Category Archives: Eclectic Mix

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Have We Lost Our Minds?

Reminiscent of Public Lynchings

The recent developments in the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavenaugh confirmation hearings have become a spectacle of dire imaginings. I have wearied of the sport being made of the man. He’s being vilified over and over again in social media and beyond. The man is being seen as guilty until proven innocent. Christine Blase Ford is also getting her share of hits, but I think they’ve been kinder to her. It all comes down to a ‘he said, she said’ episode of “To Tell the Truth” being broadcast on the national stage. Every word, expression, emotional reaction, and innuendo is being micro-analyzed. Even their hair and clothing are being critiqued and publicly, and sometimes distastefully, discussed or assailed.

There are no winners here, as it stands now, except the money that is being made and can be made in its aftermath. Speak of the word despicable, the accusations and implications spread as truth across social media are in that category.

Have we lost our minds?

Let’s go back two years—  Remember the anger and hatred spewing right and left?

2016:

During the past presidential election season, ugliness was everywhere and even some of my fb friends were being sucked into the fight with words. It got so bad that I began hiding posts from my fb newsfeed. I couldn’t take it anymore. Yet I wanted to know what was being said and what was going on. I have a political bent and strive to keep informed. Some had lost a handle on what constitutes decency and order and civility during those tempestuous times. I was appalled by people’s hateful words and angry rants.

I wrote the following FaceBook post to try to raise awareness of the indignity of it all.

Dear American Sisters and Brothers, Hatred is not the answer. It has never been the answer. Stand for peace and justice. Stand for liberty and freedom. Stand for the innocent and the marginalized. Stand for the ones with no voice. Stand for the ones who represent our country wherever they may be and whomever they may be. Stand for what is good in America. Be willing to stand for what is right even if you have to stand alone. Those who condemn others so harshly look closely at yourself and rise to a better place, the place of grace and blessing. It is better to build people up rather than to tear them down. There is a right standard that pulls us together that is above the fray. We must seek to find that place of common ground where the better good is found. MLK understood this. He spoke the language of a land which wishes all its people free, equal, and accepted. Hatred toward other people in our land will never achieve a good end, it will only inflame anger and harm…and this includes our attitudes towards our newly elected officials, whether you  like them or not. Please, look truth in the eye. What you hate may consume you and change you to be more like what you are hating. People are making statements that are inflammatory and akin to public shaming and entitlement. It behooves all of us to be careful and kind to even those we disagree with or find offensive. There is civic dialogue and civilized ways of behaving. Please consider your part in making this a peace-loving country. United we stand. Divided we fall.  –NLB 2016, November

Hatred is being consumed in the ever-increasing national appetite for sensationalism. People are believing it, too. Like with the #MeToo movement, a person’s personal narrative is influencing the way a subject or person is viewed, whether positive or negative. What is contrived or what is true, what is remembered correctly or what is being misrepresented, are the pertinent questions.

But could there be another angle to the story?

Is this about a woman’s right to choose? About abortion? Opinions on abortion could be a contributing factor and a possible underlying presence that is fueling this anger against a Kavenaugh confirmation. Do I know? Of course I don’t know. I can only surmise. But it always surprises me how the ‘innocents’ are so easily abandoned–terminated, to be precise–in a country that by law seeks to protect people, trees, and animals.

I wouldn’t want a miscarriage of justice or a misrepresentation of what is true to publicly ‘lynch’ either person.

You see, there is a right and there is a wrong, there is evil and there is righteousness. Here on this blog it is my responsibility before God to carefully write about the things of God and to reflect the spiritual in ways others can consume. I am a person, and I fail more than I care to admit. I don’t always know how to do it right. But I do know we are encased in a spiritual battle that has repercussions in every home in our country.

I pray often about what is going on. Please join me in praying.

I want those with ears to hear, to turn to God with all their heart, mind, and soul. I know that in Christ is where your soul’s redemption is found and real life begins. Right now I see a contest being played out before us. I think of Elijah, he was alone when he faced impossible odds. But he fought the good fight, believed in the one true God, and God answered and proved he was God. That same God is at work today. The battle belongs to the Lord. He is able to do above and beyond what we ask or think. I’m so glad this is true.

And when I pray, I pray that the truth will be known but not assumed.

God bless you.

What do you think?

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Kindness is a Virtue

Kind hearts are the gardens,

Kind thoughts are the roots,

Kind words are the flowers,

Kind deeds are the fruits.

Take care of your garden,

And keep out the weeds,

Fill it with sunshine,

Kind words and kind deeds.      –Henry W. Longfellow

 

I reckon there are three things in life that are important.

The first is to be kind.

The second is to be kind.

The third is to be kind.     –Leanin’ Tree magnet

 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 ESV

Teach Them to be Kind

“It takes so little to be kind,” said my sister Marilyn to me in a conversation. Kindness is a choice. Kind is a way of being. You ‘be’ kind like you ‘are’ love to others. Kindness is a virtue. Kindness also has a spiritual side. You will find it listed with words like integrity, love, goodness, good-will, and tender-hearted. I discovered the Longfellow poem in 1979 in a first grade beginning reader. I made a flowery bulletin board with the poem. Its words ring true. Kind hearts are the gardens, and kind thoughts are the roots.

We could change the world if everyone would put a kindness factor in place, if everyone decided to be kind to others regardless of the circumstances. Kindness is a respectful attitude that takes the time to be patient with others even when they irritate us or may not deserve it. It is cultivated in our spirit. Kindness is like a gift to the soul.

Every mother, grandmother, father, grandfather, teacher, coach, and just about anybody can act with kindness. Here’s one of my teacher stories. I’ve shared it before, but it fits with this subject. I learned a lot about loving my students that year. We did it via shared community.

The class that year was a combination 2nd/3rd split. The school hired me one month in which meant I was given the children with greater educational needs. The students as a whole were a mix of underachievers and misbehavers with others too shy to respond at all, one with selective mutism–she never said one word in class the whole year. (I saw her brother recently, and he said she’s a teacher now! Go figure.).

I was determined to bring my students up to speed. Their struggles challenged my best efforts. Classroom dynamics were such that it made it difficult to meet my educational objectives.

With great intention, I instituted several extras to help us bond as a group and grow as unit. The hyperactive student learned to self-monitor his behavior and without a word from me would move to a special desk whenever he was distracted or caused distraction. He became efficient at this without me intervening, and he liked its calming effects. He’d look over at me and smile and then take his paperwork over to the desk by my desk.

I instituted Acts of Kindness for throughout the week to be read by me on Fridays. Acts of kindness were written on slips of paper and put in a slotted box. Submissions were anonymous. They loved this and they kept the playground litter cleaned up.

I wanted every student in my class to feel good about themselves and appreciated. Some kids had drama going on at home and needed a safe place. To accomplish this, we would have to know each other better. Every morning after the flag salute, a student in our class was front and center. They were given an opportunity to talk without interruption about their interests. The children were guided through prompts from me. The silent child would nod or shake her head and smile in response to my questions. One boy shared art he had created. As a former home-schooler, he was adjusting to public school.

For Valentine’s Day I wanted my students to show appreciation for the adults who served them. Our class made thank you cards for every support staff member: Crossing guard, the cook and cafeteria workers, yard duty personnel, office workers, maintenance personnel, bus driver, and computer lab technician. I demonstrated proper etiquette. Student with student, they practiced introductions. Then we as a group delivered the cards. The children introduced themselves to the recipient, looked them in the eye, shook their hand, and then read the card out loud.

By the year’s end we as a group had grown into a community of caring individuals. We even did a chant-like performance for the retiring district superintendent. The students shined! Toward the end of the year, the most out-going child was encouraging the most reserved child. It was a delight to watch. The classroom energy blossomed into a positive atmosphere. Everyone was blessed, including me.

Kindness works that way. Kindness is universal, has no political party, encourages positive social interactions, and is other-centered. Being kind begins in the heart, is activated by the mind, is cultivated by the Spirit, and is instituted by the action. A pure heart will extend grace to others because it wants to and knows it is the right thing to do.

Teach kindness and be kind to your children and grandchildren. You will make the world a better place.
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