Getting Your "Stuff" Together...
Ever have one of those mornings where you have SO many things racing through your mind, and are having difficulty disseminating all the information.
Well, I suppose that's better than not being able to recall any of it, but it becomes just as problematic.
And yes, there are plenty of things you can post that are "warm and fuzzy", but will that only serve to further lull folks into a false sense of security, when trouble seems to be around most every corner these days?
They used to call such stories "human interest", and while it's good for a 4 minute stint on some news program (as a filler), it does detract from the issues-at-hand, which often need to most immediate attention.
But how to get the ball rolling...and in the proper direction?
Well, I'm going to latch onto something that every problem seems to have in common...and run with it, so here goes.
-- You see, as I was growing up, my parents (and teachers) impressed upon me the notion that problems simply do NOT go away if we ignore them.
Think of it as having a sloppy room as a teenager...
Those clothes would NEVER pick themselves up and jump onto a hanger in your closet, or into the laundry hamper...would they?
And the dishes in the sink would never seem to clean themselves off and place themselves in the cupboard when dry, right?
Dust (my fortress's major nemesis) will not refrain from lighting on damn near anything and everything when the opportunity arises.
And the litter pan for the cats does NOT empty itself.
We have to exhibit some form of desire to help such things along, otherwise, it will all back up like a clogged toilet (which also rarely unclogs itself...without some timely intervention).
-- So, what motivates us into action, (or causes us to shirk in fear into inaction) anyway?
Most times, the leading motivational factor can be a sense of PURPOSE...the need to not allow things to get beyond our control.
It's another example of our old friends - CAUSE and EFFECT.
We know the cause of a particular problem, so we do something to avoid the effect of that cause.
In combat, when someone shoots at you, you FIRST find cover, because being ABLE to SHOOT BACK (and eliminate the threat) becomes a priority, and you can't perform that task all too well as a mere TARGET.
When you DO get something relatively solid between you and the opposition's bullets, THEN you can take the steps necessary to get the job done.
Same can be said for many things in our lives.
Our primary job is to be able to get whatever job put before us...done.
There's the sense of PURPOSE I mentioned.
Without purpose, you're just fodder for whatever life will be tossing at you.
-- Another motivational factor can often be the lives of those we are charged with...usually family members, but it can also be friends, relatives, co-workers or even a regular citizen.
When another is in need, and the situation demands immediate action, we take care of business.
This can be as simple as changing that diaper, packing lunch for the children (or significant other), or pulling a person from a burning vehicle.
The level of IMMEDIACY of a situation directly determines the degree of immediacy of ACTION we take.
The more important the matter, the quicker we react, or so we should.
How many times do we make decisions that seem pretty much mundane in nature throughout any given day?
With the life experiences we have stored away in that repository we call the human brain, we often operate in "automatic" mode...
When the baby cries, the problem is addressed without a second thought, and can often tell WHAT is needed by the TYPE of crying...mothers know this like a sixth sense.
Same goes for a fall, or a skinned knee..whatever the case.
When preparing a meal, you can prepare it, and then wonder if you had to explain it to someone else, you'd have to stop and THINK about it, because it has become second-nature to you. My Mom was real good at cooking and could whip up a dish without thinking about it.
And it was damn good, too.
As we mature, we should become enabled to become problem-solvers to some extent.
We should be able to have a level of anticipation when a potential for a problem arises, like noticing those BALD tires on the car will likely result in a FLAT and strand us where we don't want to be.
We can often determine the cause and effect of a situation in a split second, and make a reasonably correct call on it.
Ask any LEO about that. They do it every day.
And that is a combination of training and instinct.
Nature and nurture, as it were.
We become creatures who are the sum of our "parts", and in that I mean the parts are the experiences we have gleaned knowledge and important lessons from.
Many times, we learn by mistakes, and just as many times, we learn by DOING.
For without proper motivation, we do little if nothing that helps us learn...helps us mature, and helps us to become more than what we used to be the previous day.
Sometimes, it takes something tragic to motivate us.
Other times, it can be something wonderful.
Life is like that, and there's no getting around it.
-- Now, you'll notice I haven't mentioned anything about NOT being motivated and NOT doing anything...
I believe that everyone has it within them to be motivated to do what needs to be done to make life better (and not necessarily easier).
And, just as there are billions of people in the world, there are just as many motivational reasons (and excuses for inaction).
Some can be had by profit or greed, others can be had by lies and deceit, and still others can be had for criminal and sadistic, self-effacing purposes. That's the "dark side" of it all.
With all the problems in the world today (from our own homes to the global arena), we should be aware that most problems will come looking for US, rather than having us look for them.
After all, we've a lot to be concerned with without having to scour our lives looking for problems (where none may even exist).
What we have to know is HOW to handle them when they occur, WHAT will properly motivate us into actions that will take care of the problem, and WHY we are doing it.
Life is one of those great gifts we are permitted to enjoy, IF we understand that it will never be ALL sunshine and lollipops, and that it WILL entail having to deal with things we might have little if any knowledge of.
But the willingness to face such things head-on,. rather than shrinking away from them determines and defines who we will become.
When we were but infants, we all knew NOTHING, and cried to demand that our NEEDS be met.
As we got older, we found the difference between needs and wants, and acted accordingly.
And, as we matured further, we LEARNED how to do for ourselves and for others.
Hopefully, such things will never go out of vogue...
Perhaps what we LEARN (and can pass along) can have as much (if not more) value as the most precious metals or stones on Earth.
I'd like to think they can, and are more readily available to us all.
Therein lies the lesson for today.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.