Muted

(originally typed on my iPhone as a response to losing internet access and the frustration that was created)

Interesting how mute, muted and mutiny all seem to go together.
That's what every tyrant discovers, though that only occurs when their regime topples. Think: ".. let them eat cake."
There is a dignity worth dying for, a dignity denied by oligarchs, because they have spent most of their life positioning and politicking to rise to their perceived status, and so to listen to or allow minions an authentic voice (I am not referring to paternalistic pretense perpetuated as public performance) that might bring dignity to the speaker-- that is to be denied...lest the oligarch be exposed to be the frightened child that he or she truly is.
That is the power of voice; that is the reason men and women will die a martyr for this simple freedom-- the freedom of speech.
We see it in America: on the job, at school, and certainly in religious institutions: shut the mouth of the prophet; call her names like rabble-rouser or trouble-maker; write in his file that he is divisive or not a "team player" because he asks what others are thinking-- fire them before people hear that message and begin asking questions previously repressed. The fear that runs the office betrays the tyrant for who he or she is. Why the cover up? Why the secrets? Why the stranglehold on communication?
The tyrant rules by projecting their own fear onto their minions, and it works.
It really does work.
The people surrender to oppression. People go back to slave life in Egypt and suffocate the dream of a promised land flowing with the milk and honey of freedom and mutual respect. Mutual trust.

Fear wins.
Death to hope.
Death to honor.
Death to creative dreams.
Death to a community of loyalty and mutuality.
Enter anxiety; distrust; gossip; betrayal; scheming; resentment-- these are the fruits of the tyrant who wears the misnomer "leader" and uses fear, shame and intimidation to keep minions in their place [which was amazingly played by Alan Alda's character in mediocre film, "Tower Heist].


A true leader enters in, engages alongside and then to the front. You see this in Walmart executives who spend a day working in a store, in college presidents who teach a class, in Army Colonels who take a duty.
A leader would never isolate himself from his troops; that is the hallmark of tyrannical separatism.
A leader uses her power to elevate and empower others toward the greater good for all, taking on a servant's humility and not asking another to do what they themselves would not do. The golden rule means something to a true leader; it is a joke to the tyrant.

Freedom is to speak one's mind; to write one's thoughts and not be intimidated by the tyrant's projected fear.
The paradox is humorous and tragic-- pure drama: if the citizen speaks a truth that "causes trouble", it is because the situation is corrupt, not because of the spoken truth.
On the other hand if the citizen is a slandering slob, then the honorable leader will have truth on their side. We see this in the life of the prophet Daniel, whose critics were ashamed because of Daniel's high character.
So what if we risk bold honesty?
What if we never betrayed our own witness by harboring secret agendas?
What if we let the Truth set us free?
I dare you to go one day with complete unblemished honesty. I dare me.
--
All this because I lost Internet and have been reduced to thumb-waving on my iPhone.
Boy I'm weird.

April's Fool, Orlando-style

It's Friday evening; I'm sitting in my lab trying to muster one last push to finish grading biology tests after a 12-day week. So tired. Why?...

Last week I was blessed to chaperon the HCHS band trip to Orlando--that's right, Disney World. There was a competition on the front-end of the trip and our kids did great (Yay Ms Redmon), but the zaniest part of the trip was going around on the rides with "the girls".

My escorts through NeverNever Land were so ridiculously fun, and because most of them were young & married, there really was no awkwardness to it for me-- thank you, JESUS.

So I have to start with describing Tinkerbell, my "guide-to-rediscovering-my-lost-childhood" escort. She grew up around Orlando, FLA, so immediately had a game-plan on how to do each park, starting with the FastPass. The strategy is pure: go immediately to your favorite ride and use your ticket to get its FastPass ticket, then wait in line and ride any nearby amusement. When done with that ride, go use the FastPass ticket; repeat. Beautiful. What's fun about Tinkerbell is she loves to laugh and is...well... crazy. Her idea of Heaven looks a lot like a slumber party in the top of Magic Kingdom's palace with a banquet room lined with princess apparel and unicorns. And there's this fresh sense that all the good things life has to offer are hers to enjoy, and for us oldest-child types-- it's a freedom magnificent to witness.

My second guide, Sleepy, is much like Tinker with the exception that she doesn't let anyone know she's zany until it's too late and you are socially committed with her in a situation. The best-case scenario is to have Sleepy and Tinker together, so they can feed off each other into a vortex of laughter (why is hanging up a phone so funny?).

My last guide I shall call Screamer, not because she's loud, though she can be, but because she can instill fear in co-passengers on a shuttle bus with her, "OMG, OMG, this is gonna be so scary"-- which is very confusing when riding next to her on roller coasters. This is because she gets so worked up and anxious, and starts to go through this pre-ride mental checklist ("ok, I will be needing to use this hand-hold, so you, Jim, will need to find something else to grab onto..this ride is so scary..."), which lulls you into thinking, "Sheesh, what an over-reaction," and then the Tower of Terror throws you around like a human yo-yo at 3-Gs and you realize that "the girls" have already stepped out of the now-stopped box of death and you're still holding onto the allotted side hand-hold with a death-grip that could probably pinch a python in half.

I've never been a roller-coaster rider; I don't like being afraid, and Lord knows I already have enough genetically-bestowed anxiety in my life. So when friends like The Paddle-Partner (aka Snorting Loon) dare me to ride Six Flag's "Batman", it's with great personal angst that I accept. But with this year's Orlando Trip with "the girls", something different happened. It's like I didn't have to be the older, responsible brother-- I could try out rides I would NEVER have ridden solo-- and on the other side, realize that perhaps I'm a bit hardier than I thought going into the thing.

And I wonder if God is like that?

I wonder if God gives us fellow pilgrims along our way, so that when we face the horrors and fears that life's challenges may bring, we can just get a grip--hold on-- scream if able-- and make it through that ride?

I wonder if there is a freedom that awaits beyond the pretentious cloak raised by the demons of fear, a cloak that amounts to little more than vapors in passing through, but in approaching seems more like an impenetrable barricade.

I wonder what it would be like to start seeing all the [crud] that life throws my way as an amusement ride?

That would be very cool.

Forgive and Move on

I heard an interesting lecture the other night at a function at the Federal Reserve Building. The speaker was discussing the importance of being grounded during turbulent times, that when when we experience stimuli from outside ourselves, our first reaction is emotional and not rational. The purpose of our emotional reaction is to protect us from physical danger (ie, rattlesnake), but it is quite often inaccurate in perception. In other words fear distorts perception.

The lecture was a financial seminar, and the speaker was discussing the psychology of poor investment decisions. Most decisions made "in the moment" end up being destructive to one's portfolio. It is the investor who is aware of the fundamentals, the actual strengths and weaknesses of the company, that is best equipped to weather the technical chaos of an emotional market. That strategy of intentional goal-tending is what turns "horrible days" of stock crashes into buying opportunities for companies that are well-funded, well-led, and well-positioned for the future. True, you might miss the elusive "pop" that motivates the day-trader, but the point is investing. His advice was 4-fold: 1) know what you can learn; 2) admit you don't know what's going to happen next; 3) prepare yourself for living amidst uncertainties; 4) make choices that are based on integrity and responsibility.

Then the speaker said something about his book, "Moral Intelligence", and the importance of forgiveness in experiencing life as your "ideal self". He said that forgiveness is the ability to let go and move on. Forgiveness is not about accepting someone's behaviors; it's not about going back to the way things were, or pretending there are no consequences...consequences are a type of reality-check.
Forgiveness is just letting go of your own agenda, and moving on in one's own life. It is surrendering the right to hold onto a hope or grudge.
Forgiveness is the freedom to enter life loosened from the shackles of the past.

I look forward to my new life, knowing that I need Jesus to meet all my emotional and relational needs.
Jesus, please be my spouse, and guide me in your paths. (Isaiah 54: 5-6)