Let’s Just Take a Break…..

….From the woken madness, the political dramatics and mudslinging, the presidential pratfalls, and all the other things that make our lives these days as challenging as they are.  Let us focus instead on some routine observations that don’t quite rise to the level of headline news.

 

In rural America, there is a lot of credence given to church, family, politics, school, and sports; but when it comes to springtime, the weather rules.  Seed goes in the ground, hay goes down/up, grass gets cut, gardens get put in, fencerows get sprayed, cattle are calving wide open, our kids and grandkids are playing all the sports available to them, and even though the days are stretching out in length…there just never seems to be enough daytime to get everything done.  My friends…this is what is known as a full life.  The best kind of work in this world is the kind where you can look back over your shoulder and see what you have accomplished.  That is the kind of work we do in the spring.

 

In my part of the world, we had a strange (is there any other kind these days?) winter leading into spring.  We had an early burst of moderate late-winter that encouraged early blooms and good pasture; but then, we got the dreaded late frost that bit a lot of the blooms, killed some early plantings, and set things back a right smart.  Now we have moved into an extended dry spell that, like most things these days, is a mixed blessing.  The good weather allows us to get done whatever it is that is yet unfinished.  On the other hand, once the hay is up or the corn/beans are in the ground, or the garden is planted…we start looking for that good, soaking, all day long rain that will get everything back to a growing mode and start paying off the investments of fertilizer and planting. 

 

In times like these, I always harken back to two wise sayings that were handed down to me by wise old men.  One is “…that it always rains one day before it’s too late”.  I take the meaning here to be that no matter how bad it gets, it can always get worse.  The other goes “Man’s a fool.  When it’s hot, he wants it cool.  When it’s cool, it wants it hot.  He’s always wanting what it’s not.”  As a species, we are kinda hard to please, aren’t we?

 

For all the crazy stuff that is going on in this world, it is a pretty good life…isn’t it?  I realize that all across the planet, and even just down the road, there are people that are suffering in body and spirit.  Some of this harm is self-inflicted and some of it is uninvited.  Either way, it is tragic that in this world of such abundance and capability, anyone should suffer excessively due to affliction, deprivation, or inattention.  We all need to do a better job of taking care of each other.  You know…I am one of the first to step up and call for smaller government.  But if we are going to shrink government and the entitlement programs that have gotten so out of control, then it is incumbent upon each of us to do a better job of taking care of ourselves and each other. 

 

Over the last couple of months, I have had the privilege of serving as an officiant at my nephew’s wedding; I have witnessed an exceptional spring calf crop from my small herd; I have seen my beautiful granddaughter growing into a young lady and excelling in her sporting pursuits; I have got to witness one grandson growing into his large body, starting to develop that old “hand/eye” coordination, and beginning to realize some of the marvelous things that he might be capable of on the athletic field.  I saw him pitch his first game the other night and he did an outstanding job.  I watched my other grandson participate in a marathon run event and finish top-five in his division…seems like just yesterday he was crawling around the house.  The garden is in and half of next winter’s hay is on the pad.  And you know…one silver lining to the ongoing dry spell is the fact that the grass is not growing too fast and does not need cutting every…single…week.

 

For most of us…not all, but most…life is full of good and opportunity.  Some receive more than others and some live with severe challenges every day; but in the main, the majority of us receive far more than we give back.  We should all do a better job on focusing on the positive things in this world, spend more time looking for the ways that “each of us” can make it a better place,   and fully appreciate the fact that so much of what we have is not from us, but from our God and many good people who came before us. 

 

Old age has schooled me on the limitations of the human body and the toll that mileage assesses to it.  But old age has also taught me to better appreciate the time that is left to me in this world and how utterly remarkable the world is around me.  Miracles do happen every single day; we just don’t seem to pay a lot of attention to them.  There are remarkable people sprinkled all around us…in our churches, in our neighborhoods, in our schools, in our workplaces…that are giving well beyond their capacity in order to make this a better place.  These folks are not seeking headlines and they don’t advertise their good works.  They are not running for political office or headlines.  They do it because it is the right thing to do.  They are thankful for what they can do and they welcome the opportunities to do it.  They are paying it forward.  If we can just manage each day to slow down a bit…to simply take an occasional moment to look around us and observe…to become fully aware of the good things and good people that surround us; I honestly believe it would change the way we look at life.  We might just become a little better ourselves.

 

Perhaps it will help us to look more inward and less outward.  Perhaps it will help us focus more on the things we can control and less on the things that we cannot impact.  It might help us better appreciate life’s simpler pleasures that are abundant and free to all.  Ah yes…it is that ages old quest to combine the wisdom of age with the energy and innocence of youth.  Would that we could somehow achieve this magical combination?

 

I am seventy years old, country and proud of it, conservative in nature, and old school in life.  Not a day goes by that I don’t shake my head in bewilderment at the things that are going on all around me.  But other than church services each Sunday morning, the one thing that always keeps the hope of redemption and salvation for mankind alive in my soul is the limitless potential that I see in our young people.  Their dress is different, their entertainment is different, their music is damn sure different, and their attitudes about most everything is different; but they have good hearts, sharp minds, and if we as mentors can do our jobs and school them properly on morals and ethics, the future of this world is in good hands. 

 

Next time you get down and dismayed…you get angry or frustrated…find a quiet spot somewhere, somehow.  Turn off the internal mechanisms that are driving your stress and open your eyes and mind to the world around you.  Do not look for the faults; look for the blessings.  Look for those good people and deeds I talked about earlier.  In these quiet moments, consider how complex and ingenious our planet is and consider the question…. “Could this all happen spontaneously?  How could such interconnectivity and complexity be happenstance?  How great of a mind would it take to conceive of such a fantastic universe?”

 

Make an effort to come to grips with how, on the one hand, truly small and insignificant you are in this world; how the trials and tribulations occurring in your own personal realm are not a logical basis upon which to change the laws of nature and mankind.  And then…also consider how, when you become fully aware and cognizant of the opportunities before you, you as a single individual, in this place, at this time, and on your unique path through life, can make a very real difference in the lives of others and perhaps…just perhaps…help to tilt the madness that we see all around us back toward a better world that we all desire.