Ears to hear

The Christian Bible quotes Jesus as saying , "be careful how you hear", this expression has always stood out to me as odd. Be careful what you say; now that makes sense; but why would I need to be careful about what I hear? It shouldn't matter how we hear, we should simply hear it, we should get the chance to think about it and if we like it, we can take it in, if not, we can reject it.

I suppose that this phrase means that I ought to be careful on how we interpret and process what is said. This phrase implies that it is troublesome if we hear incorrectly. The logical converse of that is equally as true, there is benefit if we hear the in the right way. We should not take things out of context, nor inadvertently misunderstand what was intended to be heard.

As a side note, I am a professional eavesdropper; if I am standing in a line, I am listening in on a conversation. It amazes me what people will talk about in public. People in line at the local Starbucks will talk about a range of subjects in the 10-minutes it takes to get from the front-door to the counter. They will talk about politics, religion, genomes, black–holes, aliens, and a myriad of other subjects.

I constantly overhear arguments about various philosophical positions and, once in a great while, a person will be "hell–bent" to convince others of what ever illusion they may be suffering at the present moment; just hearing it irritates me (I suppose that is my problem for eavesdropping in the first place).

I propose that part of the problem derives from of an out of balance defense mechanism, for me, that means, the overwhelming urge to fight about something, it helps us to feel connected engaged and involved.

This is the reason I am suggesting that we need to be careful what we hear and how we hear it. I don't need to be offended at what you say; I don't have to slay every dragon; I don't have to champion every cause. My mom used to tell me to be careful when arguing with stupid people; people who are watching may not be able to tell the difference.

I can decisively live in peace. I believe we can live at peace with God, live at peace with others and live with peace with ourselves if we can just quiet our minds long enough to attain it.

The Hitchhiker
Victor Manning

All I need...

I used to take 40 kids camping with me every summer; it started out innocent enough; but in the word's of Ron Burgundy "that escalated quickly." As a kid, growing up in the inner city of Los Angeles, I did not have an opportunity to experience much of nature. As a matter of fact the only experience I ever had with an open fire was standing around a fire that was lit in a trash can on the curb in my neighborhood; well that is not completely true, there was another time, when I was about eight-years old, but that involved a field, a book of matches, the fire-marshal's son, and some youthful curiosity; which was a really bad combination and most certainly a story for another time.

For this story I go back to my analogy of camping. When camping, we would take as many provisions as humanly possible. Our truck would be so loaded down that we looked a little like the Beverly Hillbillies. Even with all that stuff we would always invariably forget something.

There are times in life when we are stressed about all that we do not have; it is the nature of compelled and anal humans to gripe. It seems that for many of us, it is in our DNA to live in a constant state of discontent. The pressures of life seem to close in and produce an emotional claustrophobia and as a result, we feel the urge to abandon ship.

All the things we have at our disposal to make our lives more convenient and yet, none of them can deliver us from what is inevitable and that which is really needed.

I have always laughed when I think of the scene from Steve Martin's "The Jerk." In a despondent moment Martin's character says "all I need is this chair". This analogy helps remind me that "what's happening is not what's going on." There is more to our situations in life than meets the eye. Even though we may lose perspective, there is more happening around us. There is a need to ascend to the correct perspective in the process of living..

I am often asked why it is that I do not panic over deadlines. Why it is that I seem to be able to look the most 'fiercest dog' of the corporate world in the eye with little fear. Is it arrogance, a lack of intelligence? No. My resolve is an awareness that my most ardent adversary is simply human, he has no more power over me than I allow him to have. I see that my most severe trial is only temporal. I carry a keen awareness that "this too will pass" and that I really have more than I need. The nature of that awareness and the well of that provision is beyond me, it is most certainly relational. I often speak to skeptics about this "luck" I seem to have. If it is coincidence (and I think it more providence than not) than may I be on the right side of chance.

The Hitchhiker
Victor Manning