I spent some time today meditating. That's
right, I said meditating. I threw my favorite quilt down in the backyard and no
sooner had I straightened out the corners, the dogs had found their spot,
circled it a couple of times (why do they do that?) and then laid down. The
older one was quite content to lay there and take in the different scents as
the Spring breeze pushed them across our yard. The younger one, our A.D.H.D.
dog, curled up next to me ….. SQUIRREL!
So I just sat there. I sat with my legs crossed, or as we said I was a kid,
Indian style. Now, I guess that would be a politically incorrect statement or
maybe even hate speech to some. I don't care who you are, that's just stupid
right there. I close my eyes, rested my hands on my knees and tried very hard
not to think. For those of you who may be wondering the answer is no. No, I
didn't hold my hands in some ritualistic fashion or chant ooohm either. I just
sat there. I sat there and tried not to think about anything. That's hard for a
guy who has A.D.D.
I had no agenda.
I wasn't looking for any answers.
This would be a pretty safe experiment for me. Sheri and Madyson were out of
town for the weekend so I had no fears that I would hear Maddy in the
background yelling, "Mom, dad's in the backyard doing something
goofy." As I sat there I noticed various colors appearing. Obviously,
there was red as a light was filtered through my eyelids. I thought of how the
red I was seeing was from the blood cells as they pass through my eyelids. Then
I thought how those very same blood cells had also passed through my heart.
"That's pretty cool," I thought.
"Okay! Stop thinking," I told myself. So I squeezed my eyelids closed
as tightly as I could and wow! An explosion of blues, greens and yellows burst
in various patterns; always changing; always moving. "Stop it, A.D.D. boy.
Stop thinking.” So I relaxed and the red hue returned and I sat there
thoughtless.
Then it seemed like a thought wanted to enter my mind and I really tried hard
to keep it at bay but it finally broke through whispering, "Restore the
joy of my salvation." What? "Restore the joy of my salvation."
So I started praying, "Father, please, restore to me the joy of my
salvation." And then the phone rang.
After the phone call I looked up the verse that says "restore the joy of
my salvation,” and guess what? I got it wrong. It doesn't say that. It says,
"Restore to me again the joy of "YOUR" salvation.” That's quite
a bit different.
I don't have any salvation without the one who provided it in the first place.
Who am I to think I could restore it anyway? I have absolutely no chance of
restoring it myself.
This was a good exercise for this A.D.D. boy. I learned something very valuable
today that.....SQUIRREL!
I’ve got this weird little thing I do when I travel. I like to visit different colleges and universities around the country and buy a T-shirt on campus. It all started several years ago on a “New England in two days tour”. I stopped by Harvard and walked around the campus; taking in the history of it all. When I left, I bought a T-shirt from the Harvard bookstore. It seemed like every time I wore that shirt, someone would ask, “Hey, did you go to Harvard?”
“Yes,” I would say, “I sure did.”
Anyway, I made it a point to visit the University of Alabama before returning home from a recent trip. As I was walking around the campus, I went into a coffee shop and there on the wall was this huge chalkboard. On the chalkboard was a drawing of the mighty Paul “Bear” Bryant, wearing his legendary checkered hat. Next to him were these words:
Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don't quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don't quit until you reach it. Never quit. Bear Bryant
Another famous coach is known for these words:
Winners never quit and quitters never win.
Vince Lombardi
Our business is represented at times with our logo on a single light bulb. Did you know it took Thomas Edison 10,000 tries to succeed at getting the light bulb invented. When asked about the failed attempts, his reply was that he didn’t fail; he just found 9,999 ways not to make a light bulb. Note what Edison says about quitting:
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
Thomas A. Edison
If I am to learn anything from these great American winners I think it is this:
Winning is inevitable, to those who persevere.
BELIEVE,
Gordon P Walker
FYI: the above was written using 323 words, equaling the amount of total career wins of Bear Bryant. I wasn’t prepared to match Edison’s attempts at the light bulb.
