A glimpse of the future...

“Life is an incredible adventure into

the mysterious unknown future.”
- Debasish Mridha,

Physician, philosopher

The boys were running down the street, one in pursuit of the other. As you can see, they are young and full of life.

“Full of life.” It is the cycle; you know one generation has a run, full of breath and adventure, and before you know it, the stage manager from the darkened house shouts, “Exit stage right." It's time for the next scene.

Man, it seems the play has just begun, but other actors are waiting in the wings. They are ready for their '…time in the sun…'

What advice can be given to those just entering the game? They don’t know what they don’t know…the look of enthusiasm in their eyes belies the ‘…don’t know…’ part.

I might share a thought from the twelfth-century Persian poet Hafiz, “Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.”

  

What would I like for them to tell me, had they a breadth of thought? Perhaps they would quote Mohammed. “A man’s true wealth hereafter is the good he does in the world to his fellow man. When he dies, people will say, ‘What property has he left behind him?’ The angels will ask, ‘What good deeds has he sent before him?’”

The angels…yes indeed. It's hard to know, isn't it? I mean, what is it we should say? What is it we want (need) to hear?

Confession helps…

I have harbored a sense of disappointment as I look over my shoulder, and as I look forward to a time when I step off the stage and into the wings – angels I hope (pun fully intended).

Disappointment may be too strong a word. Maybe it’s a longing to know, clothed in the realization that I never will. Ah, the blessing and the curse…

The blessing? Belonging to a species arriving on the planet with three astonishing tools in our kit: faith, curiosity, and imagination. The curse? The same as the blessing.

On the one hand, the promise of a yet unlived future. On the other, regret for all that wasn't done…was not said…was not loved. I am not disingenuous enough to pretend I have not experienced both.

A simple thought experiment…

People often ask one another if they had an opportunity to dine with anyone in history, who might that be. The question, of course, is a fool’s errand, irrational. And yet for some reason, many folks find it tantalizing.

In truth, you are only alive as these words pass your eyes and into your mind - the single breath you are taking at this very moment. What you have read to this instant is irrevocably in your past, the next sentence and paragraph still unread.

You are only alive at the moment you read these words as was I when I wrote them. Maybe this is a little too granular a digression.

The thought experiment as to who you might want to share a meal with, will at the very least, cause you to dig into your memory banks for events and people of whom you have heard.

Let the games begin…

If I’m gonna play, I know exactly with whom I would have dinner. It would be my father. By the time the sound and fury of my early years finished and my working life began, he was gone. He slipped out past the footlights and into a waiting limousine that whisked him away, taillights disappearing into the darkness.

My mother was less of an enigma, yet also mysterious.  But she did take the time and effort to teach me many things. From her, I got tools to navigate new places, new people, new experiences, all with the intentional foundation of faith. In private, she taught me that fear was a state of mind and not be afraid to step into life’s unknown adventures. In public, she chose the life of a minister's wife and as such, was a quiet and supportive spouse. People that knew her loved her. If they had known how fiercely independent and competitive she was, they would have loved her more!

It wasn’t until my father was gone that I discovered he was a nuanced, well-read thinker, and collector of written thoughts. In saved correspondence and sermons, I discovered his humanity, frailty, and passion. It wasn’t until he was gone that I realized I had never wondered about his mind. We did what I suppose most fathers and sons do, we newspaper reported our lives…the who’s, what’s, where’s, when’s and how’s. By the time the meaningful questions arrived, well, the library was closed.

The future of the unknown…

What about the going forward? With whom would I like to nibble away over mindful conversation and a table of healthy calories and drink?

It would be my great-nephews or newly arrived great-niece. You see, to them, I am an old fellow who plays with them some and tells them he loves them. With the pandemic, it happens virtually through the internet. Well, not the playing part.

 

Maybe if I am lucky and my health survives the COVID and their teenage years, I might see their lives beginning to emerge…just beginning to emerge.

If it is not too strong a word, I feel some melancholy that I will never know these kids as they become fully formed human beings. Don’t misunderstand, it is not about seeing these boys and girl grow up - although that would be pleasant. It is the desire to see them fully formed.

I would love to be able to freeze my life, let them experience the future as it comes to them at lightning speed. Then when the wine barrels of their lives have matured, find a small café, a quiet place, and plumb their minds. I suppose I would be interested in what they had done, but like my paternal eating partner, I would want to know what and how they thought. What touched their souls? Who had been their mentors? How had the serendipity of life, intervened to bring them to this table and this conversation? If they could turn back the clock in their imaginations, would they want to have dinner with their dad and mum? 

Imagination indeed…

Both of these meals, the one looking back to my father and forward to my great-nephews and niece, are figments of my imagination, prompted by an unrequited curiosity.

On the blessing side of things is the ability to create anything in our mind's eye that we like. So many things to be curious about…so many things.

The circle? I have faith…

This leads me to return to the tools with which we arrive on the planet: faith, curiosity, and imagination. Considering the thought game above, I have required a well of curiosity and the imagination to 'see' my father as I would like to have known him and the boys and girl as they might be.

The third tool in the kit: Faith.

In the New Testament scriptures, the book of Hebrews says: "…Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…" (Heb 11:1)

We know these words to be true because of our empirical experience. The houses in which we live, the cars we drive, the food we eat and the clothing we wear were nothing more than thoughts in someone's mind. They 'saw' something that was 'yet not' and brought from naught the things above because they believed enough to act and bring their thoughts (unseen) to fruition (things seen). We are, as the comedian Steve Martin so aptly put it, "...thought machines..."

In that same way, I have faith in a kind of substance - this substance…I will know my father, mother, great-nephews, and niece in a time and space that is not yet seen. I will know my late sister and others I have loved the same way I knew and loved them in this dimension.

Genuine love comes from a place of mutual resonance…harmonies in the music of the spirit – who knows how? It is not the color of the eyes, nor the dimples in the cheeks. It is the unspeakable but true language, the communion, of two hearts. That is what causes the bond, that is what makes them an essential part of our lives in this dimension and it is what will strengthen that bond in the next.

A thought game or enigmatic exercise? The unknown? Sure. It’s one I have played my entire life…one that I fully embrace…one to which I look forward.

Finally, lest this piece sounds somewhat maudlin, I should be clear it comes with considerable enthusiasm of mind. When the stage manager calls for me to exit stage right, making room for a new act, I look forward to hopping in that limousine and finding those souls past and those things yet to come.

- ted

Max in the mornings...

“Consistency, thou are a jewel…”

- William Shakespeare (maybe)

The first order of business after stumbling out of bed is no business at all. It is the quiet time of shared waking with nature in the surrounding desert. Slipping outside in the early morning with a cup of coffee, twenty-ounces of lemon-tinged water, and something to read, the morning begins by just sitting and breathing. There is nothing like a few moments to appreciate the wonder of the impending light of day as it slowly peeks over the Santa Catalina mountains' tip.

Living in the Sonoran Desert is nothing like I thought it would be. My only prior experience in arid land was driving through the Mojave Desert between Las Vegas and San Diego many years ago. It looked pretty barren to me with lots of creosote bushes growing out of the rough ground. It was surprising because my image of the desert had been rising sand dunes, you know, without the camels.

A few years passed, followed by a move to San Diego. Then, in the fall of 2013, the adventure shifted to Oro Valley, Arizona, where we have remained.

There may be a lot of life in the Mojave Desert, but in the passing glimpses on Interstate-15, I didn’t see anything notable. No so in the Sonoran Desert in Southern Arizona.

The Sonoran Desert…

In the first instance, this landscape is filled with majestic fields of Saguaro Cactus. It is the only place in the world they are found. Reaching a couple of hundred years in age, it takes nearly eighty-years before they sprout the arms for which they are most famous. You see them with appendages outstretched as though sentinels protecting the surrounding desert.

During the desert flowering season between April and June, delicate and beautiful flowers emerge from the amazing variety of thorny cactus plants, daring you to touch them. There isn’t just a multitude of life in the desert, there is a vibrant and beautiful life.

Additionally, the desert is filled with all manner of creatures, from dog-like coyotes, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, pig-like Javelinas, ground squirrels, rabbits, deer, packrats, spiders, snakes, scorpions, and lizards, just to name a few.

In the morning, it is the birds that seem to be most plentiful. It’s like rush-hour, watching and listening to them as they rush to their morning’s work – whatever that may be in the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the desert. They sing and chirp as they glide through the air. It is a dissonance of sound like individual instruments in an orchestra tuning before a concert, and yet, there is a beauty in the music.

The big birds float through the air with even wing strokes, like professional swimmers. The little ones bob up and down, beating the air unmercifully as though trying to tread water. There are Cactus wren, Mockingbirds, Ravens, Flycatchers, Quail, finches, and birds of prey – Cooper's and Red-tailed hawks.

Our piece of Sonora…

Max usually shows just a little before daybreak. The sun is still hiding behind the crest of Pusch-Ridge on the western slope of the Catalinas when she appears. In the transitional greyness of morning, the first notice of her presence is the buzzing of her wings. I have never quite understood why they are called hummingbirds. To my ear, they sound more like enormous bumblebees. I suppose they could have been called buzzing birds – although that name does not have the elegant sound of a bird that hums.

I am pretty sure Max (Maxine) is a female because even after daylight arrives, she is greyish in color. There are several kinds of hummingbirds in the desert areas of Tucson. But we are pretty sure she is an 'Anna' hummer. As the sun becomes brighter, Max moves on to greener pastures, having had her fill of the Chuparosa, Desert Willow, Grapefruit, and Mexican Bird of Paradise nectar in our backyard.

From time to time, while still on the premises, Max takes a feeding break to make sure I'm authorized to be on the patio. This morning, she buzzed my head and zipped a couple of feet directly in front of my face. When Max does this, it is unnerving because she hovers within eight inches of my nose, holding position. Then, in the blink of an eye, she is off to continue her morning feed.

These amazing creatures weigh between 0.14 to 0.16 ounces (3.9 to 4.5 gm) and appear fragile. In fact, they are fierce warriors, protective of their grazing territory. Occasionally, another hummingbird will venture into the back yard while Max is sucking nectar from a chuparosa or desert willow. In an instant, she breaks off her feeding and attacks the intruder. Like jet fighters, aerial battles between two hummingbirds are a wonder to behold. They dart, stop, turn, elevate, and drop almost instantaneously.  Their agility is practically indescribable.

The right place…

    Three years ago, we updated our back yard into a more desert friendly landscape. Our home had a standard ‘developer organized’ back yard. It was attractive, but little attention had been paid to water run-off (during monsoon rains) and robust desert plants that needed little watering. We found a desert botanist who helped us think through the design. In the end, we added flowering, drought-resistant plants, and two desert willows. We also landscaped the ground with swales - hollow places to gather water during the rainy season.

He assured that as soon as these plants flowered, hummingbirds, carpenter bees, and other airborne creatures would visit to nibble and enjoy the flowering plants. He was exactly right! As the plants and trees have grown, those critters and more, wander in and out during the day. However, Max has a daily yard routine in the mornings and is here with the regularity of a factory worker.

We are, by now, three years into the venture and can’t wait until the trees get tall enough to provide shade.

The mornings are always good here. Over the past few years, they have become even better. Instead of sitting alone in the mornings, Max has become a regular. I talk to and welcome her. She doesn’t seem to notice, but she does keep coming back.

Of course, we are quite different species, but I like to think she looks forward to seeing me as much as I look forward to seeing her. I like to believe we have an interspecies understanding. After all, she does keep coming back…

- ted

It could have been worse...

“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em.

Know when to fold ‘em

Know when to walk away

And know when to run…”

- The Gambler, Kenny Rogers

(lyrics by Don Schlitz)

 

It started simply enough.

 

The email from my course coordinator for the coming semester asked her faculty to link to a website and list the textbooks we recommended for our courses.

 

The instructions were pretty clear. Go to the college website, find our course, then link to the "…registration/class schedule page." The email went on to say this was "...VERY IMPORTANT..." and needed to be done by the end of the week.

 

I was in the middle of restructuring my course for the fall when the email arrived. It was a good breakpoint, so I stood up, stretched, got something to drink, and returned to the computer. This would take less than five minutes.

 

Navigating to my course was not a problem, but I could not seem to find the "…registration/class…" page. Maybe I would do a quick site search. 

Hmm…that resulted in a blank page saying, "Item not found…"

 

Undeterred, but feeling stress levels begin to slightly rise, I took a deep breath, shook it off, gathered myself, and poked around the website a little more.  Nada!

 

Thirty frustrating minutes later, I managed to find my course through a variety of pathways. But, that pesky ‘registration/class schedule page’ was nowhere to be found.

 

Yes, I could simply have contacted my coordinator, but she was on holiday, and I knew it would take at least a day for her to get back to me.  Plus, I did not want her to think I could not sort out such a simple assignment.

 

"Keep Calm and Carry On" (the phrase from a British World War II poster) wafted through my mind. 

 

I know…sometimes you just need to let things go, but I was NOT going to be humiliated by this. After all, I have a Ph.D.!

 

Like a lightning bolt from the sky, the solution struck me. I would call the tech support help desk and explain my problem. This thing would be done with no one the wiser.

 

I would make a quick call to the college switchboard to get the tech support number and all would be well in my little office in Oro Valley. 

 

The recorded voice was pleasantly welcoming, letting me know I was important.  Reminding me options had changed, so I should listen carefully to the possibilities. "Push 9 for student registration." I, of course, was interested in tech support, not registering. I waited for the other choices when the voice politely said, “Push 1 to repeat the options.” What options?

 

Thinking I had misdialed, I repeated the process and once again discovered ‘9’ was all that was offered. No more and no less.

 

Okay, I’ll play.

 

Having had experience with push-button automated systems, I knew exactly what I would do.  Repeating the call a third time, listening through the introductions again (I was still important), I Pushed '9' and waited. 

A different recorded voice asked me to hold. The anonymous agent indicated the call might be recorded for training purposes, reminding me my call was important. I was inline for the next available representative. After a couple minutes, a real person introduced herself and asked what my questions were about registering.

 "I'm not a student, but faculty," I said.  "I'm trying to get to tech support. Apparently, there is something wrong with the automated answering service, and you were my only option. Would it be possible for you to look in the phone directory for the tech support number?”

 

She hemmed and hawed a bit, giving the impression that this was not her job. A little more officiously, she said, "Just a minute, sir, I'll see if I can find a directory.”

 

A couple of minutes later, she returned with the number for tech support. She also assured me she would get with her supervisor about the automated answering service problem.

 

I didn't care. This thing was as good as done.

 

By now, I was into the game for more than an hour. But that was okay. Tech support was in my wheelhouse. They had helped me several times in the past, and they were WONDERFUL!!

 

Punching the number and humming to myself, a recording answered saying I would get the next available tech. No problem. A few minutes of background music and before I knew it. “Hi, this is Larry, how can I help you?” 

Hot dog!!

 

I introduced myself, indicating I was faculty and had a pretty simple question.

 

“What is your faculty identification number?” Larry asked. Routine...I gave it.

 

“What is your phone number?” You should be able to look that up, but okay. I rattled it off.

 

“What is your birth date?” he asked. Wait! What?

 

I expressed something unkind, indicating I had used tech support repeatedly and never had been asked this. At any rate, if Larry really needed it, why didn't he just look it up?

 

Nonplussed, he repeated the request and then asked about my problem. I told him it was pretty simple. Would it be possible for him to direct me to the college webpage for ‘…registration/class schedule…’?

 

“I don’t exactly know, but I’ll make a ticket for this and get back to you. What is your email address?” It was then I realized Larry was NOT going to be of any help.

 

You know the cliché about the straw and the camel's back? It came when, having been of no help, Larry asked, "Would you be willing to fill out a survey about our call today?"

 

Counting to ten, I took a breath and replied, “Larry, the way this call and my day has been going, you truly do not want me to fill out a survey about anything.”

 

With that, Larry and I were done, and my problem was still unresolved!! (As it turned out, tech support was no longer on campus but had been outsourced to call centers in Texas and Kentucky - I digress).

 

Apologies to the Brits. I was no longer Calm.

 

Just before climbing on the desk, in preparation for jumping to my death, my inbox signaled an arriving email. It was a copy of an email to my coordinator from another faculty member confirming she had completed the task.

 

I am not the sharpest scalpel in the biology labs, but in my utter despair, I realized there was a way out of the cave of ignorance…a path to enlightenment. Plato had written that parable for just this moment - God bless him!

 

Dropping her a note, I asked where she found the page in question. She replied almost instantly, indicating she didn't know either. But if I followed the link in her email (a completely different one), I would be able to record the course materials for my students.

 

Following her instructions, I found the page where I indicated the materials I wanted my students to use.

 

As it turns out, I was wrong how much time it would take to execute the request from my course coordinator. Forget the wasted angst-ridden hour and a half…

 

Making the change took less than two minutes!

 

- ted

Living with the bear...

 “One believes things because one has

been conditioned to believe them.”

‑ Aldus Huxley, Brave New World

The week-long virtual conference was presented by the Peace and Justice Institute of Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. Of the innumerable courses and seminars, I had taken, this would be the first one sitting behind my computer for six-content hours a day. Would it work?

The focus of this course was to sensitize teachers in areas such as race, gender, culture, resilience, and emotional intelligence. These were topics with which I had interest and experience.

Then there was this…

Mid-week, the conference shifted and introduced something called the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)…a link between chronic disease and early abuse in the home. This was brand new and intriguing.

A study was presented based on research by a San Diego Kaiser Permanente physician and a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) researcher (ref 1). They recruited 17,500 subjects, 70% of which were Caucasian, and 70% college-educated, and presented them with the following questions:

Prior to your 18^th birthday:

1.  Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often… Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you? or Act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?

2.  Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often… Push, grab, slap, or throw something at you? or Ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured?

3.  Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever… Touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way? or Attempt or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you?

4.  Did you often or very often feel that … No one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? or Your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?

5.  Did you often or very often feel that … You didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? or Your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?

6.  Were your parents ever separated or divorced?

7.  Was your mother or stepmother:
Often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her? or Sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard? or Ever repeatedly hit over at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife?

8.  Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used street drugs?

9.  Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?

10.  Did a household member go to prison?

The researchers found strong relationships between ACE scores and health outcomes. The higher the ACE score, the greater the risk for chronic disease.

Among other things, 67% of the respondents had at least one ACE point, and 12.6% had scores of four or higher. Persons with a score of four or more were 2.5 times higher risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hepatitis. Scores of four or more were 4 times more likely to have depression and at 12 times greater risk for suicide. A score of seven or more had a 3 times greater lifetime risk for lung cancer and 3.5 times higher risk for ischemic heart disease, the number one killer in this country.

It didn’t seem to matter which specific items were chosen, but rather the number of adverse experiences children had been exposed to.

One coin, two sides…

One of the wonders of the human body is its ability to protect us. The autonomic (read, automatic) nervous system has a couple of divisions. The 'alarm side' is referred to as flight or fight. The 'calming side' is known as rest and digest where the body does just that, going about the business of supporting our daily lives.

It works like this: When confronted with a perceived threat, say a bear suddenly appears while hiking in the woods. Our bodies go into full alert. Adrenalin drives our heart rate up, opens our lungs for more air, increases nutrition to our muscles, and increases blood pressure. Hormones designed to save our lives are poured into our systems. Other regulators take over once the threat has been removed and we return to physiologic balance. All of us have experienced this kind of response in our lives.

But what happens when we live with the bear? What happens when we find ourselves on alert daily because of continual threats? What happens when this occurs consistently throughout childhood years? Hormones designed to save, in the ebb and flow of normal life, become toxic and, over time, lead to chronic disease. The lifesavers becoming life takers. Rest and digest never fully returns the body to physiologic balance.

Traditional thinking has been that children are resilient. Kids that overcome early adversity leave it all behind. This, like a lot of non-scientific medical opinion, is simply wrong! Moreover, anyone reading this who has survived childhood trauma knows of a certainty it is wrong. The tail on that dog, while buried, influences our lives in immeasurable ways.

Many adults who have had early life experiences like those unearthed in the ACE questions, are ashamed of them, or have buried them so deeply they are never spoken of.

An epiphany

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing or reading. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the effects of chronic stress. I had taught stress management my whole professional life. But I was missing a critical piece related to the source of many of the chronic disease lifestyle issues I had worked with. My curiosity was peaked.

In the reference material for the course was a book titled deepest well by Nadine Harris, MD, a pediatrician from San Francisco. I was curious, did a web search, and read a review. I found her giving a TED Talk on early childhood adversity. It was an articulate and compelling overview of this topic (ref 2). It inspired me to read her book. It was an awe-inspiring read, that was a revelation of understanding. Her ability to raise social awareness was great, but the physiology she presented was compelling.

What to do?

Bill Bryson in The Body: An operator’s manual says most of us commit suicide by lifestyle, and it takes ages. That is an entertaining, but fairly accurate of the ‘…is what it is…’

But what do we do when we realize we are carriers of deeply rooted chronic stressors, when the ‘turn off’ mechanisms are broken? What does it mean to appreciate unrelenting stress in our early lives that may have unknowingly led to chronic health issues we may be suffering now? Is there anything that can be done?

The good news lies in the amazing recuperative power of the body. There are tools we can use to help it in the process of recovery.

The following are areas of life that, if addressed, have been shown to work as antidotes to the contamination of chronic disease. They are sleep, mental health, healthy relationships, exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness. Healthy changes in these areas of life may not turn back the clock, but they can help repair long-term physiologic damage and increase quality of life.

It might take professional help to address some of these areas, but for the most part, they are things over which we can take control. Sometimes we just need permission, a nudge to begin to take power in our lives.

When I return to the classroom, I will have a new and deeper appreciation for the way I interact with my students. The 'Peace and Justice Institute' is responsible for increasing my sensitivity toward students (and administration).

As a result of the ACE, however, I will never look at my students the same way again. I don't really have a lot of answers, but a place to start is to ensure they have a safe place to learn. A place where I can teach some of the new things I have learned...so that it won't take them seventy-three years to think about the decisions they make in their lives.

If I thought attending a weeklong virtual conference behind a computer screen, might not be the best way to learn – I was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t touchy-feely, but the jury is in. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

- ted

References:

1.   Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse Child Experience Study – Amer Jour of Prev Med. 14(4), 1998, pp245-258.

2.   https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime/transcript).

What do I tell them? Conclusion

“Maybe it’s time to get uncomfortable…”

– Amber Ruffin, comedy writer, African American

Nothing is easy…

African American people cry for 'justice.' White Americans cry for 'order.'

What makes white Americans think that our brethren of color do not want both. Do we think African Americans somehow are immune to the chaos that surrounds so many of their lives? Do we suppose violence and the knee of injustice will solve anything? Our society has substantial problems laid bare by the public killings of young black people. There are no cavalier slogans here. Black lives do matter!

What about law and order? Like the criminal looters, it is easy to paint all police with a broad-brush stroke of unthinking brutality. The killings we see every day in the media are heart-sickening. There is no excuse. Yet, little airtime is given to Chiefs of police and officers of the law who have held hands and knelt with the protesters.

Additionally, as we have cut community resources, police departments have been given the task of managing mental health issues, truancy, substance abuse, and homelessness. This is not what public safety was meant to be, nor do police officers receive adequate training to manage these complicated social issues.

More in common than not...

Is it so hard to see that all of us are passengers on the same vessel of humanity? Quotes of spiritual leaders codified in the cloth of religion, drip from our tongues, but do we apprehend? Christ (and others) said, “Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they turn [from their sin]…” (Mark 4:12).  

Rather than resist our differences, should we not embrace them? Isn’t variety the lesson of nature? None of us is exactly the same, nor should we be. Embracing our differences gives us strength. Jonathan Sacks, in Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence, writes, “If we were completely unalike, we would be unable to communicate. If we were completely alike, we would have nothing to say.”

We are NOT completely different, and we are NOT completely alike. Our founding fathers added this motto to the Great Seal of the United States in 1782, “E Pluribus Unum” – Out of many, one. It represented separate states working together as a unified nation. Diversity with the singular goal of a more perfect union…a metaphor for all mankind.

Sadly, without spiritual insight we will continue to repeat the cycle of separation and division, as we have in the past, unable to escape the tribal prison to which we belong.

Is there a point here?

This piece began by asking, “…what will I tell my young Hispanic, African American, Asian, and white students about the summer of 2020? What do I tell them about their hopes and aspirations for a life in this country?”

I don't need to tell them they face inequity and racial and cultural injustice by a system that has oppressed generations of people, robbing them of rights as citizens of this great land. They know this.

To be frank, I don't know what to say that has not already been said, so I will exercise a process to cultivate their academic interests and gain their trust.

The first is to learn each student’s name at our first meeting. From then on, I welcome and personally address them. Names are powerful icons.

The second is to say what a privilege it is to be in the presence of so many corporate executives. The general response? Blank stares.

I say, "Each of you is the president and CEO of a very valuable company [pause for a beat] You! In your life, you will never work for anyone other than yourself, no matter what job you take or who pays you. For your company to be successful, you must represent it in the best possible way. It is you – your character and work ethic – that will be remembered, for better or worse, not the job you take. It is important for you to understand that in this world, very few people will care about you. You have to care about you!”

After that idea sinks in a little, I ask this question, "Who is better than you?" They always look confused with expressions that belie, “Now what is this guy talking about?”

After a few seconds, I say, “You have waited way too long. If nobody has ever told you, I'm telling you now. No one is better than you and you need to believe it. [pause for a beat] You also are not better than anyone else. And by the way, your answer to this question should be automatic because it is the truth.”

The following list is not part of the curriculum for anatomy and physiology but ideas informally sprinkled from time to time during the semester when the opportunity arises.

-      You are NOT your thoughts. You have them.

-      Examine your minds. It is the most rewarding and challenging thing you will ever do.

-      You have meaning – you count!

-      Making things better takes hard work – do the work!

-      Find and spend time with people that will help build ‘your company.’ Stay away from people who tear it and others down.

At the end of the semester, the shortlist will include:

-      Be a good farmer. Plant life-promoting words in others whenever you can.

-      Don’t just think about the career you want to build, but the kind of person you want to be.

-      The future belongs to you. Don’t let anyone take it from you.

I will encourage them to find their path however large or small, contributing to the fabric of humanity. "Ex Unius, Multi" (out of one, many)...because we are our brother’s keeper!

The last words they will hear as they are dismissed and just before they walk out the door for the last time, "What I'm about to say is not what most instructors tell their students. Thank you for this journey, and being a part of my mind and heart.”

“Be safe - I love you guys…"

- ted

What do I tell them? Part 3

“Maybe it’s time to get uncomfortable…”

– Amber Ruffin, comedy writer, African American

(continued...)

Trying to stay focused...

I do not want to distract from the too many killings inflicted on the African American community by a power structure that often does so with impunity. People…human beings… beaten, maimed, raped, jailed, and lives taken by fellow citizens out of ‘fear of the other.’

It's worth addressing the question. Who is ‘the other’ ­– the ‘not us…?’

The real ‘other’ is not peoples that are different than we are. The 'other' is invisible. The 'real other' is the thoughts in our minds. 

Many, of course, are good and others not so good. What any thoughts have in common is that we were not born with them – good or bad. We arrived on the planet tabula rasa (a blank slate). We acquired a vocabulary of words and ideas from all around us.

'The other' resides in our minds and, over time, creates a narrative so familiar that we believe it to be us. But it is nothing more than what we have accepted from the things we have been taught.

What is it that any of us can do? 

We can accept thoughts moving through our minds, and from them, we can create opinions…nothing more. It is on these two principles we move forward in our lives. In the arena of social interaction, Marcus Aurelius says, “…all life is opinion…” (The Meditations, Book 2). Opinions create belief structures from which the fabric of our character emerges.

We inherently know this. Why do we speak English, participate in particular religions or political parties? From where does our perception of other people come? They come from our parents, friends, teachers, ministers, the films we watch, the books we read and more. Thoughts received – opinions created. While we are complicated creatures, the process by which we become who and what we are is pretty straight forward.

Good thoughts unify, edify, and promote life. Not good thoughts, separate and divide. They destroy life...ours and those around us. It is not about somebody out there; it has never been. It is about what has been created within our minds.

All of the New Testament Biblical parables are metaphors for spiritual growth. In sum, they are about planting things, finding treasure in fields, investing and growing talents, finding a pearl of great price, planting seeds, not on wayside, thorny or shallow soil, but in the good earth to bring forth healthy harvests.

An example...The parable of the wheat and the tares

A master (God) instructs servants to plant a field (our minds) with wheat (good words and ideas). At night, meaning when we have little discernment to know right from wrong, the enemy sows tares (weeds…bad words and ideas). As the field begins to grow, the servants notice there are weeds in the field. 

Going to the master, the servants report this and ask if they should pull the weeds out. The master understands it is hard to distinguish one from the other in the early going and says to wait until the time of harvest (spiritual maturity to make decisions with clarity), then separate them. Spiritual wisdom comes when we can understand and evaluate our thoughts...choosing which to accept or reject.

In The Apology, Socrates says, "The unexamined life is not worth living." When we have negative feelings toward someone, we should not be demonizing them, we should be asking, “Is this right?” and if not, “How did this get planted in my mind?”

This is not a condemnation of people who have planted bad ideas in our minds. They are no different than us. It was (is) never about people. It is about thoughts!

When we say, “I don’t want to feel a certain way,” we are acknowledging that something other than our desires is causing feelings we do not want.

Amy Cooper is the woman in Central Park, who called the police, fabricating a story that an African American man was placing her life at risk. If we think this was an event, we are gravely mistaken.

It reflects the thoughts she accepted, nurtured, and cultivated until they became part of her belief system. Character emerges when we are under stress. Her character was on full display. It was the stress reaction of an unexamined life that exposed a belief system.

Spiritual leaders, counselors, and other observers of human behavior understand this. They dedicate their lives guiding and helping people unwind 'the other. These people know it is thoughts that drive us and ideas that need reconciliation. Everyone that seeks help understands at some level. This is the premise of James Allen’s book: As a man thinketh.

Christian people believe that Christ's death was to cover sin. That by the introduction of grace, they are justified (removal of guilt and penalty of sin). 

Yes, but once recognized, what should be done? The Apostle Paul wrote, "So shall we then continue in sin that grace might abound? God forbid.” (Romans 6:2) We should use the power of grace, as Christ said, “…[to] go and sin no more…” (Joh 8:11)

Christ was very clear when making the distinction between good and evil:

"By your words, you shall be justified, by your words, you shall be condemned." (Mat. 12:37) "…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (Joh 6:63)

Lao Tzu contributes this:

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” (Tao Te Ching)

The Hindu Swami Vivekanada mirrors this truth:

“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.”

To my many Evangelical Christian brethren who support the president of this country with his vulgar pejorative language, because it is, you know, just words…take heed. If you embrace the political agenda, that is your right and fair enough. But know this…words count.

Words are the only thing of real value any of us has. How is our character known to others? Only by our words, which lead to our actions for all to see. ”…every tree is known by his own fruit…” (Luk 6:43)

(to be concluded...)