Langsam!

It means slowly.  I used to hear it a lot.  My Grandma would watch me rushing around, and over and over again I'd hear her say: 

"Langsam, langsam!"  "Slow down!"

If you know anything about German culture, you know that Germans aren't famous for being patient.  Punctuality and precision, yes.  Patience?  Not so much.  And even though Southern Germans, like my Grandma, have a reputation for being a bit more laid back, that's only by a standard measured against Northern Germans, not American kids from New Jersey.  Even so, my impatience and regular rushing around were apparently cause enough to elicit my very German grandmother's regular admonition: 

"Don't be so hasty!"

I've always heard that patience is a virtue, but I don't buy it.  Sure, it makes sense to set your mind at ease when confronted with situations that are out of your control.  It doesn't help matters to stomp your feet and snort and grumble when you're on the slow line at Starbucks (I've tried, believe me).  Being patient can help get you home safely on a jammed freeway.  But a virtue?

It seems to me that patience is an excuse.  Too often, when the time to act is NOW, patience is used as a justification for inaction.  Seriously, folks, how long should we wait for justice?  How long should we sit around and hope that someone else takes the bull by the horns?  How long must people languish in poverty and despair?  Until the time is right?  What time would that be?

The time is now.  Patience is no virtue when opportunity is slipping away.  Patience is no virtue when the homeless are dying on the streets.  Patience is no virtue when people are silenced or imprisoned unjustly.  Patience is no virtue when we live in a society where the color of one's skin determines how they are treated.  Patience is no virtue when anyone has to wait for the slowly shifting tides of public option in order to gain equal treatment under the law.

My Grandma was right, ich habe kein Ruhe im Arsch.  I'm not very patient.  I come by it honestly.  Life is short, and people need us, and somewhere in all the self-centered hustle and bustle of our busy world, I can still hear a voice calling....and it's asking, "How long must I wait?"

"This is the day...this is the day!"  Carpe diem.  Seize it. 

Unf*ck....

Wait!  Before you hit delete...before you walk away in a huff, think about it!

It's so clear that people around the world are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the way things are.  In every corner of the globe ordinary people are simply giving up hope.  The messages from Wall Street and K Street and Madison Avenue don't help:  "It's all about ME and my special interests." 

You and I are just left feeling disconnected, hopeless and helpless.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I just want to say "f*ck it!"  Sometimes I just want to give up. 

I saw a t-shirt today.  It said "Unf*ck the world."  I looked at that t-shirt and realized that it is, in a nutshell, the message of Jesus.  Of course, Jesus didn't put it  quite that way--he said things like "Love your neighbor" and "Welcome the stranger" and "Feed my sheep."  But in essence what Jesus was saying was, "Unf*ck the world."  Make it better.  Do what you can.  In the face of insurmountable odds, even if you feel hopeless and helpless, do one thing that makes the world better: send a note, pick up some trash, email your representative, give alms, cook a meal,  hold the door, smile.  Because the only way the tide will turn--the only way the miracle will happen--is if people like you and me, one by one, act as if it's worth the effort.

"If you have done it for the least of them, you have done it for me."  --Jesus of Nazareth

Wonder View

Climbing up into and around the hills of Hollywood, it is, I believe, a well-named street:  Wonderview.

It's well-named because of what you experience when you get to the top: as Wonderview winds around you are treated to panoramic views of this amazing City of the Angels.  From one side, with Hollywood literally at your feet, you can see both East and Westsides, Downtown and Mid-Wilshire and Century City...and on a clear day the Baldwin Hills and the Bay.  Circle around and the San Fernando Valley spreads out in front of you--Universal City and beyond: the Verdugos, the San Gabriels, the Angeles National Forest.  It's a wonderful view.

But on a glorious and clear morning, as I struggle to pedal to the top, another reason the street is well-named comes to mind.  You see, through my grunting and grinding and panting and sweating I start to wonder if the view is really going to be worth the effort it takes to get there.

Life is like that, isn't it?  So often we wonder if it's worth the effort--the grunting and grinding and panting and sweating--when suddenly the view becomes clear and we are treated to a slice of the sublime.  We stop wondering and simply view.

And I suppose the trick is simply this: as we struggle along from day to day, grinding away in a seemingly endless climb, to remember what's coming and just keep going. 

Because the view from the top is wonderful.

 

A Higher Calling

It seems to me that many religious folks take a great deal of pride in their faith.  I often notice believers looking down on those who believe differently than they do, or not at all.  A sense of superiority over others tends to go along with religious faith.  Maybe you've noticed it too. 

This creates a problem and presents a challenge.

The problem is that all of the major religions today have their roots in ancient times, when the tenets of their beliefs were not irrational and required little or no suspension of disbelief.  That is, when today's religions were forming, the truth claims they make made sense based on what people knew and experienced.  For example, in Medieval times, as frequent plagues devastated the population, in the grip of a fear of the unknown it was rational to interpret these things in terms of divine punishment or protection.  It just made sense.  No one knew or understood about viruses and bacteria.  Religous tenets do not evolve among people who think they are silly or irrational--they come into being among people who believe they make sense.

So what do we do when many of the ancient religious claims ARE revealed to be silly and irrational, based on what we know of the world today?  Well, it seems either we take on some level of pride that we continue to believe such things despite their silliness, or we stop believing them.  That's the problem.

The challenge for the many who continue to claim to believe is that all of the major religions also teach humility.  But it's hard to make a case that one is being humble while at the same time looking down one's nose at those who have abandoned what they see as superstitious nonsense.  Isn't it?  On the other hand, it's also clear that many religious folks have taken on an armor of superiority in reaction to the pain of being looked down on by those who see their faith as nonsense.

Perhaps it's time for those who continue to call themselves religious to revisit teachings on humility.  What does this mean, and how can it be a tool one uses to help make the world a better place--something the major religions all claim as a priority.  And for those who claim no faith at all, it might not be a bad idea to try on some humility too: it just makes sense.

"What credit is it to someone to cry 'Lord, Lord' and then treat her neighbor with disdain?"