Monday Message #5

Greetings Friends, 

Thanks to your comments and feedback, please find a fresh thought for our times. You may be amused by my disclosure of times when I was full of myself. Times when my life was on a roll riding high. Usually moments of achievement, peer adoration, and a false sense of self confidence. The basketball court was one such place. I could be pulling down a rebound, getting the ball to my teammate at a prescribed location instantly, and rushing down the court to be part of the offensive play, shot, and score. Victory after victory and an undefeated season instilled an indestructible quality to my being. But I carried it off the court to the next part of the day in school activities and study. I loved my youth. 

But new roles faced me as I grew up, such as husband, father, entrepreneur, CEO, non-profit roles, and philanthropist. I didn’t have a coach for each of these new experiences. I didn’t practice every day in these roles. I just carried my fears and confidence into the day. Alcohol gave me the impression that I was doing fine at all. Until dependency seeped into my being. Self interest was my whole interest. 

But a Divine Power stopped me. I became powerless. I could not control the things in my life like money, family, co-workers. I went back to what worked for me in basketball. Being with like-minded competitors who love the sport. Having a coach who has the play, the strategy, and the power to select the five in the game. Practice every day at known ways of being and living without the dependency. Moving from self interest to interest in self and others. In fact losing interest in self towards altruism. Grooming a relationship with that Divine Power. Knowing my role (action) and God’s role (outcomes), not being surprised by miracles.

We are living in a time of dependency upon money, power, and self-made creations. One is left with loneliness, isolation, and self-doubt. 

My response to this is to find the team I want to be with to help the common good. Act selflessly with my abilities and worth. Increase my time with beauty: art, poetry, literature, worship, time with nature, and time with friends and family. Kate and I are preparing a gift to my alma mater for diversity, equity, and inclusion. I hope the school promotes the hell out of it not for our sake but for the example of living our values, popular or not.  

A BIG coach, one another, common causes, and practice at being good fills me with gratitude, not glory.

Let’s expect miracles while we play our part.