In these thoughts today I use the phrase ‘cleaning house’ to connote something other than the use of a broom and dustpan or a bucket of soapy water. Neither do I necessarily use it in the sense of being victorious over some opponent. But the phrase does have utility because I have been contemplating the foot-dragging task of going through my personal ‘treasures’ and things which are to me of value but in reality will be devalued and discarded by whomever might someday have to go through them.
I more keenly recognize the necessity of doing this house cleaning because of the imperative of my taking part in cleaning out, with my brothers, the effects of my dad who died early this year and of his house which burned down just a few months ago. My mom, who has Alzheimer’s disease, has no possessions other than the clothes she wears and has nothing else, including her cognitive and expressive abilities (deep memory we are not sure of). She has left a very positive record in the lives that she has touched and a record in heaven of her life that will be restored to her when she passes on, but nearly every material thing she and dad valued is now gone.
My own books and papers, of course, are of value to me. Lesser so is some of my sporting gear (I even have my Wilson 1957 Ted Williams personal model baseball glove, my 1962 tour blade golf irons, and my 1964 Head skis). Having disclosed this I know I might be judged as a hoarder, but other than these few anomalies I am not. The sporting gear, old clothes, and other material things can go, but it is wrenching to me to discard the things I have written which define who I am and books that I have read that shaped me.
Fortunately, I am strongly convinced that the record of my life, contributed to by many, is etched on my character and will remain with me on my eternal journey. I just don’t want to carry up the remaining mountains I must climb anything that could hamper my climb or that would impede me in my efforts to help others with theirs. Repentance is the process of jettisoning the immaterial encumbrances, but where does one start with the material things?
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Character
As I get older I have increasingly been preoccupied with a personal concern for the importance of going out of this life with a refined character. This has been a concern for as long as I can remember (even my doctoral dissertation, twenty-seven years ago, was on character education), but it seems to be an imperative now. Maybe it is because of what I have been reading: Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo; Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays; the biography of Neal A. Maxwell; the Psalms and Proverbs and the life of Paul in the Bible; reflection on the teachings and character of Jesus and some of the prophets of the Book of Mormon; the noble or ideal man of Confucian thought. Or, maybe what I have been reading has been influenced by what I have been thinking—and if so, that is good.
Thomas d Kempis (The Imitation of Christ) recognized the struggle of such a focus: “Who hath a harder battle to fight than he who striveth for self-mastery? And this should be our endeavor, even to master self, and thus daily to grow stronger than self and go on unto perfection.” Socrates concurred: “We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.” The outcome of a life-time of striving should be an acceptable human being: “Goodness is richer than greatness. It consists not in the outward things we do, but in the inward thing we are.” (Edwin Hubble Chapin)
Though I have to strive daily for this ideal (yet I find joy in the striving) it is apparent that there are some noble souls that seem to come to this earth already well-furnished. I have known a man, Gerald Herbert Lindsey, who seemed to be such a soul. C. S. Lewis has said that there are a few of this caliber of men around and as we accrete some of their qualities we will find them for there is likely to be a mutual attraction.
In the scriptural book of Abraham, the Lord Jehovah shows Abraham: “many of the noble and great ones…who were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.” This man, and others, came, as the poet Wordsworth said, “…trailing clouds of glory” to this earth to mingle with the rest of us.—to serve us and to give us the example of the higher life.
The American 19th Century philosopher-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson was such a man in our history. I have been especially intrigued by two of Emerson’s essays, The Over-Soul and Character in which he acknowledged by name some men who had this ineffable quality: “I have read [he said] that those who listened to Lord Chatham felt that there was something finer in the man than anything which he said. The Gracchi, Agis, Cleomenes, and others of Plutarch’s heroes, do not in the record of facts equal their own fame. Sir Philip Sidney, the Earl of Essex, Sir Walter Raleigh, are men of great figure, and of few deeds. We cannot find the smallest part of the personal weight of [George] Washington in the narrative of his exploits. The authority of the name of Schiller is too great for his books…but somewhat resided in these men which begot an expectation that outran all their performance. The largest part of their power was latent. This is that which we call Character…a reserved force…a Genius, by whose impulses the man is guided…a stellar and undiminishable greatness. [He] inspires respect, and the wish to deal with him, both for the quiet spirit of honor which attends him, and for the intellectual pastime which the spectacle of so much ability affords. The will of the pure runs down from them into other natures, as water runs down from a higher into a lower vessel. With what quality is in him, he infuses all nature that he can reach. He animates all he can.
Of these ‘noble and great ones’ “Plato said it was impossible not to believe in the children of the gods, ‘though they should speak without probable or necessary arguments.” (Emerson) In other words, those who have achieved or will achieve this status don’t declare their ‘chosen’ status but rather simply live and radiate it.
“The history of those gods [men with a God-like character] and saints which the world has written, and then worshiped, are documents of character.” (Emerson)
Thomas d Kempis (The Imitation of Christ) recognized the struggle of such a focus: “Who hath a harder battle to fight than he who striveth for self-mastery? And this should be our endeavor, even to master self, and thus daily to grow stronger than self and go on unto perfection.” Socrates concurred: “We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.” The outcome of a life-time of striving should be an acceptable human being: “Goodness is richer than greatness. It consists not in the outward things we do, but in the inward thing we are.” (Edwin Hubble Chapin)
Though I have to strive daily for this ideal (yet I find joy in the striving) it is apparent that there are some noble souls that seem to come to this earth already well-furnished. I have known a man, Gerald Herbert Lindsey, who seemed to be such a soul. C. S. Lewis has said that there are a few of this caliber of men around and as we accrete some of their qualities we will find them for there is likely to be a mutual attraction.
In the scriptural book of Abraham, the Lord Jehovah shows Abraham: “many of the noble and great ones…who were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.” This man, and others, came, as the poet Wordsworth said, “…trailing clouds of glory” to this earth to mingle with the rest of us.—to serve us and to give us the example of the higher life.
The American 19th Century philosopher-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson was such a man in our history. I have been especially intrigued by two of Emerson’s essays, The Over-Soul and Character in which he acknowledged by name some men who had this ineffable quality: “I have read [he said] that those who listened to Lord Chatham felt that there was something finer in the man than anything which he said. The Gracchi, Agis, Cleomenes, and others of Plutarch’s heroes, do not in the record of facts equal their own fame. Sir Philip Sidney, the Earl of Essex, Sir Walter Raleigh, are men of great figure, and of few deeds. We cannot find the smallest part of the personal weight of [George] Washington in the narrative of his exploits. The authority of the name of Schiller is too great for his books…but somewhat resided in these men which begot an expectation that outran all their performance. The largest part of their power was latent. This is that which we call Character…a reserved force…a Genius, by whose impulses the man is guided…a stellar and undiminishable greatness. [He] inspires respect, and the wish to deal with him, both for the quiet spirit of honor which attends him, and for the intellectual pastime which the spectacle of so much ability affords. The will of the pure runs down from them into other natures, as water runs down from a higher into a lower vessel. With what quality is in him, he infuses all nature that he can reach. He animates all he can.
Of these ‘noble and great ones’ “Plato said it was impossible not to believe in the children of the gods, ‘though they should speak without probable or necessary arguments.” (Emerson) In other words, those who have achieved or will achieve this status don’t declare their ‘chosen’ status but rather simply live and radiate it.
“The history of those gods [men with a God-like character] and saints which the world has written, and then worshiped, are documents of character.” (Emerson)
Friday, September 16, 2011
Being a Survivor
Today’s thoughts are a continuation of my last weblog entry and come from summary findings of Ben Sherwood’s book, The Survivors Club, Grand Central Publishing, 2009.
Since my wife and I fly quite frequently I thought it would be informative for other flyers to know who survives airplane crashes—and, surprising to me, most (95.7% according to the National Transportation Safety Board) do—and how they go about it. Moreover, “40 percent of the fatalities in plane crashes around the world occur in situations that are actually survivable.” Before blowing off these assertions as nonsense read the book, pp.58-59.
Here is how it is done.
• Decide before the flight that if any accident were to happen ‘I will survive if I do not panic. I will not freeze, but I will keep my wits and will act purposefully and quickly.’ Then review how you will act, envisioning several scenarios. You will have a maximum of 90 seconds to evacuate the aircraft. If you don’t get out before that time you are dead.
• Take the emergency procedures reviewed by the flight attendant seriously. Listen carefully and read the printed instructions every time you fly; it will pre-set you for action should action be needed. In other words, keep your shoes on, your safety belt tightly fastened across your hips and know the best impact position to take (lean forward with your head on or close to the surface in front of you, hands and arms forward near your head and feet flat on the floor). Don’t go to sleep or start reading until the plane attains altitude.
• Know the concept of ‘plus 3 / minus 8.’ Plus three is the first three minutes of the flight—down the runway and pulling up into the sky. Minus eight is the last eight minutes of the flight—the final approach including touchdown and braking on the runway. Eighty % of all plane crashes occur in those critical eleven minutes. Be alert and ready to take action, should it be needed, during those eleven minutes.
• Memorize where the emergency exits are located and arrange ahead of time to be seated in an emergency exit or within five rows of one. Count how many rows you are from your first and second alternative exits. You likely may not be able to see them in an emergency because of smoke or the crush of bodies. Discuss your escape plan with those seat-mates or family members you are flying with.
• Forget your carry-on luggage, books, laptops, purses, etc. Just get out once the plane comes to a stop. “Lugging your bags will slow down your escape and block others, too.”
• Proper flying clothes includes lace-up or Velcro shoes, no nylons or skirts or high heels for ladies, no shorts for anyone, long pants and long sleeves made of non-synthetic material. Fire especially and shredded aluminum are your biggest hazards to escape. You might consider buying and carrying a smoke hood in your pocket.
• Know that if you are young, slender, fit, and alert you will have a much greater chance of surviving than those who are not. If you are old, slow or have, shall we say, large girth then try to get a seat near the floor exits—the larger wider main doors usually at the front and back of the plane; the smaller over-wing exits are more difficult for the less agile to negotiate. Conventional wisdom says to sit toward the rear of the plane for greater survivability, but FAA safety experts do not agree. Isle seats, except in exit rows, have a slightly better escape chance than do window seats.
In this weblog I have dwelt on air flight safety. In the book there are chapters or sub-chapters on outdoor survival, being lost and getting found, parachute jumping accidents, accidents on the sea, who lives and dies in the emergency room of the hospital, hypothermia, the power of mental/spiritual attitude in survival, fear, surviving trauma of animal attacks, vehicle accidents, postponing death, resilience genetics, Holocaust survivors, how adversity can be good for you, and other interesting sections, and finally ‘The Survivor Profiler’ a predictor of your own personal chances of being a survivor.
I end with the U.S. Air Force ‘Rule of Three’: You cannot survive
3 seconds without spirit and hope
3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter in extreme conditions
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
3 months without companionship or love
Keep your priorities straight and you can be a survivor until it is really your time to move on.
Since my wife and I fly quite frequently I thought it would be informative for other flyers to know who survives airplane crashes—and, surprising to me, most (95.7% according to the National Transportation Safety Board) do—and how they go about it. Moreover, “40 percent of the fatalities in plane crashes around the world occur in situations that are actually survivable.” Before blowing off these assertions as nonsense read the book, pp.58-59.
Here is how it is done.
• Decide before the flight that if any accident were to happen ‘I will survive if I do not panic. I will not freeze, but I will keep my wits and will act purposefully and quickly.’ Then review how you will act, envisioning several scenarios. You will have a maximum of 90 seconds to evacuate the aircraft. If you don’t get out before that time you are dead.
• Take the emergency procedures reviewed by the flight attendant seriously. Listen carefully and read the printed instructions every time you fly; it will pre-set you for action should action be needed. In other words, keep your shoes on, your safety belt tightly fastened across your hips and know the best impact position to take (lean forward with your head on or close to the surface in front of you, hands and arms forward near your head and feet flat on the floor). Don’t go to sleep or start reading until the plane attains altitude.
• Know the concept of ‘plus 3 / minus 8.’ Plus three is the first three minutes of the flight—down the runway and pulling up into the sky. Minus eight is the last eight minutes of the flight—the final approach including touchdown and braking on the runway. Eighty % of all plane crashes occur in those critical eleven minutes. Be alert and ready to take action, should it be needed, during those eleven minutes.
• Memorize where the emergency exits are located and arrange ahead of time to be seated in an emergency exit or within five rows of one. Count how many rows you are from your first and second alternative exits. You likely may not be able to see them in an emergency because of smoke or the crush of bodies. Discuss your escape plan with those seat-mates or family members you are flying with.
• Forget your carry-on luggage, books, laptops, purses, etc. Just get out once the plane comes to a stop. “Lugging your bags will slow down your escape and block others, too.”
• Proper flying clothes includes lace-up or Velcro shoes, no nylons or skirts or high heels for ladies, no shorts for anyone, long pants and long sleeves made of non-synthetic material. Fire especially and shredded aluminum are your biggest hazards to escape. You might consider buying and carrying a smoke hood in your pocket.
• Know that if you are young, slender, fit, and alert you will have a much greater chance of surviving than those who are not. If you are old, slow or have, shall we say, large girth then try to get a seat near the floor exits—the larger wider main doors usually at the front and back of the plane; the smaller over-wing exits are more difficult for the less agile to negotiate. Conventional wisdom says to sit toward the rear of the plane for greater survivability, but FAA safety experts do not agree. Isle seats, except in exit rows, have a slightly better escape chance than do window seats.
In this weblog I have dwelt on air flight safety. In the book there are chapters or sub-chapters on outdoor survival, being lost and getting found, parachute jumping accidents, accidents on the sea, who lives and dies in the emergency room of the hospital, hypothermia, the power of mental/spiritual attitude in survival, fear, surviving trauma of animal attacks, vehicle accidents, postponing death, resilience genetics, Holocaust survivors, how adversity can be good for you, and other interesting sections, and finally ‘The Survivor Profiler’ a predictor of your own personal chances of being a survivor.
I end with the U.S. Air Force ‘Rule of Three’: You cannot survive
3 seconds without spirit and hope
3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter in extreme conditions
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
3 months without companionship or love
Keep your priorities straight and you can be a survivor until it is really your time to move on.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Gas in the Tank
I’ve lagged this week in producing my humble essays because I’ve been at the filling station (I know, this is a 1950’s-‘60’s term; gas stations were also once known as ‘service stations,’ can you believe that? When was the last time that anyone served you in one of these places?). The point is that sometimes one must stop to take in new information and then take time to process it (ponder, weigh, evaluate, compare) before you apply it to powering up your engine. The gas in my engine is knowledge; applying the knowledge to my life is the key to survival and growth.
This week I read a fascinating new book, The Survivors Club, by Ben Sherwood. This book is the fuel for my topic today. Since I cannot, obviously, do justice to a 400 page book in a 500 word essay I will review just a few insights that my reading disclosed. I hope you read the book.
• When faced with a crisis face it: don’t deny it or pretend it doesn’t exist. Take action. Then keep trying to solve the problem at hand. Stay positive and don’t give up hope.
• Assess situations as quickly as possible. Develop priorities and then follow them. Divide big problems into manageable tasks and then perform them, step-by-step, one bite at a time.
• Don’t wait to be told what to do. Oftentimes time is critical to survival.
• Develop the habit of situational awareness. Pay attention to your surroundings. Be observant.
• Believe that you are stronger than you know, for you are.
• Before a crisis identify a resilient role model, someone who inspires you, and see how they operate. Determine to develop their characteristics.
• Stay (or get) physically fit. You have a much greater chance of surviving almost anything.
• Consider this interesting paradox: Posttraumatic growth is much more prevalent than posttraumatic stress syndrome.
I end with an observation by Nietzsche: “What does not kill me makes me stronger.” This is not just cliché, it is true. Adversity is not the enemy we think it is.
This week I read a fascinating new book, The Survivors Club, by Ben Sherwood. This book is the fuel for my topic today. Since I cannot, obviously, do justice to a 400 page book in a 500 word essay I will review just a few insights that my reading disclosed. I hope you read the book.
• When faced with a crisis face it: don’t deny it or pretend it doesn’t exist. Take action. Then keep trying to solve the problem at hand. Stay positive and don’t give up hope.
• Assess situations as quickly as possible. Develop priorities and then follow them. Divide big problems into manageable tasks and then perform them, step-by-step, one bite at a time.
• Don’t wait to be told what to do. Oftentimes time is critical to survival.
• Develop the habit of situational awareness. Pay attention to your surroundings. Be observant.
• Believe that you are stronger than you know, for you are.
• Before a crisis identify a resilient role model, someone who inspires you, and see how they operate. Determine to develop their characteristics.
• Stay (or get) physically fit. You have a much greater chance of surviving almost anything.
• Consider this interesting paradox: Posttraumatic growth is much more prevalent than posttraumatic stress syndrome.
I end with an observation by Nietzsche: “What does not kill me makes me stronger.” This is not just cliché, it is true. Adversity is not the enemy we think it is.
Friday, September 2, 2011
...Solely Responsible for Content
I am aware that as a writer I am responsible for my views and that they do not necessarily reflect the views or position of others who may be attached to me or with whom I am affiliated by membership—such as my Church. Yet it should be obvious that everyone’s opinions are a reflection of what they have come to believe as a result of familiarization and association with some influential source.
For me it very definitely is my Church.
And so when I say, as did the Apostle Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…,” I believe in the content of that gospel as I have had it delivered to me, studied it and have interpreted it. I have striven to be a disciple of Christ in orthodoxy and orthopraxy (belief and practice) but from a Latter-day Saint point-of-view.
It is acknowledged, however, that even within an orthodoxy there are degrees—from the conservative to the liberal; and I lean more to an unabashedly conservative point-of-view. Therefore, I am rather closed-minded on some issues; that is, I believe that many issues, for me, after careful exploration, have been settled. I am also rather discriminatory; meaning that I intentionally try to discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad, helpful and hurtful, life-promoting and life-defeating and align my behavior with the ‘right.’ I sing often to myself one of our Church songs, “Choose the right when a choice is placed before you….”
I think there are absolutes or at least universal principles, therefore trying to be too ‘tolerant’ in one’s own convictions is an admission that one is ‘double minded,’ and as the Apostle James observes, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways,” or as Jesus (and Abraham Lincoln) said, “every kingdom divided against itself [mentally or philosophically] is brought to desolation; and every city or house [or person] divided against itself shall not stand.” Walking the borderline of any principle is not living the principle; so orthopraxy is very important to me. Therefore, when Jesus says, “he that is not with me is against me…” (Matt. 12:25, 30) it tends to bring one up short. It forces one to take a stand.
Though we must be ‘tolerant’ of those who do not see things as we do, for it is an article of my faith that, “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let the worship how, where, or what they may (Article of Faith #11), we had better come to some pretty clear convictions on “things as they really are.”
And sure conviction forces one to be solely responsible for the content of his character.
For me it very definitely is my Church.
And so when I say, as did the Apostle Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…,” I believe in the content of that gospel as I have had it delivered to me, studied it and have interpreted it. I have striven to be a disciple of Christ in orthodoxy and orthopraxy (belief and practice) but from a Latter-day Saint point-of-view.
It is acknowledged, however, that even within an orthodoxy there are degrees—from the conservative to the liberal; and I lean more to an unabashedly conservative point-of-view. Therefore, I am rather closed-minded on some issues; that is, I believe that many issues, for me, after careful exploration, have been settled. I am also rather discriminatory; meaning that I intentionally try to discriminate between right and wrong, good and bad, helpful and hurtful, life-promoting and life-defeating and align my behavior with the ‘right.’ I sing often to myself one of our Church songs, “Choose the right when a choice is placed before you….”
I think there are absolutes or at least universal principles, therefore trying to be too ‘tolerant’ in one’s own convictions is an admission that one is ‘double minded,’ and as the Apostle James observes, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways,” or as Jesus (and Abraham Lincoln) said, “every kingdom divided against itself [mentally or philosophically] is brought to desolation; and every city or house [or person] divided against itself shall not stand.” Walking the borderline of any principle is not living the principle; so orthopraxy is very important to me. Therefore, when Jesus says, “he that is not with me is against me…” (Matt. 12:25, 30) it tends to bring one up short. It forces one to take a stand.
Though we must be ‘tolerant’ of those who do not see things as we do, for it is an article of my faith that, “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let the worship how, where, or what they may (Article of Faith #11), we had better come to some pretty clear convictions on “things as they really are.”
And sure conviction forces one to be solely responsible for the content of his character.
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