Tag Archives: #personal growth

Assurance and Dependability

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Both as individuals and as nations we can sometimes be severely tested.  As I wrote in the last post, this is the story of humankind, and it has been rough.  Yet, we have never stopped learning, creating, maturing.  And, yes, civilization has continued to advance.

As the present crisis evolves, and as we begin to think about the future we hope for, how do we think we might be changed?

I’m not asking a political question.  I am asking a deeply personal question, and it turns on responsibility and perspective.

How will our lives look different to us?  How will we view our responsibility for family and the community in which we live?

How will we prepare for the other crises that are already emerging over the horizon?

The tests that we face today are those of responsibility, the single most essential virtue and sign of maturity for a parent, a friend, a business owner, a citizen.

This crisis has impacted our lives in ways we could not have imagined.  How will we respond?

Faced with uncertainty and anxiety, some of us are discovering things about ourselves we did not know or expect.

Each of us has been endowed with capacities that can remain latent and undiscovered until we are challenged by the unexpected.

It is when we face the pain of personal loss and defeat – or its’ potential – that we find strength in ourselves that we did not know we had.

Reaching the limits of endurance we expect to collapse, and then, mysteriously, we keep on going.  Because we do what must be done.

The capacities I speak of are more than strength, mental or spiritual.  They include perception, problem-solving, and insight into the confusion or needs of those around us.

In a crisis we can sometimes see aspects or qualities in circumstances that we had failed to see before.  Perspective changes and new understandings emerge.

Please allow me to suggest several of the elements which together form the structure of the human world.  There are three that I believe are of primary importance.

I will mention justice first.  Justice is defined by the world of order and necessity that we are given in this universe.  But the given structure of justice is often obscured by the confusion and egoism of human disorder and distrust.

And then there is the force of attraction that binds all things which by nature belong in relationship.

This is the force that keeps a family together despite untold injuries and failures, and provides the foundation of dependability in a community despite all difficulties and differences.

Some call this attraction love, but it is not an emotion.  It is an elemental force born of belonging in this universe.  It gives coherence to the structure of justice that we depend upon.

Finally, there is an intrinsic power that energizes the structural dynamics that give form to all things – and which ensures the integrity of our lives and keeps us going.

Believe what you will about the source and origin of these three forces, but their existence and necessity cannot be denied.

They are dependable and trustworthy even in the darkest night; even in the shadow of dishonor, sickness and death.

And they can become apparent to each of us.

The reality into which we have been born in this world has an unassailable structure formed of the union of love, power and justice.

This is the foundation upon which our values remain steadfast, allowing us a measure of assurance within ourselves – even when the ground feels like it is moving beneath our feet.

Be strong, my friends. Stay loyal to one another despite the disappointments, the failures and loss, because the truth of our lives is deeper and more essential than all the rest.

Tom

You may watch for the next post on or about May 20.

Note for new readers: A project description, an introduction to the coming book, and several chapters in draft can be found at the top of the homepage.

Coming to Account

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Never have such extreme constraints been imposed on us – economic, emotional, and physically threatening.  The necessity to understand the current threat, to protect ourselves and to secure household and family, has required every bit of energy and attention.

Now, however, the reality of isolation is beginning to sink in.

Imagination easily wanders through feelings of helplessness and, perhaps, to thoughts of paranoia.  We are human beings, having a natural tendency to look for fault somewhere – the possibility of malevolence or the likelihood of mistakes and poor judgment – and to lay blame.

As people attempting to protect our families and to survive, such stray thoughts get us nowhere.  However, the opportunity to reflect deeply on our lives, both personal and societal, may be opening.  This is rare for many of us.

We are aware that things have not been right in America (and the world) for quite some time.

We have little opportunity as citizens to influence economic or political outcomes, yet we have significant control over how we manage our lives.

How have we been doing?

We value our own intelligence and self-respect.  So, given the opportunity to think, assess and evaluate — to reflect on what is missing in our lives or what we would like to do better – what ideas or principles might be helpful?

What ways of thinking might help at such an extraordinary time as this?

One of the principles available to us, and which comes with ancient roots in the Judeo-Christian heritage of the western world, is the idea that we each exist for a purpose – which presents itself in the opportunities we have to make a positive difference in the world, each in our own way.

Perhaps most importantly, this idea comes with recognition that our world is fragmented and in disarray.

The smallest acts of compassion and service, however insignificant they might seem, are the effective means for putting the world back together.

There is nothing new about this understanding.  All the world religions focus on healing and uniting the fragmentation of societies – on fostering fellowship within social and cultural diversity.

Why do so many adherents of the various religions fail to see this and understand?  Surely this is due, at least in part, to the habit of accepting only what feels comfortable, what is selfish and easy.  We reject the rest.

It has actually been in the direct response to catastrophe in religious history that the importance of individual deeds has come to be recognized as a fundamental principle.

It is in the immediacy of selfless interactions that we transform negative energy into a force that heals and restores the damage we experience in a battered world.

The smallest actions make a difference.

We do not need to be religious to do good or to understand moral responsibility.  To be moral is to do what is right or necessary, out of our own self-respect and not because somebody tells us we should.

Each of us is quite capable of rising up from our own difficulties and selfish preoccupations to reach out to others in straightforward ways.

In experiencing the effectiveness of selfless actions, we make a critical discovery – that we can look upon the disasters around us without concluding that America is irreparable or that human beings are irredeemable.

How important this is for the country, for our communities, and for the well-being of our own spirits!

A future that embodies the essential principles of the American Republic will depend upon citizen initiative that demonstrates the moral responsibility, trustworthiness and caring we are all capable of.

Let this become an everyday, habitual way of life: Allow it to color the character of your local community.  And watch what happens.

Tom

You may watch for the next post on or about April 22.

Note to new readers: A project description, introduction to the coming book, and several chapters in draft can be found linked at the top of this homepage.

Life Interrupted – and Reconsidered

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The shocking impact of the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted our lives.  We can only wonder at the ultimate consequences.  What does it mean for our families, our friends, ourselves?

As a trigger for another financial crisis, the impact on the future will be great.  An unprecedented level of corporate and government debt prior to the crisis has ensured systemic weakness.  Long-time readers are well-aware of this danger and its implications.

Those with a sense of responsibility and the spirit to help others may be feeling helpless at the present time.  Concern for our families is paramount.  And, the natural urge to reach out, to care for the sick and elderly, to serve the community in our neighborhood or church, is suddenly and severely hampered.

Escalating needs will quickly become obvious, even as compassionate inclinations are confronted by growing personal risk.

To sustain body and spirit we are challenged to think differently, to alter our approach to life both inwardly and outwardly.

Above all, we face the need to stay positive in the face of fear and dislocation.  This will not be possible unless we are determined – however uncertain the future – to take constructive action in our communities.

If we are unable to act physically, we certainly have multiple means of communication.  We must be supportive in every way possible, strengthening positive relationships and discouraging despair.

Morale always depends on action – on being and doing.

Accepting fear is useless.  Losses certainly hurt and can require unwelcome adjustments.  But the greatest damage from getting knocked down is not getting up.

All this is especially important for our local communities, which we will depend on in the coming economic disarray.

Personally, we must count on ourselves to stand firm in the storm, and to look around to see who else is counting on us.  How quickly can we refocus our attention on priorities?  How can we gain confidence in our sense of purpose, dependability, and usefulness?

The corruption and disintegrating order of the present age reveal the necessity for thinking and acting in a manner fit for the future.

We are being tested.  Yes!  Are we willing to consider what we wish to gain from being tested – to learn, to mature emotionally and spiritually, and to become better people?

Let’s think about how we wish to comport ourselves as mature adults and human beings.  Such tests as these show us what we are made of.

For those without a sense of inward spirit in themselves, severe tests can sometimes feel intolerable.  Yet we persevere with great courage, digging deep into our own accumulated strength.  Can we recognize that such perseverance is a function of spirit more than of rational intellect?  Reason is a wonderful tool, but only spirit will carry the day.

For the religiously oriented among us, the challenge will be to resist the false security offered by institutional dogma or silver-tongued preachers.  Will we allow our inward self, our spiritual grounding, to be diverted from a direct relationship with God?  Scriptural guidance is immediately available, and it is quite explicit.

Whoever we are, we will gain steadfast strength by first turning inward to ground ourselves and then outward through action to serve family and community.

We can best learn and grow by opening ourselves to the unexpected benefits of hardship – by allowing the testing to become a path to wisdom, to discipline, and to a deepening perceptual sensitivity.

It is this that provides us with the strength and vision for building the future – both for ourselves and for America.  Nothing of such profound value comes without pain.

The time to confront pain and find our strength is now, and the way to find it is through constructive action.

Tom

You may watch for the next post on or about April 8.

Note to new readers: Links to a project description, an introduction to the coming book, and several chapters in draft can be found at the top of this page.