Hiatus

Sometimes there’s simply little left to say, in a particular forum.  I’m sure there will be more at some point; but I certainly feel that words fail me, now.  The door is unlocked.  Feel free to browse.

Home Run!

In baseball, there are many positions.  Each has its unique value to the team.  The value of good pitching, for instance is obvious, as it impacts essentially every play of the game.  As the game is played out, each player looks to contribute to their team’s success by exercising their abilities, in precise ways at precise times.  A timely throw to catch a runner stealing bases … a great athletic catch to make an out … a surgical pitch to end an inning.  There is no play in baseball more exciting however, than a homerun.  It is an instance where we get to see a player step up and make a huge and immediate contribution towards helping their team to move forward towards success.  It is powerful and even sometimes poetic, to see the impact on all involved, as the batter literally smashes the ball into the air.  There is a palpable air of anticipation as thousands or even millions of eyes are doing frantic visual calculations, in their minds in efforts to determine whether the ball-in-flight will reach and exceed the fence.  If it does, there is a manic mix of jubilation, for those in support … and a genuine loss of breath, for those in opposition.  It means surging encouragement for all allies and gut-wrenching deflation for all opposed.

Everyone isn’t a fan of baseball but everyone loves and needs the occasional homerun.  Hopefully, we all experience our own homeruns in life, at times.  Those instances when we step up to a recognized issue of need in performance … address it with our best swing … and watch the results fly for the fences, when we’ve connected with certainty and completeness.

The "Babe"

The game of life can become heavy and tedious, as most of us strike out again and again.  We can even experience those periods of drought or slump, when it seems we may have lost the ability to connect in success, altogether.  It is imperative that we maintain perspective, at these times when our confidence can become shattered … and doubts press in that we may never regain our swing.  There are many considerations at these times, as we look to find solutions.  Some complicated and technical involving principles and ‘steps’ to apply.  Adjustments to our actions from experts and laymen.  But the foundational rule that must always remain is … keep swinging.  Lest we forget, Babe Ruth struck out more times than he hit the ball.  You will not … cannot hit anything … unless you first attempt to swing.

There is no feeling, as uniquely and personally gratifying as stepping up in address of that incoming pitch from life … feeling the sweet-spot of our effort connect perfectly … knowing by feel, from a deep sense of familiarity that you caught it square … and watching it fly.  Others may not be assured of its potential for distance just yet, as it remains ‘live’ in the air; but you have felt that connection before and you know absolutely that it will clear the fence.  So you stand … and savor … as the issue flies away.  Your applied solution was complete and absolute!  You’ve haven’t won the game.  There are more at-bats, coming.  But the utter bliss of that battle won, in such a dramatic and emphatic manner is as sweet, as golden honey.  I pray that as life throws you pitch after pitch of curve balls and fast balls, sinkers and sliders — may you hit many … many homeruns!

Ken Griffey Jr.

139

Is a number.  One more than 138 and one less than 140.  It is significant in that is utterly insignificant.  It is a number I have virtually never used in relation to its shared value, here.

As we go through life, most of us will be assessed in various ways.  Professionally, many will be tested for personality types, leadership styles, aptitude and intelligence.  I have always appreciated that these reviews can certainly help us better understand who we are and how we might better approach our participation in relationships, responsibilities, goals, and personal growth.  I have also, always winced a bit as I have encountered persons that may rely on these assessments to define who they are.  Sometimes sharing the results of these examinations, as if they were a literal sum of their being.  “I’m a type Z personality, therefore it is a foregone conclusion that I must act this or that way, in a given scenario.”  I have a score of X, a rating of Y … and that’s the sum of me and I must expect my activities and performance to reflect this.

Where gaining a better understanding of the different aspects of our makeup can be beneficial to our personal development, I wholly encourage the increased awareness to be embraced without borders.  It is important to see this knowledge for what it should and should not be.  It should be useful in helping us to better understand our strengths and weaknesses.  It is not a definition of our makeup or a sum of all we are … nor (most importantly) solid constraints, on what we can be.

I recall a leadership assessment I had in the military many years, ago.  It was very pronounced in certain ways, that I personally didn’t like.  I have never forgotten this, as I have moved through life and stepped into different leadership roles.  I have focused on developing different, and what I believe to be better approaches to various situations that are common to leadership.  I have not arrived nor even come into view of arriving, at being the perfect leader; but I believe I have changed and I believe, for the better.

139 is my IQ.  There is something in particular that I really like about this fact.  Although, there are many valid arguments about IQ testing, as it pertains to cultural bias, etc – they are all simply, ‘ratio’ tests.  What I like about my score and find extremely valuable is the fact that by any recognized standard … I just miss it.  I just miss being considered genius level.  It isn’t that I feel good about being close to a higher level of recognized intelligence so that perhaps on a better day when the ‘wind is with me’, I might score a point or two higher and lay claim to genius status.  On the contrary, I value the fact that such a test, ultimately only confirms (& can only ever confirm with any potential higher score) that I am smart enough to realize how utterly lacking I am, in terms of being brilliant, in any way.  How completely humbling any genuine understanding of self really is … and should be.

We so often measure ourselves against one another, when in doing so only reach virtually worthless and ultimately meaningless and inaccurate findings.  I love track-and-field competition but I recognize there is never … can never be true competition between two different entities.  True competition can only genuinely occur between an entity and itself.  Competition is about measurement of performance – and there will at any moment in time, exist myriad conditions from emotion to health to focus to intangibles and uncontrollable circumstances that will absolutely impact any single performance.  Likewise, true intelligence and aptitude can never be conveniently measured or wholly quantified.  More still is the potential factor.  The potential for growth and development so as to increase a given ability or skill.  Saying that one cannot increase their basic intelligence (if true) is possibly akin to saying, I am a certain height and can do nothing, of my own to increase this.  The fact of my height is beyond me and ultimately irrelevant to my possibilities for personal growth.

Winning a competition can certainly have value; but most often isn’t given the true value it merits by either the competitors or the spectators, nor typically history.  A naturally faster runner winning a race while not running at top speed, against a slower runner that was giving their all, means what?  When we see one entity as having bested another, we’ve seen very little.  But if we look to measure what the effort demonstrated, in relationship to the preparation invested and the positive personal advances made, we can encounter a wealth of understanding and insight that can be truly invaluable.

There are many numbers associated with personal measurements.  Weight, age, $ net worth $

… but all can only have genuine value has they help us to better see where we are, relative to our personal health and wellbeing; and how we may each go forward in becoming better … and ultimately all, that God created us to be.

Do Unto Others

Mystery Boy!

I want to take the opportunity to praise someone who is making genuine contributions to make our country and our world a better place to be, for all of us … while doing so largely unnoticed by others.

My son is a typical teenage boy.  He is struggling to define his identity, as he grows independently.  He is making decisions, good and bad regarding what he likes, what he needs, what is good and bad, and simply what he believes.  He is shaping what he deems important and what has value.  I have been using certain words more than most, over the last few years as we discuss these issues.  Love, respect, sacrifice, care … and economy.  I have repeatedly shared the importance of loving others, as we love ourselves. 

One night while at the grocery store, my son and I sat in the parking lot for a few minutes and discussed shopping carts.  Looking around the area, we noted the amount of carts that were left scattered about by shoppers.  I shared with my son that if we simply, took the time to put, not only our cart away after we had emptied it but even grabbed a few others … that we had blessed many.  I explained that by doing so … someone WON’T exit the store to find a shopping cart had been blown by the wind and rolled down a slight incline bumping into their door leaving a small scratch … that will then sit in their mind and heart, as another scrape-in-life … that will remain scratched or cost them money in insurance deductibles to get repaired.  A store employee WON’T spend another three minutes and twenty-seven seconds walking in the rain or cold to gather the additional three carts.  That these individuals WON’T be as tired or as grumpy or as defeated at the end of their day, as they might have been otherwise.  They will never know that they benefited from this effort – but they may be slightly nicer to their kids that night … or slightly nicer to their spouse … or slightly nicer to another person they encounter … because they had the energy or absence of issue to be so.

That is the economy of help and blessing.  The simple truth of this so resonated with my son that today, he still always looks to put our cart away … and grab a couple in route.  The principle of economy-of-help-&-blessing has been planted with him.  It is powerful and I know he will never ever forget it.

Shakespeare’s eulogy of Julius Caesar stated, “The evil that men do lives after them … the good is oft interred with their bones.”  The truth is that most good simply goes unnoticed.  It is human nature to take good for granted and note misfortune.  Few patrons will return to their car after shopping and exclaim, “I’m glad a loose shopping cart didn’t scratch my car”.  Just as, few store employees will complete their round of gathering shopping carts and exclaim, “I’m glad I didn’t have three more carts to retrieve”.  But it’s also, true that few persons would notice some young man taking the time and initiative to put his and additional carts away and bother to tell him thank you.  Even if they realized their benefit, in theory.

Dr. Albert Schweitzer

My son remains more interested in playing video games than emptying the trash.  I have no illusions that he burns to be the next Albert Schweitzer.  However, his desire to care about others is innate and genuine.  My wife and I participate in a tutoring program on Monday evenings for kids that don’t typically get much assistance.  My son does this with us each Monday night.  Whenever I communicate that he doesn’t have to do this, he always insists that he wants to remain involved.  I know my son, well.  I know he has made an intrinsic connection of dots tying this effort to his part, in the greater-good of humanity.  He is understanding on a deeper [felt] level the value of doing good and the importance of extending it to others.  He will learn with time that to love another as ourselves isn’t simply for their benefit.  To love another, as ourselves … IS to love ourselves.  As we look to bless and help others, we are growing Godly-good in our own lives that facilitates our own joy and blessing.  Thus, do yourself a favor and do for another.  Do unto others … good.

Bittersweet Seventeen

He shares his birthday with Norman Rockwell and Chris Cornell.  That’s pretty good company.  I apparently share mine with Tammy Faye Bakker and Willard Scott.

I still recall the beginning of that day.  It started about 2:00am with a young mother-to-be going into labor.  There was bleeding … and there should not be bleeding.  It was also, a month early.  We had prepared ourselves, as best as possible having been told some four months earlier by our physician that there were “complications” in the baby’s development.  Long story narrowed … the baby might not live through delivery … if so there might be physical disabilities for the duration of the child’s life … nothing they could do to alter this possibility.

We cried and prayed … prayed and cried.  We elected to simply grasp hope and aim forward.  We prayed for God’s providential intervention … gathered all understanding available … and proceeded with the hope that our baby boy would be born okay.  No goofy faith believing the problem away … just faith that God cared and would carry us through all circumstances … and hope that by His grace, these circumstances would have a happy conclusion.

We had already named him.  I had named him about three hours after being told we were pregnant.  I named him based on the meanings of the names.  I highly value names and the foundational character-defining presence they inherently possess.  His names meant – “The Wealth of The Lord” and “The strength of The Lord”, respectively.

A very wet, dismal, cold afternoon … after a long day filled with focus, prayer, and emotion – February 3, 1993 weighing in at six and a half pounds – being absolutely splendidly beautiful – Jesse Elias Davis was born.  All manner of specialists were present to help give this little boy the best chance possible to live; including the God of All Creation.  His breathing was labored and he gave it his all.  It was simply, not to be.  We would not be anxious nor pressed.  We understood that we had literal seconds to savor his presence and drink in what would be the entirety of his life, here with us; and we would not allow the universe to interfere.  With family and friends present … we held him … and peacefully poured the full measure of a mother and father’s love into a our son’s fleeting presence, as we said, hello … and goodbye.

He turns seventeen, today.  Through my faith … I remain his earthly father, in that through my faith … he remains.  He is alive and living with my Heavenly Father.  In a twist of roles … my son lead the way, in demonstrating the path that I too, will take someday.  I look forward to that day with certain gladness that will replace entirely, the bittersweet grief that I now hold, for my son.  He is a part of my life forever.  And now … he is a part of yours.