We not Me

This reflective English Proverb was posted by a fellow blogger the other day:

 A wise old owl sat on an oak.

The more he saw, the less he spoke.

The less he spoke, the more he heard.

Why can’t we be like that wise old bird?

. . . and to this I would respectfully add the footnote . . .

Who much of what he heard was distressingly absurd . . .

• How our society’s cyber-communication has depersonalized relationships
• How our society’s fast-paced pulse of life has fragmented families
• How our society’s chaotic-dysfunction government has enraged division
• How our society’s narcissistic-confrontational Me attitude has derailed altruistic We collaboration

So, what’s your point Fred?  . . . you’re sounding like just another old, grouchy, complaining curmudgeon, lamenting the ‘Good Old Days’.

I’m aware I’m old. That it now takes several boxes candles and a torch to ignite my birthday cake confirms that😊. However, I refuse to acquiesce joining the ranks of grouchy, complaining curmudgeons. I remain an optimistic subscriber to Yogi Berra’s classic one-liner philosophy,

“It’s not over till it’s over”

My point is . . .  positive change begins one-person-at-a-time. I’ve seen and heard lots of distressing Me absurdity, but also much encouraging We camaraderie.  It’s time to become more involved advocating a “wise old bird” We-not-Me outlook before molting my final feathers.

In his book The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Brennan Manning shares the following encouraging story that inspires me to keep-on-keeping on, believing . . .

“It’s not over till it’s over” . . . together We can begin to heal society’s distressing absurdity.

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During a two-hour layover in the Atlanta airport, I decided I had better get a shoeshine to look more presentable to the Episcopalians to whom I would be speaking.

An elderly man shined my shoes for the going rate of one dollar and 50 cents, I handed him two dollars and said,

“Now you get up in the chair and I’ll shine your shoes.”

He said, “Huh? What?”

“I won’t charge you.”

He stared at me suspiciously,

“What for then?”

“Because you’re my brother.”

He really looked disconcerted then. Finally, he said,

“Well, when I ain’t busy the boss leaves me some shoes to shine. But thank you anyway.”

When I saw tears in his eyes I reached out and hugged him, and he said softly,

“No white man ever talked to me like that before.”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Luke 6:31

You and I may not change our society, but if our behavior matches our belief and touches but one soul, that person’s world has been changed forever.

Keep Looking Up . . . His Best is Yet to Come!