You have reached the end of the Internet
So now what…
Searching for Contentment
What search criteria do we use to find contentment? What would happed first, you would reach the end of the internet or would you find contentment? Can you imagine your thoughts of despair pushed aside by a covenant of contentment? For some it would be easier to imagine a world-wide-web that just ends? It would be like LSU’s dreams of winning a national championship after an ugly loss this pass weekend. Poof, its gone! Where else but on the internet could we get hourly updates from a weather man standing in front of a camera in the midst of a hurricane telling us not to go out in the hurricane?
Many of us believe that where we are now is where we will always be; there is no way back and sadly no way forward. We are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We can identify with that newscaster as we endure yet another day in a vortex. We many not verbalize it but we certainly live as if it were true.
Do you live your life as if you are already defeated? Have you bought into the notion that we are only a heart-beat away from widespread mayhem, rioting in the streets, and the sudden disappearance of the Drudge Report? Do you fear waking up to find that all semblance of an ordered society has been replaced with chaos?
If you answered “Yes” to most of these questions and believe that all is lost I fear that there is little hope for you. If you think that it’s the end of the fourth quarter and your team is down by three touchdowns, I suggest that you stay the course. The game will be over soon, and you can return to the Jerry Springer Binge-a-thon. But if you believe that there is still hope, even if a flicker, read on.
Looking for Good
Just like so many others, I do it to myself. I get lost in the demands of the every day. I get consumed by the need to forage for food and I ignore the importance of maintaining a physically active lifestyle and I marginalize the need to stay mentally engaged with those that I admire and respect. I forget to look up and take notice that the good is all around us. If we look past a lawn that needs to be mowed, a pool that demands attention and two cars that could use a bath, we will find what is good. But we can’t settle for the good, can we? There has to be more!
Having just recently returned from a mini-vacation, complete with much needed camaraderie and specialized firearms training, I came to the realization that the burst of energy that went with it was gone as soon as the wheels hit the tarmac and little more than a vague memory shortly after I grabbed my bag from the luggage carrousel. Where did all the relief go so quickly?
Finding the Great
This year while looking for what’s good, I found what is great —something that I have neglected for far too long. Great people, acquaintances and strangers, crashed into my world from all sides — my work, my neighborhood and my church, and even my disease — that had a message to convey, variations of a theme that we all long to hear, at a point in my life that I was the most receptive to listen.
“How can we support you? How can we support your family?” Not just words but words backed by actions; but to embrace these words and accept their gracious acts of kindness, I must first acknowledge that others must see a need. Ouch!
Only a few weeks ago, I was in northern California and Nevada, prompted by a friend to forego and hour long plane ride and join him on a 8–10 hour road trip to take in the scenery of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. Traveling in, around and through the mountains, the temptation is to think of ourselves as small, even insignificant, in contrast to our surroundings. That perspective couldn’t be more wrong. The words of the prophet Isaiah provide a more fitting self-image. It was as if he had me in mind when he wrote,
…For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces,
My love won’t walk away from you,
My covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart.’
The God who has compassion on you says so.”
In the Everyday
Yes, it is good; my lifestyle that is. In spite of my missteps, my lovely wife and I have been able to attain a comfortable life— the cornerstone of the American Dream. I have amassed more, consumed more and disposed of more than did my father. I should get a prize, shouldn’t I? Where is my metal? Who has my trophy?
The good, a time away from the daily grind, pointed to the great; the One who spoke the mountains into existence. Who then puts in place those that are willing to walk beside us at a time when we most need it, showing us compassion and giving us HIs covenant contentment of peace.
Who would have thought that a covenant commitment of peace and compassion can be found in the everyday, in our neighborhoods, our places of business, in our hobbies and interests and in our everyday activities.
Thanks for reading and liking; sharing is always encouraged and welcome.
Ivy has the reflection and meditation thing down pat. When no one is watching, her favorite place to contemplate the meaning of life is in the living room on the couch.
Al and his faithful, but mentally exhausted sidekick, Ivy the wonder pup.