AIRPORT DUDES

I ran into these dudes at the airport, but fortunately was able to placate them by asking them to pose.

WHAT'S AT THE BOTTOM?

I'm wondering if the bottom of the cliff is scary after all. Don't we agree that the road to daylight out of a 16 trillion debt will be painful?  Perhaps we should bite the bullet and all suffer collectively. The result would be 25% unemployment, continued recession, and higher taxes. Wouldn't that be worth it if it eventually results in sound fiscal recovery for our grandchildren?  How many years will we kick the can down the road?

MORE ABOUT THE FISCAL CLIFF

Here is some more info on the fiscal cliff.  We will all live or die together.

HAPPINESS AND OTHER THINGS

Ok, time to blow off some steam.

We hear a lot today about the economic differences between first and third world nations.  We use a lot more natural resources and our standard of living is much higher. It's interesting that a higher standard of living does not necessarily correlate with being more content or happy. I think I know why. We are prisoners of our success. Happiness seems to be connected to something other than possessions.

 I watched a movie about the lost boys of Sudan. In one scene a boy calls home.  It is a one way conversation. His mother is telling him to send money, now that he has a job. From her perspective, he has it made. He doesn't even try to explain that he is broke. He knows she wouldn't understand if he tried to explain his efforts to afford car insurance, health insurance, rent, and a host of other expenses that she doesn't have. So he patiently listens to her diatribe and tells her he loves her before ending the call. You get the distinct impression that he wishes he could go back to the simple life. His face has "trapped" written all over it.

 I felt sorry for him. I was raised in this culture from infancy. He was thrust into it as a teenager by well meaning adults from an outside culture. It's no wonder he was depressed. Did we bring him to the United States to live the good life of facing the stress of a 40 hour work week?  What if we would have invested the same amount of money to train him to set up a business in his own culture?  Perhaps his happiness quotient would have been higher if he had remained in his own culture as an independent business owner. What makes our culture so superior that we think it is the only road to success?

Like I said, just blowing off steam.

WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN

Timothy Keller has some interesting comments in this article about the danger of people asking "why me?" when something bad happens.  Maybe a more fitting question would be "why not me?"

THE BLAME GAME

I have been fascinated by our tendency to blame others. I'm referring to all of us. When something happens that I don't like, it seems easier to bear if I don't take any responsibility. Let's start with the way I am now. I'll blame my upbringing. It was something specific that happened to me that made me the way I am. Something in my childhood. Perhaps it was a pattern of behavior in my family that occurred over several years. Maybe it was just one traumatic incident that scarred me forever.


 How about daily activities? I drop a glass on the floor and it shatters into a thousand pieces. Do I blame myself? Of course not. My spouse was talking to me and distracted my attention. I can be angry at her! My child wets the bed. I know, it's my wife's fault for not reminding me to take them to the bathroom right before bedtime. It's nice when I can blame others. It's so convenient. It feels so good to not be at fault for bad things that happen.


 If I perfect it enough, I'll never have to take the blame for anything that ever happens. It makes me feel so good. President Obama is a good target. Such a public figure, and so vulnerable, so available to take the blame.


 We had a speaker at a men's retreat talk about his battle with sexual addictions. He made a comment to his father on a morning walk that he wasn't sure why he did those things. His father responded, "You did it because you wanted to."


 What would happen if we all took full responsibility for our actions? How would it change our communication with our spouse? Would it impact my job? How would it change the judicial system? What would the impact be on international relations? I can't change the world, but I can start by taking full responsibility for everything I do and say. No excuses. The buck stops here. Good idea.  Blame Harry.

VICTORIAN DREAM

Here is where you should spend the rest of your life.  My friend Doug is selling this custom home.  It sits on 30 acres in the Oregon City area.  Price is $699,500. You can see Council Crest and Mt Saint Helens from the front porch.

HEADING FOR THE CLIFF

Remember the historical stories about how the Sioux Indians killed buffalo?  They would drive them off a cliff.  It wasn't a pretty sight.  We have the same thing happening now with our economy.  Take a look at this article.

SQUEEZING THE BALLOON

When I was a kid I enjoyed squeezing balloons.  It always seemed to pop out somewhere else, no matter how you positioned your fingers.  The part that squeezed through was noticeably thinner than the rest.  It always seemed to evade the boundaries of my hands.

Now I realize that I was learning a tactile lesson in childhood that would become an abstract concept in adulthood.  Whenever you put on the squeeze, it pops out somewhere else.  You can apply this principle to almost anything.  Take early childhood discipline.  The toddler is always pushing the envelope.  "If I'm not allowed to do that, then I'll do this."

It get more interesting in adult relationships.
Did you notice the freeway speed is about five miles over what the signs say?   In California, it's ten.  Pushing the boundaries.  We all have to squeeze the balloon. 

How about politics?  Pass a law, and the people it affects will most likely squeeze the balloon and there will be unintended consequenses.  Nixon tried price controls.  That didn't last too long, and what an explosion of prices when the controls were lifted!  Now we are in the middle of health care reform.  No one know where that is going, but I can guarantee you that the balloon will find its way out between the fingers of reform.

So is there a life lesson in all this?  Perhaps it is to not squeeze too hard.  There is a law of physics involved here.

BABY GRACE

Number four grandchild. I wonder how many I can love? Silly question.

POWERS OF 10

Check out this video. It's been around for awhile, but needs to be viewed once or twice a year just to keep life in perspective. It reminds me of what David Needham used to say about God's attributes--that what we know about God is only what he has chosen to reveal to us about himself.

RICE AND BEANS MONTH

March is Rice and Beans month. We participate every year in cooperation with Lahash.org. It's a great way to bring your perspective of food back into line with reality. It raises money to buy rice and beans for the vulnerable in Africa. We do it by donating the amount of money we save by not eating our traditional American fare. I can't think of a better way to keep our brothers and sisters in Africa on our mind. Now that the month is over, it is back to traditional food. However, it has given me a love for various rice and beans recipes that I did not have previously. Everyone is invited to participate at whatever level they feel comfortable. Lin and I made it our main evening meal. (We were limited in the last part of the month by some traveling.) Others do it for two or even three meals each day. You can add seasoning and vegetables to taste. We try to avoid adding meat, since they don't have the privilege of eating a lot of meat in East Africa. I am already looking forward to next year!

WOMEN2DRIVE

Several weeks ago women2drive was a world news event. I discovered the phrase on twitter. As hard as it is to believe, women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to vote or drive. There is a very strict dress code for women. They cannot appear in public without a family member male escort. There are morality police who cruise around looking for violators. A few brave women have tried to buck the system, but paid for it dearly by having their jobs taken away. I don't think there will be any real change until sympathetic husbands, fathers, and sons become involved. I don't think those of us in the western world can really understand how different their culture is from ours. I don't have an answer. However, I would like to visit Saudi Arabia. I think it is a fascinating country with a lot of history, and I do like history. I would enjoy camping in the desert, walking through a huge shopping mall, or visiting the beach resort. I would like to try their food, and visit a private home. Maybe some day I will.

ALL TOGETHER

We were all together for Christmas. This is the whole clan, with another little one due in April. It is hard to imagine that 35 years ago it was just the two of us!