….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.
