Character

Our “Character” is the main currency we carry for successful navigation in the universe … with underscored attributes of trustworthiness, accountability, and all the rest. 

Recent events lead one to wonder how much our “Character” is hard-wired and how much of it is malleable … and with how much effort? 

The recent flare-ups over past racially-charged behavior and sexual harassment alleged against politicians in Virginia graphically underscored the question:

Can one ever amend one’s ways

to a point of becoming not just a “better person”,

but a dedicated crusader for a more just and morally-driven future?

The conjecture has surfaced multiple times recently, perhaps even more glaringly with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.  Whether he did or didn’t do what he was alleged to have done 35 years ago in college, shouldn’t one’s past immature indiscretions be left in the past, particularly when one has gone on to accumulate a solid public record of otherwise estimable behavior?  Is there no “sobering up” redemption – no “second chance”?  Can one not learn from one’s mistakes?   Can a “pattern of behavior” not be changed?  Or, like a zebra, is one stuck with one’s “stripes” for the duration? 

[An aside: It’s also interesting to consider the question of how differently Justice Kavanaugh might have felt about the issue of abortion – the ostensible primary basis on which he was presumptively nominated – had his immature behavior … or that of conspicuous others in his circle … resulted in the pregnancy of one of his college compatriots … !]

The case of Harvey Weinstein is more problematic:  Evidence suggests he was unable to change his behavior … or perhaps unwilling, driven by power, privilege and presumptive entitlements, making the boundaries irrelevant?

And what of Bill Cosby … or Garrison Keillor … or …? 

Never mind the challenges going forward from all that was left behind, what about the large “body of work” each contributed before, during and/or after egregious – even “unforgiveable – incidents?  Does it wipe out brilliance?  I have books by both Cosby and Keillor that I have, heretofore, considered valuable reference resources and am wondering if I now have to move on to other “more reputable” sources? 

What about those who have not yet been “caught”?  How many of the legislators who participated in the Kavanaugh hearings had skeletons in their own closets?

And what about the timely increased interest in the rehabilitation of criminal offenders?  Here’s an entry from recent news:

“Dena Williams, 33, has asked a Scott Circuit Court judge to grant probation for the remainder of her 20-year sentence. She pleaded guilty in November 2005 for her role in the death of Ashley Lyons.  Lyons, 18, … was more than five months pregnant when she was found shot to death …Roger McBeath Jr., the ex-boyfriend of Lyons, is serving a 42-year sentence for complicity to murder Lyons.

 … In the written motion, Williams says she “was very young and easily persuaded by” McBeath … Furthermore, Williams said she “was not the main offender of the crime and has already served approximately 70 percent of her sentence for her role in the crime.”

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/scott-county/article225547410.html

So, the fundamental question is: How much – for the better – can each of us change as we grow and develop and mature in attempting to make our way in the world … and does that even count for anything?  And, if we DO change, is it just for “political correctness” or due to more intrinsic re-direction?  Perhaps one life-altering dose of shame is more than enough, but only then?   Legislation to return voting rights to convicted felons after they’ve “done their time” is also relevant here.   

If we’ve learned anything at all from human behavior, it is that INTEGRITY – the core element of Character – is the last bastion of sanity.  When integrity is breached, very little of purpose or meaning in life remains.  [It is, no doubt, for this reason that some criminals resolutely cling to the myth of innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence against them.]     

“Character” is defined by the way we behave when nobody is looking.  It is the ability to hold ourselves accountable to the highest standard without external intervention.  It is the ability to admit “I screwed up!”, take the heat and redirect ourselves.  Character is refined by the fire of shame and hammered out on the combined anvils of Truth, Justice and Moral Imperative. 

Finally, “Character” is not “conditional”, “situational” or “circumstantial” ... and is rarely “convenient”.   The revelation that Winston Churchill was a proponent of racial hierarchies is not excused by assertions by his heirs that “he was merely a product of his time”.   http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29701767 

  

So let’s take an unbiased look at our own Character Profile.  What are our personal “fault lines”?  Do we have any “Fatal Flaws”?  An “Achilles Heel”?   Any “zebra stripes”? And what are the extant holdings that may mark us as “mere products of our time”?   

And let’s be circumspect about “Political Correctness”.  Doing what is “Politically Correct” may be seen by some as “selling out”, or as “white washing”. But, if something is RIGHT “for good reason”, it’s not just “Politically Correct”, it’s simply RIGHT – period!  

Nobody can claim a noble Character Profile is easily acquired.  The most noble among us have made incredible sacrifices, and many have felt the searing heat of a refining fire and the blunt force of being hammered out on an anvil.  The most fortunate have learned from OTHERS’ mistakes.  Let’s stop acting like Neanderthals, whose heritage we carry, change as many “stripes” as we can, “Man UP” to the most noble “Calling” we can muster, and act accordingly.  Quartermaster  

Quote of the Week

“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare.”  Mark Twain  

Choices

The thing that will take us the farthest distance TOWARD our Dreams – and the thing that can potentially take us the farthest distance AWAY from our Dreams – is simply the CHOICES we make.   How we use every minute of the time we are given adds to one side of the ledger or the other.  

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have,

and only you can determine how it will be spent.” 

Carl Sandburg

At this dawning of the 21^st Century, choices in how we spend our time are almost limitless.  The problem is this:

The more choices we have,

the more likely it is we will choose poorly –

choosing that which “pleases us”

over that which is “good for us”.

Quartermaster

In fact, the number of things we choose NOT to do is probably THE MOST CRITICAL DETERMINANT of how far we will go. 

So how are you doing?  How much latitude do you allow yourself in choosing indulgence versus forbearance in any of the following:  Donuts/Pastries, Snickers Bars/Candy, “Comfort Food”, TV/Movies, Social Media, Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs, Grease Burgers & Fries, Ice Cream, Soda, Gossiping, Indulging in Conspiracy Theories, Consumerism/Materialism/Shopping (How’s your credit rating holding up?) … 

What is your trademark indulgence – the one thing that “keeps you going” – the one thing you HAVE TO HAVE?   A double-latte coffee?   Coke?   A five mile run in the morning?  

It’s important to distinguish getting small, immediate satisfactions (instant gratification) versus LARGE SATISFACTIONS (DELAYED GRATIFICATION).  Compare:  

Having a soda, chips and dip while playing video games/watching movies

Versus

Conquering Antarctica by solo trek across the ice.

https://www.msnbc.com/craig-melvin/watch/colin-o-brady-talks-solo-journey-across-antarctica-1423420995903

There is not only virtue, but salubriation in giving ourselves NO CHOICE in certain areas.

“There are certain things one should not do at certain times,

and certain things one should not do EVER!” 

Quartermaster

INTENTIONALITY in choosing – choosing with some end-goal or PURPOSE in mind – is the default/de facto orientation for most successful navigation.  It’s both ennobling and enabling to be able to say: 

“I really meant to do that!”

If you need a “crutch”, try substitution/sublimation:  Eat carrots, celery, apples and oranges instead of crispy fried donuts.  Or EXERCISE!  Exercise is the best “crutch” available.    

Finally, keep in mind:

It’s OK to be a GEEK or a NERD!

It’s OK to CHOOSE TO DO stuff other people might deem completely unnecessary or “over the top” … like doing extra homework, or picking up somebody ELSE’s trash, or taking a shopping cart from the parking lot INTO the store, or speaking up and out against bullying, injustice, unfairness, etc., or letting someone else go first, or standing up against shaming, or helping a “slower” or disabled student …

Whether anybody else notices or not, YOU’LL know!  At least you can live with yourself and your integrity will remain intact.  And you’ll be able to sleep a lot better at night!  And, odds are, you’ll have even better choices tomorrow.  Choose well!  Quartermaster 

Quote of the Week

“No one can go back and make a brand new start; but anyone, starting now, can make a brand new ending.”   (attributed to Karl Barth)

EDGES

Much of our sense of well-being, our security, and overall quality of life depends on how well we manage the “EDGES” of our existence:  The boundaries, barriers and overall “framework” that define our world and keep us sane, secure, solvent, salubrious, sanguine, spirited and surging forward. 

When we lose the definition of “EDGES”, we lose significant degrees of both quality of life and navigability.  And, while “going off-road” and “coloring outside the lines” may be part of the exploratory, creative and adventurous processes that ultimately advance civilization as well as our personal place in it, a complete disregard for “EDGES” and/or for goals or aspirations that create more “yellow brick road” (with NEW or redefined “EDGES”) risks tilting the hand of Fate in a decidedly negative direction.    

The debilitating impact of “breached edges” was graphically illustrated by two recent encounters:

I.              The movie They Shall Not Grow Old by Peter Jackson [http://time.com/5466475/peter-jackson-they-shall-not-grow-old/]  This compilation of WWI film footage depicts the horrors of war – and of the absolutely abominable conditions inside the trenches – outside any conscionable boundaries of civilization. 

II.            An entry in the Lexington Herald-Leader (12/28/2018, p. 3A) graphically describes unconscionably depraved conditions – resulting from life with no discernible “EDGES” – found by law enforcement in a family’s home [http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/LexingtonHeraldLeader/default.aspx?=&id=ZXJ0aWFAd2luZHN0cmVhbS5uZXQ= ]:

“ … officers found their home infested with insects and covered in filth … the door was not secured … the house [was] in disarray and feces around the house … there were multiple flies on traps and other insects crawling along the floor and walls … The kitchen sink had dirty dishes and moldy water.  The child’s room was also teeming with crawling insects, including the child’s bed … it did not appear there was any bedding or clothes for the child in the room.  There was trash throughout the house, along with the feces from four cats and a dog … [the father] did not know how much, if any, food was in the house … [The officer] said he couldn’t check all the rooms because of the amount of ‘filth and feces’.” 

Life well-lived requires some fencing – some EDGES – some BOUNDARIES!

Sports have rules and referees for a reason.  (They also have coaches!)  Unfortunately, life requires us to figure out a lot of the “rules” as we go.  And a lot of would-be/should-be rules are treated more like “guidelines”, which we read as “optional” and not very binding.  And, much of the time, “referees” and coaches are nowhere to be found … unless or until there’s a problem, and then it’s often too late for reasonable rectification. 

So let’s just go ahead and simplify it: 

“Certain things should not be done at certain times,

AND IN CERTAIN PLACES,

and a large assortment of OTHER things should not be done altogether.

When in doubt, DON’T –

unless you’re prepared to deal with the consequences.”

Quartermaster

Or how about this one:

“Do what you’re supposed to do

and life will turn out the way it’s supposed to be.”

Words of Wisdom from an old farmhouse calendar

Music is also illustrative here.  A symphony chart is bordered, bounded and “framed” in dozens of ways for dozens of different instruments.  Even a Jazz chart – where improvisation reigns supreme – has structure.  Otherwise, one simply gets a cacophony of meaningless, cringe-worthy noise.  Life shouldn’t be a cacophony of meaningless, cringe-worthy noise!

Here are some borders, boundaries and “EDGES” you might find helpful reinforcing in your own life at this beginning of a new year:

·         Stay within a reasonable budget

·         Use “Unscheduled Time” wisely

·         Brush your teeth / Maintain Health-Wise Personal Hygiene

·         Get some exercise

·         Show up at work and be accountable

Or try this one …

“If you want to change the world,

start off by making your bed.”

Admiral William H McRaven

Feel free to expand this list for your own edification. 

FINAL NOTE

An emerging theme for this year is that sacrifices are an integral part of staying-the-course for a building the life you deserve.  Our potential cannot be reached if we insist on chasing distractions and indulgences off the road and down every rabbit hole.  Admittedly, the world is moving faster every day and it’s difficult to keep up.  And we have an intrinsic desire not to miss anything.  But the unbridled pursuit of an “off-road” agenda has fairly predictable consequences, such as: lost opportunities, muddling mediocrity, stress, anxiety, depression and meaninglessness. 

Personal Note: I’m NOT watching football bowl games at this writing (three games are currently being broadcast), and it has not diminished my life an iota!  Good Luck with your “EDGING”!   Quartermaster

Quote of the Week

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”  Carl Sandburg

Headwinds and Tailwinds

“The Head Winds / Tail Winds Asymmetry”

Tom Gilovich and Shai Davidai

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27869473

J Pers Soc Psychol. 2016 Dec;111(6):835-851.

http://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-is-my-life-so-hard/

“The idea should be familiar to anyone who cycles or runs for exercise. Sometimes you’re running or cycling into the wind, and it’s not pleasant. You’re aware of it the whole time. It’s retarding your progress and you can’t wait until the course changes so that you get the wind at your back. And when that happens you’re grateful for about a minute. And very quickly, you no longer notice the wind at your back that’s helping push you along. And what’s true when it comes to running or cycling is true of life generally ... [Moreover, if we DO think about it, it’s tempting to believe we DESERVE to have the wind at our backs – it’s our truest Destiny!]

… We have to pay attention to the barriers in front of us because we have to get over them, or get through them in some way. We have to overcome them. We don’t have to pay attention to those things that are boosting us along. We can just be boosted along. And that fundamental asymmetry in attention is the headwinds/tailwind asymmetry.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

LOUIS C.K. (clip from Conan O’Brien’s show): I was on an airplane and there was internet, high-speed internet on the airplane. That’s the newest thing that I know exists. And I’m sitting on the plane and they go, “Open up your laptop, you can go on the internet.” And it’s fast and I’m watching YouTube clips. I’m on an airplane. Then it breaks down and they apologize. The internet’s not working. The guy next to me goes, “This is bullshit.” Like, how quickly the world owes him something he knew existed only ten seconds ago.

GILOVICH: Psychologists refer to this as the hedonic treadmill. You run really hard to get something. The thing that you get, that you’re aiming for, feels good when you’ve got it. But then you adapt to it and you have to run ever faster to get more and more.”

The selective blind spot we have in our understanding and appreciation of “tailwinds” starts early – from birth, at which time all of our wants and needs are addressed by significant others … ain’t life GRAND!   From birth to age 18, the “tailwinds” from both parents and civilization-at-large have an actual dollar value, amounting to approximately $300,000 in combined financial equivalents … that’s just over $15,000 per year or $41 a day.  But those tailwinds don’t last indefinitely! 

In this blog entry, I’m going to suggest that full matriculation through life includes the creation of BOTH our own headwinds and tailwinds.  We need to keep pushing the boundaries of our capacities into the wind … with enough “wind in our face” to keep advancing our position.  We can even pedal against the wind going downhill [who would do THAT?], which will provide “tailwind” momentum going up the next hill or over the next barrier. 

“Momentum is the only thing that will break the standoff

between an irresistible force and an immoveable object.”

P. Questmaster

But it’s even better than that!  The extraordinary thing about pushing ourselves through tough places and creating our own “headwind” is that it produces a “Bandwagon Effect” … drawing significant others into our quest.  Some of these may, in fact, act as “Slingshot Accelerators”, contributing substantial “Gravitational Leverage” toward exponentially advancing our position and helping direct our trajectory. 

Another collateral benefit of taking on and creating our own headwinds is that we capacitize ourselves for taking on additional headwinds.

An easily overlooked fact is that headwinds provide LIFT.   [One could argue that the only reason for jet engines is to provide enough artificial head wind to get massive hunks of metal, plastic and cargo into the sky.]   It means our "wings" have to be "trimmed" to allow "lift" to happen, but if managed properly, it can allow one to SOAR! 

So, headwinds are not all bad! 

"The brick walls are not there to keep us out;

the brick walls are there to give us a chance

to show how badly we want something."
Randy Pausch

“The Last Lecture”

Finally, even if you don’t happen to be a sailing enthusiast, you can take a page out of the “Seamanship and Piloting Manual” and become adept at “tacking” … maintaining forward momentum by adjusting your position and direction so that the headwind provides an angular boost with at least one vectored directional nudge toward your ultimate destination. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacking_(sailing)

If you’re not experiencing your share of head winds, you’re not experiencing your share of LIFE!  Make some waves in the universe and carve out some head wind space daily in the direction of your Destiny.  Quartermaster

Relevance

Perhaps more fundamentally important than mission or purpose in a life well lived is RELEVANCE. We want and need purpose and passion and affirmation.  But, even more so, we need to know that who we are and what we do is relevant … legitimate … worth something … and that, somehow, we are OK … being who we are and doing what we’re doing. 

“I love being irreverent.

But I hate being irrelevant.”

Esai Morales

Relevance doesn’t come with the territory!  We need to FIND / CREATE / BUILD our own RELEVANCE.  And it’s a never-ending process. 

“Malwarebytes identified the skills its quality assurance testers would need to stay relevant in the rapidly changing cybersecurity industry.  Then it told its staffers to buckle in – it was time to get “up-skilled.”  As automation becomes ubiquitous, education start-ups … are positioning themselves as the nexus between today’s workforce and tomorrow’s jobs.”  Tracey Lein, Los Angeles Times 

Empowered relevance would include having recognizance, some degree of gravity / gravitas, and sanctionability ... that is, not only having internally perceived relevance but having externally perceived – and endowed – relevance.  Being the designated “Go To Person” has recognizance relevance!  

Importantly, what’s relevant in a domestic or tribal setting may not be anything close to what’s relevant on the street or in the marketplace.  What “works” in one setting or circumstance may not work at all in another.  So relevance is not necessarily infinitely translatable. 

But some elements of relevance ARE translatable.  Perhaps we should identify, cultivate / build and reinforce those elements of relevance that do translate across multiple circumstances?  This might include such things as open-minded curiosity, purposeful engagement, participation, mastery of a particular skill or discipline (extra points for useful), cultural awareness, embracing diversity, life-long learning, building, continuous quality improvement, innovation, bridging gaps, teaching / helping / mentoring, acute awareness of current events, being a “voice” for positive change / being a positive “Change Agent”.  

Other things might include:  Initiative, equanimity, cooperation, collaboration, communication, generosity, empathy / compassion, willingness to take risks, willingness to stand up and be counted for something worthwhile, simply “doing what’s right”, and an ability to detect, dismiss and discard the IRRELEVANT. 

NOTE: An absence of baggage is important; BAGGAGE is not only not irrelevant, but contravenes relevance.  Being a “Drama Queen” or having excessive personal, emotional or psychological needs is baggage.  Excessive dependencies … on other people, on circumstances, on drugs, on social media “likes”, on fawning attention, etc., constitutes unnecessary baggage.  Debilitating and distracting habits are baggage. 

Relevance paves the way toward enfranchisement, positive enablement and empowerment.  Change agents above and ahead of us are always looking for relevant collaborators and compatriots to help move the universe forward. 

Authenticity is essential for relevance.  If you’re not real, you’re not relevant!  

Goal setting and goal tending are relevant.  Getting relevant stuff DONE is relevant!

A passion for large Dreams and just causes is relevant. 

Relevance is not necessarily “popular” or “chick” or “cool”. 

Sometimes “relevance” means doing stuff other people might think would be “beneath” them.  To get the best crops one has to plow the dirt, plant the seeds and pull the weeds!  

SPECIAL NOTE: Recreation is not irrelevant!  Reconstituting our energy and re-energizing our core capacity is as relevant as anything we do WITH that capacity.  And creative play is an essential part of personal growth and discovery.  All major innovators in the universe were called “Crazy” somewhere along the way! 

And “relevance” doesn’t mean one “doesn’t make waves”.  If your particular brand or niche of “relevance” happens to clash with things NOT so relevant, it may be more than half-past time to become a “Change Agent” – whatever it takes! 

Relevance has both INTIMATE and ULTIMATE value (Exercise as an example):

Intimate Value of Exercise:  1) You’re doing your due diligence; 2) You’re (hopefully!) enjoying the engagement; 3) It’s good for your health! 4) You feel so much more alive! 5) It helps clean out the cobwebs and “fog” so you can focus. 

Ultimate Value of Exercise:  1) You’re capacitizing yourself for future challenges; 2) The enhanced “mental energy” is a “slingshot accelerator”.

Relevance has little to do with “feeling good” … except in the largest sense possible.  “Feeling good” in terms of touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound are “elementary” level sensations associated with mere survival.  Full matriculation – and THRIVING – requires satisfaction in much more intangible terms … such as: satisfaction with a relevant job well done, with physical conditioning, with mental acuity, with problem solving ability, with being useful, with self-improvement, with helping others, with creative engagement, with learning new stuff, with "Going Somewhere", with taking on new responsibility, with advancing, with having better choices, with having more security, with having more navigability … and with creating GOOD WILL.  NOTE: “Satisfaction” gained by simply having more “stuff” or having more “toys” is both trivial and temporary … and largely irrelevant. 

It’s easy to get lost in the fog of a daily grind or an uphill climb and become discouraged and wonder where “relevance” has gone.  However, as long as you’re putting in a diligent effort toward a relevant goal, you’re relevant!  Even Sisyphus would wear a mountain down, eventually!  Quartermaster

Wrong Side of History

In the throes of partisan politics, one often hears the comment made that this or that person or position is “on the wrong side of history.”  Most frequently, such assertions come from “liberal” or “progressive” quarters, railing against those who insist on holding the line against change, who long for the “good ol’ days” when things were much simpler and easier to control, or who want to maintain a status quo. 

The companion phrase, “He was a ‘man of his time’,” is often used by apologists to excuse ignorance, prejudice and/or anachronistic reasoning … as well as political expediency. 

[Winston] Churchill certainly believed in racial hierarchies and eugenics, says John Charmley, author of Churchill: The End of Glory. In Churchill's view, white protestant Christians were at the top [of the eugenics ladder], above white Catholics, while Indians were higher than Africans, he adds. "Churchill saw himself and Britain as being the winners in a social Darwinian hierarchy."

… [However, Nicholas] Soames [grandson of Winston Churchill] thinks it is ludicrous to attack Churchill. "You're talking about one of the greatest men the world has ever seen, who was a child of the Edwardian age and spoke the language of [it]."  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29701767 

**************************************

• “[Billy Graham’s] most infamous “bonding” with Nixon happened in 1972, when a White House conversation turned to the subject of Jewish domination of the media. Nixon was a notorious anti-Semite—a fact that became clearer after the Watergate tapes—and Graham played to the president’s prejudices with enthusiasm.“  https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/21/billy-graham-death-richard-nixon-217039

 But such things are often not only on the wrong side of history, they are on the wrong side of decency, of reasonability, of personal accountability, of INTEGRITY …

… of TRUTH …

… of the BEST WE CAN BE …

… of PROGRESS  & PROGRESSIVENESS

… of INCLUSIVENESS

… of OPENNESS

… of CIVILIZATION / of CIVILITY

… of NOBILITY         

… of PERFECTION

… of GENEROSITY

… of EMPATHY

… of ENLIGHTENMENT

… of AFFIRMATION

… of ASPIRATION

 …of HUMANITARIANISM / GLOBALIZATION

… of ENFRANCHISEMENT

… of BUILDING / BETTERING / SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT

… of “EXALTED HUMAN VALUES” (a term ascribed to Winston Churchill, himself!)

And what “triggering points” bring about the compelling need to comment on “the wrong side of history”? 

            Endemic Prejudice / Racism

            Condemnation / Character Assassination

            Judgmentalism

            Errant Supremacy

            Unfounded “Exceptionalism”

            Immigration Resistance

           

And what if there WERE a “eugenic hierarchy”?   Would it not then be a compelling agenda of those higher in the scheme of things to assist those lower in the scheme of things to become “all they can be”, rather than to keep pushing them down and out?  Or is the threat of competition – or of having to share resources – too compelling?  

Perhaps more important here is to acknowledge that the lines are fuzzy and not so black and white as often represented.  It’s not always “those castoffs” versus “us”.  IQs – even of “white Protestant Christians” – vary from below 50 to 130 or above … and that holds for ALL races!  

• POINT TO PONDER: When you end up in the ER or the surgical suite under life-threatening circumstances, don’t be surprised if the physician-in-charge, plus many of his or her cohorts, have non-white, non-Protestant, non-Christian names … like “Cohen” or “Abboud” or “Jawdeh” or “Baumann” or “Baz”.  And don’t be surprised if the physician-in-charge just happens to be black or female!  It just may be that they had more guts, backbone and determination – in addition to brains – to endure the exhaustive regimens of medical education and training than WASP Americans who were out playing video games or getting their CPAs and trying to “Beat the System” selling financial derivatives! 
•  
• Albert Einstein was “slow and awkward student” and a Jewish immigrant. 
•  
• George Washington Carver started out a slave who rose – despite incredible barriers – to become one of the most highly influential botanists and environmentalists of his day. 

It is an emerging “New Reality” that “White Protestant Christian Exceptionalism” will likely NOT dominate the future of the world.  History is moving on, no matter how many warheads are in the nuclear arsenal or how many AK-47s are hidden in closets or openly carried on the streets protecting the Second Amendment. 

And where, exactly, is history going?  The overall thrust of history is forward and upward. 

Take a look at the most prominent and most effectively engaged “Change Agents”. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/meet-100-most-significant-americans-all-time-180953341/

They are all BUILDERS … CONTRIBUTORS … INVENTORS … EDUCATORS … LEADERS

https://quizlet.com/12230630/top-100-most-influential-americans-flash-cards/

Dystopias DO happen, HAVE happened, have sometimes gone on for decades (centuries?), and are still happening.  But there inevitably arise “corrective” / “reformative” / “redirective” forces seeking to establish a more rational and rewarding eutopia ... a “true topia” … a place of fairness, justice, and equal opportunity.  “History” has never devised a system that will permanently disable such forces.   These are the forces of history that define its direction. 

While the brain can be “brainwashed”, and while humans can be forced into subjection by fear, deprivation and drugs, the human spirit core cannot forever be “Bridled”.  It craves freedom and self-determination.  Which is why dystopias depend so uncompromisingly on elimination of any and all who dare raise the specter of independent thought or action. 

Dystopian leadership, in fact, is forever at frightful, fretful odds, even with the “machinery” upon which it relies to maintain its control:

“Stalin’s terror machine executed its executioners at regular intervals. In 1938 alone, forty-two thousand investigators who had taken part in the great industrial-scale purges were executed, as was the chief of the secret police, Nikolai Yezhov.” Stalin once invited an old friend from Georgia to Moscow for a reunion, and after lavishly wining and dining him, had him executed before dawn: “This could not be explained with any words or ideas available to man.”  [From “The Future is History” by Masha Gessen]

The last bastion of sanity and sobriety is coherence of conscience.  Integrity and legitimacy cannot forever and will not ultimately be compromised.    

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In our most defining moments, we are often compelled to cry: “Life will never be the same again!”   But perhaps life never really WAS what we THOUGHT it was or SHOULDA been or what we tried to make of it. 

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In the grander scheme of things, we don’t need to settle for being “a person of our time” … a person of our culture … a person of our “party” … a person of our genetic heritage (which includes Neanderthal tendencies!) … a person of our associations …   We can become better than any or all of that.  And if we don’t or can’t, shame on us!  Becoming “better” and more civilized and advancing both ourselves and our civilization is what being a human enmeshed in civilization is all about.  If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.  Let’s straighten up and start “righting” our history!!!

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What would be the point or purpose of becoming LESS than the BEST we could possibly be?

What would be the point or purpose of becoming WORSE than the BEST we could possibly be?

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Quartermaster

Surfeit Stupor

It occurred to me following the Thanksgiving engorgement last year that we spend a lot of our time and energy overindulging in things that make us “groggy”.  In fact, it sometimes seems that numbing ourselves is a full time pursuit with its own end game for its own purpose:  If we’re not numb, we’re not getting a full ride! 

“Onward through the fog!”

Henriette Seiterle

So, how much is enough? 

How much food?

How much television?

How much social media engagement?

How much immersion in video games?

How much “bingeing” on movies, sitcoms, etc.? 

The answer, for most of us, is that “enough” is when we can’t take any more! 

But we seem to become even better and more tolerant at stuporous pursuits the more “seasoned” we become:

You may or may not have heard about extreme gamers who wear adult diapers so they don’t have to interrupt the “flow” of their uber-engagement for incidentals and accidentals! 

And what then?  At some point, we eventually CRASH and have to regroup … re-establish some equilibrium … center down … take a nap … raid the refrigerator … or withdraw and rehabilitate. 

What’s happening with any or all of the above is experiencing what I call the “Surfeit Stupor” twilight zone.  Imagine having to fight your way through this “fog” to get anything useful done! 

But why would anyone do THAT?

The FOG’s the thing … The Holy Grail!

It sometimes seems the whole point of busting our butts is to retire so we can watch endless television and movies, play endless video games … etc. 

And when all the “low-hanging fruit” becomes exhausted and/or gets stale, the “fog” can be perpetuated pharmacologically with various assortments of drugs applied, continuing the spiral of fog and stupor … until there are no significant threads of viability left to cling to. 

This is not the most auspicious finish line any one of us might aspire to achieve in our more cogent reflections! 

And RECOVERY from the surfeit stupor is generally a long, painful, arduous and, often, shameful process. 

POINT TO PONDER

All of the superficial surfeit in which we immerse ourselves is merely a default/substitutional materialization to fill a large void in lives that have been freed from a surfeit of hardscrabble gravity.  We haven’t yet figured out more productive ways to go from hardscrabble gravity to valorous engagement.   

In an ideal universe, having “enough” or more-than-enough can actually serve as a stepping stone to greater and grander heights if applied diligently, but it becomes a liability if abused.  

So, one might conjecture that the surest way to the top is never to have enough … in particular, never to have enough of more noble things!  From this perspective, it comes as no surprise that some of the most successful individuals started out from the most humble and austere beginnings … without “enough” elegance and nobility in their lives.  And their lofty dreams and aspirations keep driving them onward toward much larger “Enoughs”.  Their “discretionary” energy and earnings consistently go into things like education and investments in personal, professional and business development instead of into candy, triple cheeseburgers, milkshakes, pinball machines, gambling, ostentation, video games and social media. 

They learned early to delay gratification.  And the more they delayed, the further they got from the “fog” and the further they rose and the larger and clearer their vision of the future – and of future gratification – became.  And the more realistic their possibilities turned out.  And both their possibilities and the rewards for their efforts multiplied to produce “more than enough”.   

Similar patterns emerge from studies of “Unlikely Champions” who, though facing formidable odds of ever truly “making it”, through extreme discipline in applying whatever they DO have, dedication and sacrifice of amenities, end up rising to the top of their respectively chosen fields of endeavor.  

Mounting evidence suggests that people can not only survive but thrive emotionally and psychologically (as well as economically!) in austere conditions.  In “A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy”, William B. Irvine [Oxford University Press, 2008] recommended the following formula for recalibrating one’s “enough” compass:

• ·         Avoid Hedonic adaptation: The moment we get or gain something we take it for granted.
• ·         Goal #1: Enjoy what you already have.
• ·         Respond to confrontation and trauma by adjusting perspective. 
• ·         Contemplate impermanence so the relevant takes on new importance and the important takes on a new sense of urgency.
• ·         Practice voluntary discomfort.  [ … the “Perfectly Unbalanced Life”]
• ·         Forego base pleasure.
• ·         The Good Life is impossible without self-control … e.g., giving up stuff that diminishes the true value of living. 
• ·         Stoics are not Ascetics, avoiding all pleasure, but seek higher pleasures.
• ·         Seek to “out” your short-comings. 
• ·         Aspire higher.
• ·         When things go wrong, do some introspection instead of blaming others.
• ·         Engage in inconspicuous consumption.
• ·         Focus desires on the immaterial.
• ·         Master the art of impulse passivity.
• ·         Delay gratification.
• ·         Seek sustainable JOY and SELF-MASTERY.

Benefits of meaningful restraint and the pursuit of a higher / more noble “Enough” include:  Peace of mind … an energized (“Unbridled” but carefully channeled) Spirit … FOCUS … less “fog” … more control … security … sustainability … self-esteem … self-confidence … self-awareness … sanity … navigability … higher quality choices … higher quality engagement.  May your “meaningful restraints” bring all of the above – in due course – with a surfeit of “Enoughs”!  Quartermaster