Almost every philosophy agrees on the real secret to success in life. It is
living life to the fullest, now, while at the same time holding on to the moral principles close to our hearts and cherishing those we love and those who need our love and respect.
So, ... how can we as individuals achieve this? What about YOU?
The question below is one I believe we must ask ourselves, the sooner the better.
How can
we, as individuals, best live to our fullest potential in this
world of love/hate, openness/deceit, and despair/hope? How do we
reconcile such apparent inconsistencies ..
in our personal life
in our family life
in our business life...our career, our job
in our life as a child of God, especially when we are admonished to "love your neighbor as yourself" ?
This question is indeed a central one, for each and every one of us.
If each of us had a set of values - or principles - that we believed in so
strongly that we would die before we gave them up or compromised them, that
would certainly go a long way to helping us over the rough spots wouldn't it?
Absolutely. But who wants to go that far? Well, that's what it takes, if
you're really serious about what your values are.
Too many of us haven't set ourselves down in a corner, all by ourselves, and
wrestled with these issues. We haven't taken the time to face ourselves and our
fears and our uncertainties and our hopes - and our courage - and then faced up
to what the world might toss at us. We need to do this and liberate ourselves.
Otherwise we'll live forever as timid cowards.
This is not to say you're
casting your future forever in stone. We're all on a journey so you can
change. But only if YOU choose.
There isn't just one set of values that
works best for everyone. There is a wide array of many valid resources out there
that can help us best understand ourselves and our potential for growth and
transformation.
Our first job is to search out and identify those particular resources that
seem most useful and appropriate for each of us as individuals. Then we need to acquire
those resources and apply them to our own individual case, keeping in mind the ancient admonishment that we must "love your neighbor as yourself".
Some of the resources below are sources of instruction and inspiration that
have enabled me to keep striving to grow (a continuing process, to be sure!). Some of
them may help youin your continuing journey. But you
need to carefully develop your own list of resources and then apply
them! The important thing is to put things in motion!
You must decide to move yourself off dead center and start taking action. You, yourself, hold the keys to success in your life, nobody else. So get started and best wishes!
One of the first issues for me is coming to grips with the issue of terrorism and the thousands of innocent people killed on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, and the many additional thousands of innocent people killed or maimed as a result of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will not be living life to the fullest, nor will we here at home, until there is a honorable resolution of the conflicts there.
It is certainly an ongoing struggle for moderate Muslims who do not subscribe to the extremist views of the Jihadist terrorists and are working to counteract those views and bring Islam into the modern world. I do believe we need to support these pious Muslims in this effort.
My staunch friend, the Rev. Frank Toia (my former pastor from Pennsylvania
and working missionary in Guatemala, on occasion) recommended I subscribe to
Sojourners Magazine. Thanks, Frank!
Sojourners, edited by Jim Wallis, has pricked my conscience and helped awaken
me to the harsh realities of what is really going on in our world. It
sounds an altar call for issues such as the war on hunger, the great disparity
in global incomes (probably one of the leading cause of world-wide terrorism), and
the long overdue need for cessation of violence in Israel. These are issues we
(including our "official" governments and churches) tend to thrust completely
away from our thinking. These issues will not go away, however. Like it
or not, your personal value system has to take a stand on these issues.
I personally have found that the American Friends
Service Commitee is completely honest in telling it like it is about our
national participation in wars. This is a small Quaker organization
fundamentally committed to peace and justice. It is not a political
organization. The values they express resonate with my conscience when
they state "..the time has come to pull our nation back from dissembling
and violence." Watch their Eyes Wide Open Movie at American Friends Service
Committee. (The continued presence of our troops in Iraq, in my considered viewpoint, however, hinges on whether or not the new Iraqi government has demonstrated they are willing and able to effectively assume responsibility for their own security. Our military folks there should be calling that decision.)
In a similar vein, I have followed the Peace web site of my cousin Charles Jenks and
his partner Sunny Miller for some years now: Traprockpeace . It's well worth your
time exploring in some depth. It's honest, disturbing, completely
thought-provoking, and I recommend it for the same reasons I believe we all
need some jolting out of our comfortable existence. It's in transition now, but go take a look at some
thoughtful and in-depth examinations of our "sacred-cow" systems.
The utter humanity of that great individual, Abraham Lincoln, a man for all time, with his basic moral values continues to set a leadership example for our country today. One of his truths I have found helpful to me, personally: "In order to win a man to your cause, you must first reach his heart, the great high road to his reason".
If you really want to read a tough-minded, thoroughly readable, and highly insightful commentary on the state of our world today, I heartily recommend Fareed Zakaria's "The Future of Freedom". His history of human liberty, his remarks on illiberal democracy, and especially, his notes on "The Islamic Exception" make this book one of the very best I've read in recent years. It's available in paperback from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and I recommend it to you without hesitation.
One of the more difficult issues I've confronted in my value system has
been that of gay and lesbian orientation. An openly gay priest in a
long-standing committed relationship was recently ordained a bishop in the
Diocese of New Hampshire. That has had resulted in an enormous reaction at all
levels of our church (I'm an Episcopalian). It's at the parish level that I've
seen it really strike home. I'm not gay, but I have many gay friends, in
committed relationships, that are fine examples of loving, mutually supportive
individuals. So, the issue of a gay bishop doesn't resonate with me. But many
friends have left St. Mark's in anger, frustration, and disappointment over
this issue. It has been a disruptive issue to say the least, including over much of the rest of our Anglican Communion across the globe.
This global communion does not gladly welcome non-traditional actions (including the recent election of Katharine Jefferts Schorri, our new Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US). Katharine became the first-ever female primate in the Anglican Communion when she was consecrated on November 4, 2006! Welcome, Katharine, your first sermon was great! You reached out to all. I was very conscious of the phrase during that service: "We are prisoners of hope." Indeed we are. You are making a very welcome visit to our Diocese today, April 15, 2008!
When our Diocesan Bishop Leo Frade installed our new St. Mark's Rector, Jim Cook (so glad you're with us, Jim!), I thanked Leo for his vote in the Episcopal House of Bishops rejecting the narrow line of the Anglican primates of the "Global South" who appear to reject Christ's love for those who don't tread their narrow ways. He grinned and said "Thank you". As Lambeth approaches, we all need to be reminded that Christ loves all.
Who would believe it? Hidden in the boring genealogies of Chronicles is
the remarkable Jabez' Prayer: easy to memorize and easy to substitute instead
of "me" the name of someone for whom you really want intercession.
"Lord, bless me indeed and expand my territory. That Your hand
would always be with me and that You would keep me from evil."
I've prayed Jabez' prayer daily for many months now and I can assure you it's
moved mountains in my spiritual life. You may want to try it. There's a very
helpful book available which you can order from Amazon: "The Prayer of Jabez"
by Bruce Wilkinson (ISBN 1-57673-733-0). My men's study group at St. Mark's
church read through this book sentence by sentence. We found it powerful.
Of course, my favorite viking, Hagar the Horrible, has his own take on living life to the fullest. Here it is, with the kind permission of King Features Syndicate!
I remember reading Rudyard Kipling's If and telling my Dad how
impressed I was with Kipling's set of values. I'll never regret taking Dad's
advice on friendship. (If you click on that link, don't forget to click
"back" to return here.)
Here are two excellent resources for helping you continuing on your
journey as a child of God. You can order them on line from either Barnes and
Noble or Amazon. One is Scott Peck's "The
Road Less Traveled". Another is Philip Yancey's "What's
So Amazing About Grace?" Enjoy!
This is probably the best "how to" reference I've ever come across if you
want to know yourself better in preparation for a career change. It's Richard
Nelson Bolles' "What
Color Is Your Parachute?" (Available in paperback from either Amazon or
Barnes and Noble.) Lots of useful exercises here.
Sometimes you have to do something you're driven to do. Most of my
corporate experience has been focused on strategic planning. So I went ahead
and wrote "Go For It !", a strategy workbook for the time-pressured
entrepreneur and small business manager. This practical guide was written to enable managers to use their hard-won experience and judgment in picking their
"best fit" strategy. Click here
if you'd like to see more information. I'll be writing a follow on workbook on personal life planning in the near future.
I've also learned that when someone asks me who I am, the best answer is a
straight-forward answer, one that gives basic information, with a link to more
information, if such is needed. You have to decide for yourself of course, but
for me, being open and transparent is part of my value system. Here is
some basic information on who I am.
And here's a picture of me with Ginny, my love. I am indeed a fortunate man.
Please send an Email with your
comments and suggestions.
