adventure. Friedrichshafen, West Germany, was my primary destination. There would, however, be stops in Austria, Holland, Switzerland, and Italy. No, I didn’t speak German or any other European languages. No, I had never been to Germany or anywhere else in Europe before. Yes, I would be travelling alone. And no, I didn’t know anyone at the school where I was going to study.

This was sure to be an exciting adventure, but it was also a little scary. It involved being dropped into an alternative universe. To add to the excitement, the stock market decided to crash shortly after I arrived in the old country. How nice.

Without going into the details, my pre-voyage dream was all about feeling lost and out-of-place. Surprised? Probably not. But here is the point: An experience that started out with unpleasant feelings turned out to be one of the best years of my life.

Feeling lost doesn’t have to hurt you. This awkward experience can actually help you.

And how many people can truly say that they have never felt this way?

On getting started

Many different things could prevent you from starting out on an important journey. And having absolutely no idea where you want to go is one obvious option. That’ll do it. Oh, yeah.

There you are standing, staring – stuck at the crossroads so to speak. Going nowhere fast. The clock is ticking. Feels like life is passing you by.

Meanwhile, people are zooming by every which way; moving on with their lives. Sailing away. All around you. Moment by moment, step by step, making progress in their lives. Or so it seems, anyway. The days have turned into weeks and years…and you are still standing still.

No, a journey isn’t much of a journey without a clear destination. It is hard to get excited about doing nothing in particular with your life. A ho-hum, humdrum existence isn’t much to write home about either.

But if you presently lack direction, there is no sense getting more depressed or discouraged about your situation than you already are. What good would that do? Nurturing a melancholic mental state could result in abandoning the whole journey idea altogether. And that would only accelerate your downward spiral or the tailspin you feel you are in. What’s the use? Life is more or less over anyway. Carry on for too long with that type of thinking and…and…and, well I don’t exactly what will happen – but it won’t likely be good.

You might wake up one morning and discover that you are part of the casual culture. At first glance, that might not seem like such a bad thing. Yet another equally legitimate way of dressing and living. Perhaps. But nobody casually does much of anything that matters. Life doesn’t work that way. A number of years ago, I had the opportunity to listen to a jazz band perform at a local university. It was an enjoyable evening. And yet, it seemed to me that some of the students put very little passion and care into the way they dressed or into the way they played. It almost seemed as if these people took pride in their mediocrity. Strange. Odd.

And yes, I am having second thoughts about my own sometimes too casual approach to life. If life on this planet really isn’t much to get excited about, then I suppose it would make sense to adopt a half-hearted approach to every experience and opportunity that comes your way. But you know, deep down you know your life is worth celebrating.

So you have got to find a way to get going, to get moving, to get started. Apathy may seem cool to some, while aimless wandering appeals to others. But is that how you want to go about living your life? Is it? There must be some way for you to know which direction to take. There must be a dream or destination that almost calls out to you as if to say, “You were made for this!”

But why does it appear to be so easy for some people to figure this out while it is incredibly difficult for others?

Perhaps a sense of dissatisfaction with all the obvious travel options is holding you back. No direction is appealing or inspiring for you. Is that it? They all feel second-rate and lame. Might as well stay home and play video games for the next thirty years or so. That’s the spirit. Have you ever felt that way? If you have, may I suggest that at one level this feeling is perfectly normal. And may I continue by saying that you may be expecting too much out of this life to begin with. That could be part of your problem.

If you are looking for something that will really thrill you and inspire you, etc. it is best to look beyond this life. That is where you will find the stellar inspiration. It is. Most things down here aren’t as wonderful as many people say they are. Try to milk too much meaning and purpose and joy merely out of a career, or even a compelling life calling, and you will end up feeling dry. Even people who are passionate about what they do for a living have down days. Some decades may be mostly dull Ask any Olympic athlete: they only have one brief media extravaganza to look forward to every four years.

So then, is this to say that you need to rush out and randomly pick one of the many unsatisfying options? Not exactly. Not quite. Begin, rather, by simply recognizing your discontent for what it is: a hint; a clue. And then, face up to the fact that while you were made for this life you were also made for something beyond this life.

It is okay to sometimes lower your expectations just a wee bit.

Then again, it could be that you also lacked the encouragement and careful guidance that you needed early on in life. Nobody was their to notice what you might have to offer. Nobody stepped forward to tell you what you could become. You were treated instead, quite casually. Human being number (whatever your number is) had arrived on the earth and it was no big deal. You may have been given the impression, over a long period of time, that your life doesn’t really count.

I sincerely hope that this has not happened to you. But this common tragic experience could be another part of the problem. It is easier to believe a lie if you hear it over and over and over again.

Try to determine what is holding you back. Figure it out. For you have a life to live. This world waits to receive your contribution. Maybe it is time to get started.

The sacrificial side of life

Live free or die. That is what it says on the licence plates in New Hampshire in the USA. That is what you will read over and over again if you ever visit this particular place. Strong words to be sure. Or, to put it plainly: Them are fightin’ words!

This is, of course, only a slogan and likely one of many possible mottoes that could have been chosen. But it is a feisty slogan nonetheless. It caught my attention years ago for the very first time. And even now, I can’t get used to it. The shock won’t go away. Nothing about the lovely landscapes in the White Mountains. Nothing about the beauty of the trees or the hills or the Atlantic ocean. There is nothing subtle or soft in this message.

Live free or die. This simple phrase draws a line in the sand. It represents a stark choice and a firm decision. It suggests collective courage and conviction. It draws attention to hardship and sacrifice in the past and hints at more to come. It makes you wonder, though, what type of freedom is being talked about. It is easy to know when you are dead, but how do you determine when you are truly free?

“I feel so free!” That is what a young man I know had to say after making his way from Cuba to Canada. Much of life, I learned, is controlled by the communist government there. Choices are few and far between. Things that I assume and take for granted are unthinkable not very far away.

“It is very dangerous here and there is no freedom!” That is what a young man I read about had to say about living in the West Bank. Then again, it may have been Gaza. But it doesn’t really matter. The point is that while life is always hard in some respects, it is much more difficult in some places than it is in others.

Have to say that I enjoyed this world a whole lot more before I travelled and read a little history. Liked the lullabies about everybody believing whatever they liked, and living however they pleased, and always getting along, etc. quite a bit more. But when the music fades, and everyone is finished singing the final round of John Lennon’s classic song “imagine all the people…” it is still dangerous walking home. In some parts of the world, walking anywhere at night is a bad idea.

During story time up here in Canada, we were often led to believe that we Canadians were an especially nice group of people. You know…didn’t cause anybody any trouble, tried to help out and lend a hand, keep the peace when we could – that type of thing. And to be fair, it is arguably less crazy here than it is on many other parts of the planet. Yet I doubt if Canadians have paid a very large percentage of the price required to keep it that way.

If Canada had been parked next to Germany or Russia or Iran during the past century, Canadian culture would have looked much different. And life overall would have been much more difficult. My home country may not have survived.

Having your life or your country or your civilization threatened is not a small thing. While preparing this post, I learned about a person I know well who recently had their life threatened. I am very concerned. Having been on the receiving end of a couple of death threats myself, I know that it is not a pleasant experience. And I wouldn’t want to encourage anyone to embrace a harmful or hasty response to immediate danger.

Your life is something you should treasure and protect. Your life isn’t something you should quickly throw away.

And yet, freedom isn’t free.

In the future, you may be required to make a very costly contribution for the common good. Your role could turn out to be much larger than you think. You never know. Gotta die some time. Might as well go down doing something that makes a difference – something that could make people truly free.

Problems and perspective

Consider the flowers

Try to identify which problems require your focused attention and which ones do not.

It doesn’t do much good, for example, to exert a large amount of personal energy on overwhelming global concerns. At the moment, there is talk of war between Israel and Iran and maybe a number of other nations. Not good. But what can you do about it? Not much.

This isn’t to suggest that praying is insignificant. But this is the issue: Where do you want to invest most of your limited time and energy? Stressing about a war that may or may not happen? I didn’t think so.

Anxiety is like a sponge: It soaks up everything around it. Turn your attention towards huge problems. Meditate on everything that is wrong in the world. Watch the news night after night and go to sleep nervous. One day you will wake up and realize that you have burned up an incredible amount of energy, and essentially wasted a large part of your life.

“So what did you do with all the energy you were given during your brief time on the earth?” Saint Peter might ask.

“Pete, things are really bad down there,” you reply, “Had to play it safe, you know. Got good and worried mostly.”

Is that how you want the conversation to play out when your time comes?

It is very important to regularly recognize that you are not God. And the last time I checked, is was quite obvious that neither am I. This world is filled with overwhelming problems from our perspective. It really is. Things are bad – in many ways. If you and I really knew all that was going on right now around the world we likely wouldn’t be able to sleep at all.

Consider one other example: At this very moment, America continues in its steadfast march towards economic Armageddon. Hey, what’s another trillion dollars when you are already 16 trillion in the red? And why would any politician even try to balance the budget now if it means political suicide? Whether you vote Democrat or Republican, nothing significant is going to change. Doom and gloom is definitely on the horizon in the not-too-distant future.

This is reality, my friend.

Are you worried? Are you concerned? Can you still sleep at night? At one level, you should be very concerned. But at the same, you shouldn’t let this catastrophic problem consume your energy. For this problem isn’t ultimately your concern or primarily your responsibility. It isn’t.

The idea is to focus your time and energy on what you are responsible for, and let God – and in this case the government – worry about the global economy and how to go about running the world.