Wednesday; November 25

Sarah Josepha Hale is known for several things, but two of them seem to stand out above the rest. Hale may be best known for penning the poem, “Mary Had A Little Lamb”; but her influence may be most obviously felt on the last Thursday of each November. Among those associated with developing a national day of Thanksgiving, Hale’s name is quite prevalent. For over a decade she led the campaign for a president to enact a national day of thanks, but it wasn’t until President Abraham Lincoln did it in 1863 that it became a part of the national calendar. Those of us who enjoy Thanksgiving probably owe her (and President Lincoln) a word of thanks.

As I was reading up on Mrs. Hale, I came across an interesting quote attributed to her, “I’ve learned to judge of men by their own deeds; I do not make the accident of birth the standard of their merit.”. Now, before we get too deep into the weeds on this, I am not advocating that people’s birth and entrance into the world is an accident or act of random fate, but what intrigued me about the comment was the need to leave a legacy. Lives begin with a fresh slate and it is up to us to create a masterpiece. While we have all been offered equal protection under the law, we are not all created equally (sorry Mr. Jefferson) so the issue at hand isn’t fairness or equality, our calling as individuals is to do something with our lives. We all start out being born, after that we have the opportunity and need to make our lives matter by making our world better.
What are we doing with the chance we have been given? We never know when the curtain will fall on our final act – have we given the performance of our lifetime?
Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more