Hope Is Alive in Tomorrow



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Today, I have more troubles than solutions.
 --Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I can’t do anything right.
 --Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I really screwed up with my wife.
 --Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I don’t feel great about my life.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, trouble abounds on every hand.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I have two left feet.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, the golf club felt like a heavy weight in my hands.
 --Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, the doctor said those nasty words no one wants to hear.
 --Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I felt abandoned, alone, and afraid.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I have more bills than bucks.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I’m having a bad-hair day.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, it appears nobody loves me.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, my kids are out of control.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I can’t give this stuff away, and I’m supposed to be an ace salesperson.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, the keys on my keyboard just sat and stared back at me.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I wish I lived somewhere else.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, God seems as far away as the moon.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, my world went flat.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, my dreams got shot full of holes.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I don’t think I can ever trust anyone again.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I just want to crawl in a hole and never come out again.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I got laid off.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, I was less than stellar in my craft.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, “I don’t love you” rang in my ears.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, they disconnected my utilities.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, the rent is due and …
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today, the stock market sank so low I had to look over the edge to see it.
--Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Today.

What was it that Scarlet said?

Oh, yes. I remember now.

“After all, tomorrow is another day.”

Dawn is coming. Hope is alive in tomorrow.

Life is hard.

Gen. David Petraeus once said,

“Hard is not hopeless”.

A Significant Life

In the course of living my life I’ve had some major influencers who have crossed my path. Their footprints loom large and deep. I am marked in good and wonderful ways for having known them.

Let me tell you about Wilbur. I first met him when I was living in Orlando, Florida. I was a young music minister still wet behind the ears and fresh out of college. Wilbur was the pastor of another church in town. His music minister, Ron, also a young buck, and I became good friends.

One day I dropped by Wilbur’s church to see my friend Ron. He and Wilbur were playing ping pong, and I soon found myself playing against Wilbur. He was a young and snappy thirty-nine year old at the time. I have replayed that day many times in my mind.

Wilbur was dressed in black slacks, blue shirt, striped tie and playing ping pong in his sock feet. He was quite good at the game, but what impressed me most was his acceptance of me as an equal. He didn’t talk down, or try to impress me with his stature. He accepted me. I belonged. I mattered for those moments I was in his presence.

Time passed, our lives took different twists and turns, but I seemed to always know where Wilbur was. He ultimately rose to a high ranking position within his church denomination and our paths crossed a few more time.

Every time I was with him, I experienced esteem, warmth and graciousness. He was Mr. Grace, Mr. Integrity in the flesh.

And now Wilbur is in his retirement years. We correspond on a regular basis. He follows my blogs and often responds with words that inspire and encourage me.

Wilbur has truly lived a significant life.

Today’s interaction on Facebook caused me to pause and reflect on his life and the lives of others that I could write about.

What grabbed me most is this; he has lived a large life, on purpose. And he keeps looking back for those that may be following to see if he can inject a word, a comment, an act of grace into their lives.

Wilbur was actively working until just a year ago. He was guiding young lives at my college alma mater; applying his touch on their lives in kindness, gentleness and usefulness.

Wilbur Brannon is still living a significant life, even though his mobility is not what it once was, and his heart wants to go places his body can’t take him.

There are thousands of Wilbur’s in this world. Perhaps one of them is your aging parent or grandparent.

So, what is their place in our world? What can they do now, given their present circumstances that might possibly make a difference? Maybe it is their turn to do a little receiving.

Maybe we need to reach out and remind some wonderfully influential person just how much they mean to us. Pause now and make a phone call. Write that note. Post a kind word on Facebook.

I believe in giving roses to the living. So to my friend Wilbur, thank you for your endurance, your faithfulness, for teaching so many of us valuable life concepts, and for your sustaining graces.

You have lived a significant life. And we are better for your having passed our way.

The Things People Say

When I was in college I played drums for a musical group called “The Encounters.” After a concert one night a man in our audience made this remark about me.

“That drummer is going to hell.”

Can you imagine that? I was going to hell just because I played the drums.

What about other words and phrases that you and I have had directed our way down through the years? Have we given them validity, or have we successfully evaluated them and decided for ourselves that they bear no consideration in living our lives?

Words can hurt and words can also heal.

I want to offer words that heal. My bi-line is “offering hope, encouragement and inspiration one word at a time.”

Have you ever had any of these explosive, poisonous barbs thrown your way?
Sleezeball
  Lazy
    Fatso
      Dummy
        Looser
         Clumsy
         Fag
        Stupid
      Idiot
    “You’re ugly and nobody likes you”
  “You’re not cool. Leave. Go away.”
“You have no friends and you’re not important at all”
(These last six words/phrases were contributed by TJ and Josh, my grandsons – fresh stuff from today’s real world)

I was once given a T-shirt with this saying on it: “I must hurry and catch up to the others, for I am their leader.”

Oh, we laugh at that, but down deep inside, I cringed.

As a child I was told, "Leave that thing alone, boy. You don’t know nothin’ (Tennessee colloquialism) about machinery.”

All I was doing was watching an old reel-to-reel tape recorder with the tape spinning and the recording meter lights blinking. What a fascinating thing for this twelve-year-old boy.

Sometimes we gather these unfortunate labels like a bad smell. They cling to us.

So what do we do about these labels?

They play, sometimes endlessly, in our minds. Perhaps you heard one or two of these phrases this morning while getting ready for your day.

Space is limited for this subject, but I do want to say this to you. We must find some ways of laying down the heavy burden these words and phrases cast upon us.

It takes work, it takes reframing a better, truer image of ourselves.

It also takes self-forgiveness.

And on occasion we may need to seek professional counseling. If you find yourself in need of professional help, please seek it.

Remember this: Just because “they” said it doesn’t mean it is so!

Let me say that again.

Just because

“they”

said it

doesn’t mean

it is so!

The good news? I in no way see myself as clumsy, a lousy leader, or an incompetent. Who say’s “I don’t know "nuthin’" about machinery?”

I’ve had to redo some tapes that I once heard in my head.
I’ve erased some.
I’ve ignored others.

And in most cases I’ve created new and better tapes that I now play. They are good words of esteem, wholesome comments and beliefs about who I am.

You can do the same. You can recreate new and better tapes that you play in your head about yourself.

I heard Ethel Waters once say, “God don’t make junk.”

My friend, you and I are not junk. We are whole, creative, beautiful creatures of a loving God and we have stuff inside of us that is good and right.

Believe in your goodness. Create a new image of YOU!

What matters most is what you say to yourself; the conversations that go on between your two ears.

--Do you like yourself?
--Do you approve of yourself?
--Do you allow God to love you just as you are?

Say “YES” to YOU!

Let the new journey begin!

Progress, Not Perfection

I’m moving toward better.

“I’m not perfect, but I’m getting better.”

I posted a blog a few weeks ago with these words as the title.

I’ve got more to say on this subject.

You see, for me it’s all about making progress, not reaching perfection. After living a bunch of years I finally realize that I’ll never be perfect. I’ll never achieve perfection. I’ll never consistently do everything exactly right and according to every person’s standards that I meet in my day-to-day living.

Perfection!         

 What a heavy, ponderous burden to carry around anyway.

Nobody is perfect. And if you think you are, I’d like for some of your perfection to rub off on me. Just a little.

I don’t think I could stand myself if I were too perfect. I might want to brag about it, and then I wouldn’t be perfect, cause I’d have a touch of pride, and everybody knows pride is wrong, so I’m back to not being perfect again.

What a crazy merry-go-round this gets to be. Chasing our tails just to be perfect.

Let me put you out of your misery. Just aim to be better. Make progress.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m reading and following Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. Julia gave me the idea for this blog, which is a footnote to my blog posted on March 10, 2011.

Julia says this in her book: “Mistakes are necessary. Stumbles are normal.” She then adds, "Progress, not perfection, is what we should be asking of ourselves.”

Wow! Somebody actually dares to tell us we are gonna foul up occasionally and that is OK! I like this lady.

I’m not looking for excuses to screw up. I’m looking for a salve to ease the pain when I sometimes do stumble, mumble and fall.

Can I hear an “Amen”?

I can do better in just about every area of my life.

I can be a better …
-Husband
-Writer
-Speaker
-Neighbor
-Step-parent
-Grandparent
-Communicator
-Dresser
-Christian
-Man
-Citizen
-Brother
-Drummer
-Bongoist (I recently bought a set of bongos)

I can do a ton of things better.

Am I ever perfect?

Some days I look pretty darn good (when Carolyn picks out my shirt and tie)
Some days I drive perfectly (under the speed limit without talking on my cell phone)
Some days I write amazing stuff (you should see my computer files and be amazed for yourself)

But other days -- Oh my.

I am a train wreck looking for a place to happen. (Wow, that is actually pretty good writing right there)

So, enough said on this subject. I think you got the point long before now.

I’m a work in progress. Care to join me?

Let’s do “better” together.

Never Give In

Michael Jordan, basketball great, once said, “I have failed over and over again in life. That is why I have succeeded.”

During the 90’s, Donald Trump was once a billion dollars in debt. He stated, “I refused to give up. Defeat is not in my vocabulary.”

Remember Babe Ruth? Here’s what he said. “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”

I love Winston Churchill. He lost every election for public office until he became prime minister. His words still reach out to us today. “Never give in; never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”

Vince Lombardi, the immortal coach, was quoted as saying, “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.”

Richard Branson, Venture capitalist says, “You fail if you don’t try. If you try and you fail, yes, you’ll have a few articles saying you’ve failed at something. But if you look at the history of American entrepreneurs, one thing I do know about them: an awful lot of them have tried and failed in the past and gone on to great things.”

In the October 2010 issue of Success Magazine, Arianna Huffington, published author and nationally syndicated columnist, public radio host and other noted accomplishments clearly states this. “Perseverance is everything.”

She goes on to say “failure is a steppingstone to success.”

What can my voice possibly add to these words from some great individuals in our current and past history?

Just this;

Failure is not final!

Maybe it’s just something that doesn’t work in a particular situation and you need to find a different, better way.

Maybe…

There is an old adage in the marketing industry that says “when a marketing person runs out of ideas he/she is out of a job.” Ouch!

But the ideas are out there somewhere. They are just awaiting your discovery.

Remember this:
Man landing on the moon was just an idea waiting to be claimed. John F. Kennedy snagged that one.
The automobile? – Henry Ford.
Man in flight? The Wright brothers.
Computer software on a grand scale? Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
Facebook? Mark Zuckerberg.

You get the picture.

May you find the guts, the perseverance and the will to turn your hopes, dreams and wishes into success.

Never Give In!

Keep Showing Up

I’m reading The Artist’s Way and following the guidance that author Julia Cameron offers through each chapter. A phrase she uses to encourage her readers to keep with the program is, “Keep showing up at the pages.” As part of the assignment, we are to write a minimum of three pages; stream of consciousness thoughts every day. They can be random, haphazard and about anything and everything that is on my mind for that moment in time. My job is simply to show up and write.

I love the concept of “keep showing up.” We do that for life, sometimes willingly, sometimes reluctantly. Regardless, we “show up”.

Keep showing up. That’s what most successful people do every day. They show up.

Babe Ruth showed up. He struck out more times than he hit home runs, but he showed up.

Michael Jordan showed up. He missed some critical shots, lost game winning free-throws, but he kept showing up.

I have some friends who are scientists; working on the next cure for whatever ails us. They sometimes put the wrong ingredients together and have to start all over. But they keep showing up.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen kept showing up in the early days of Microsoft. They worked hard, they showed up and now the world is peppered with their products.

My dreams don’t unlock themselves. I have to keep showing up and trying different keys, different ideas, and words and phrases and angles. But I keep showing up.

I have to show up in my relationship with Carolyn. Not just physically be in her presence, but be in the moment with her in conversation, in sharing activities, in living life. I have to show up.

These pages don’t write themselves. I have to be there, put my hands to the task, and examine my mind. I show up.

Are you showing up today? It’s not enough to be there, it’s an act of involvement that Julia’s talking about. It’s an extra measure of yourself that you put into whatever you find needs doing.

It’s the showing up and then doing that is important. Some days I’d rather not write. I’d rather not do a lot of things, but then my life would be one of abandonment, one of randomness, and one of less.

Less.

               Detachment.

                              Abandonment.

Those speak of things in life that we don’t show up for.

When we show up, we invest.

                                             We invite.

                                                             We engage.

We become something more. We put out a bit more of ourselves.

We show up.

And sooner rather than later we show up in impressive ways by leaving good marks on other’s lives.

That’s the good part about showing up.

I want to leave my mark -    On your life.
                                                   On your heart.
                                                               On your path.

So, I keep showing up. Every Friday.

Thanks for inviting me in.

I'm Not Perfect, But I Am Better

I wish I were perfect. Do you?

Perfect people, if they exist at all, are something to behold, that’s for sure. Perfect people never have problems, everything always turns out right for them, they always marry the right person, have the best, most perfectly behaved kids, have the perfect job, their hair always looks perfect, their clothes always look the absolute best, their shoes are always shined, their shoe laces are always tied, they speak four languages perfectly, they make tons of money.

They                     Are                     Perfect.

Now, before you and I throw up at the thought of perfection, hold on a minute. Is anyone that good?

I doubt it very seriously. From what I read, people make mistakes. They stumble and fall, they mess up, and they make poor decisions. They in effect blow it at times.

Don’t have a weak heart. Don’t despair because your life is not “perfect.”

Remember this:

“I may not be perfect,

but I can get better.”

That is something I can hook onto, can you?

I may not be perfect, but I can be better every day.

Wow. Love that! I can do that.

Here’s another way of saying this: “Just because we have failed at something doesn’t mean we are a failure.”

I love this quote from Michael Jordan, basketball great. He certainly wasn’t “perfect” according to this comment. Michael once said: “I have missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot … and missed. I have failed over and over again in my life – and that is precisely why I have succeeded.”

My, oh my. You mean to say big people make mistakes? Icons of sports, industry, and world leaders? Even mere mortals like me make mistakes?

That is exactly what I mean.

You see. We take the trials and tribulations of life, the foibles, the mistakes, the fumbles and the foul balls and we do better next time.

We
               Get
                              Better!



That’s it. We get better.

I can’t live a perfect life. I’m not a perfect husband. Ask Carolyn.
I’m not a perfect writer. Read some of my past stuff.
I’m not the world’s greatest speech maker – yet.
I’ve fumbled, mumbled, misspelled, misrepresented, tripped, fallen down, sang off key, missed deadlines, and gone bankrupt. But I’m getting better.

I’m better for having experienced every one of these miss-steps.

Was it pleasant at the time? Certainly not.

But I made it through every one of life’s pitfalls and mistakes.

I’m reading and following the prescription in Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way. On page 30 she makes this statement that caught my attention.

“In order to be good you have to be bad.”

Have you ever thought anyone would applaud you for being bad?  I kind of like that.

I wrote a blog a few months ago and used the following quote “The arrow that hits the bull’s eye is the result of a hundred misses.”

Now that is far from perfect. Perfection is not even in sight with that statement.

But we get better.

Aim, fire, miss, strike out – aim again, correct your angle, correct the amount of pressure.

Correct

Correct

Correct.

You are getting better.

Perfect? Not likely.

Better? Every day, in every way, with every correction.

I want to be better. What do you want?