DIVERSITY (FEBRUARY 23)

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"The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity" (Gene Roddenberry).

IT’S HARD TO LOOK AT THE WORLD WE LIVE IN AND NOT BE INTRIGUED BY ITS INTRICACY. Rather than being one homogeneous substance throughout, it’s made up of billions and billions of separate entities. This world is not a vanilla pudding; it’s a tossed salad. And what a diverse salad it is! You could spend twenty-seven lifetimes studying the earth and not even list everything that’s here, much less describe how every “thing” is different from every “other thing.” If variety’s the spice of life, we’re surrounded by spice, aren’t we? And shouldn’t we be grateful? The diversity of our world is part of its strength and beauty, and meditating on that is a helpful exercise.

As individuals, most of us would be stronger if there was more diversity in our character. There is a sense, of course, in which simplicity is beautiful, and we’re not recommending that any of us try to become complicated, difficult, or hard to figure out. The point is just that variety can be a valuable thing, in ourselves just as in the world at large. Our characters will be better if they include various elements that reinforce one another and round us out.

One thing that can add diversity to our character is becoming interested in and respectful of people who differ from us in significant ways. As Charles Dickens has one of his characters say in Martin Chuzzlewit, “Them which is of other natures thinks different.” Conflicting opinions may make us uncomfortable, but we need not fear them. Our own thinking is strengthened, rather than weakened, when we view things from the perspective of people who stand at a different spot and see things from a different angle. This doesn’t mean that every viewpoint is equally helpful or accurate; it just means that our reasoning needs to be enriched and deepened by input from outside our present patterns of thought.

How many kinds of people can you enjoy working with? How varied are the situations in which you can function effectively? How diverse are your tastes? Your habits? Your ideas? If your answer is, “Not very,” you’re missing out on much of the world’s amazement. So, jump into the tingling waters of diversity and go for a swim!

The heavens rejoice in motion, why should I
Abjure my so much lov’d variety?
(John Donne)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

LEADERSHIP (FEBRUARY 22)

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"He that would be a leader must be a bridge" (Welsh Proverb).

IT WOULD BE HARD TO THINK OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, BORN ON THIS DAY, WITHOUT THINKING OF LEADERSHIP. If it hadn’t been for his ability to blaze a trail, both literally and figuratively, our nation might easily have been lost trying to find its freedom. We wouldn’t have to stretch our imaginations much to believe that the availability of his leadership at that time was providential.

When history judges a person to have been a leader, that person is almost always someone who helped his contemporaries get through a time of change. And the more gut-wrenching the change, the more valuable were the services of the individual who led others through the transition. Great leaders don’t waste time wishing for more favorable circumstances in which to demonstrate their skills or display their wisdom; they recognize that if circumstances were entirely favorable, their services would scarcely be required. Hard work during hard times is what leadership is primarily about.

Unfortunately for our nation, we are quickly losing touch with the real-life facts of the Revolutionary War. Far removed from the bloody traumas of that period, comfortable in freedoms that have been the norm all our lives, and uninterested in reading history books or honoring heroes, we live as if things have always been the way they are now. We forget the horrifying chasm over which George Washington led us — from what once was to what now is.

However valuable his service to us was, George Washington was not primarily interested in being remembered as a famous individual. He would not have wanted our freedoms to depend on any continuing influence by him down through the years. Like all great leaders, he wanted those whom he led to be enabled and empowered. He might have wanted to be remembered kindly, but more than that, he would have wanted us to move ahead, no longer needing his active assistance. And so, on his birthday, let’s honor Washington wisely, acknowledging with gratitude the bridge he led us over. Then let’s see if we can’t find some chasms that our own friends and neighbors need help crossing.

"The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on" (Walter Lippmann).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

GLORY (FEBRUARY 21)

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"When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything" (Harriet Tubman).

WE’VE ALL HAD THEM NOW AND THEN: THOSE EXPERIENCES IN WHICH EVERYTHING AROUND US CAME ALIVE AND SEEMED TO SHINE WITH A STRANGE AND WONDERFUL GLORY. Harriet Tubman, one of the great abolitionists of the Civil War period, described such an experience to her biographer, Sarah Bradford. When, in 1845, she first escaped from slavery and found herself in free territory, Tubman said she had to check to make sure she was the same person: “There was such a glory over everything.” She saw the world differently!

In its literal sense, the word “glory” has to do with “brightness” or “brilliance.” That which is glorious shines brightly. But we use the word figuratively to describe things that “shine” in that they possess “majestic beauty and splendor” (American Heritage Dictionary). Harriet Tubman experienced a joy that made everything around her seem more beautiful than she’d ever known it to be before. That kind of glory is more important than any amount of physical brightness.

It’s no coincidence that the sun, which shines with visible glory, figures prominently in many of the situations that we later describe as glorious. In particular, the rising of the sun at dawn is a thing that moves us. “Full many a glorious morning I have seen” (Shakespeare). “Oft when the white, still dawn / Lifted the skies and pushed the hills apart / I have felt it like a glory in my heart” (Edwin Markham). And, to be fair, the moon has its own glory. In the words of Tennyson, “Lo! the level lake / And the long glories of the winter moon.”

But whether it’s some shining, shimmering thing in nature that touches us with glory, or, as in Harriet Tubman’s case, it’s some unusual event or circumstance, glory is a good thing to get a deep taste of. And like it or not, how often we’re conscious of glory has more to do with us than with what happens to us. We’re surrounded by glory almost all the time, but some people are more receptive to it than others. Because of the openness of their heart and the eagerness of their outlook, glory is their frequent companion — and their receptiveness to glory is a virtue any of us can cultivate.

O, what their joy and their glory must be,
Those endless sabbaths the blessed ones see!
(Peter Abelard)

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

PRESENCE (FEBRUARY 20)

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"Take care and say this with presence of mind" (Terence).

PRESENCE OF MIND IS A HARD THING FOR BUSY PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE. The more we do, the less we think about what we do. Most days find us rushing through such a crowded agenda, we have little opportunity to concentrate. When our minds are so urgently pulled forward by the next thing to be done, they don’t get a chance to dwell fully on the words and deeds of the current moment.

Consider Terence’s statement quoted above: “Take care and say this with presence of mind.” How much of what any of us has said in the last twenty-four hours has been said “with presence of mind”? Probably no more than a small fraction. Frankly, most of our words are said while our minds are on “automatic,” and the majority of our deeds could be described as “going with the flow.” If you don’t have that problem, you are living on a level most of us haven’t reached.

But what is “presence of mind”? It’s the state in which we not only think consciously about what we do, but we savor and relish these things as they are happening. Assuming that what we’re doing is aligned with our conscience, we miss a great opportunity if, as we act, we don’t consider our actions and enjoy them, gratefully aware of ourselves, our deeds, and those with whom we may be interacting. Life is made up of moments, and if we’re not “present” in these as they pass by, there is simply no other happiness we can enjoy. So, being mindful of our moments is a habit as wise as it is joyful.

When we fail in the matter of presence, one of the sad aspects of the problem is that we fail to impart to others the acknowledgment they deserve. In these days of multichannel communications, it’s rare to communicate with anyone, even face to face, and feel that you have that person’s undivided attention. Our minds are so overloaded, we’re not as present for one another as we should be.

But try it — once or twice a day — and see what a difference it makes. As you interact with someone, honor that person by being completely present for them. Say, by the attention you devote to them, “I am aware of you. I am conscious of you. I am thinking of you, and in this moment, I am at your service.”

"The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention" (Richard Moss).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

SAFETY (FEBRUARY 19)

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"Not a gift of a cow, nor a gift of land, nor yet a gift of food, is so important as the gift of safety, which is declared to be the great gift among all gifts in this world" (Panchatantra).

IF WE HAVE FRIENDS WITH WHOM WE ARE SAFE, WE HAVE ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE TREASURES IN THE WORLD. In relationships where we find safety, we’re not only free to be the persons we are right now, but we’re free to grow and to become more than the persons we are now. Nothing is more liberating — or motivating — than to have friendships that provide a safe harbor for our souls.

In safe relationships, there is no fear of betrayal. We don’t have to worry whether promises and commitments will be kept. And neither is there any fear that our private selves will be exposed to those outside the safe confines of the relationship. We’re free to be intimate, to peel back even the deepest layers of our hearts, and to share the most sacred parts of our inner world. We can do these things because the other person has made us feel secure. We’re not haunted by the relationship-killing possibility of dismissal.

This kind of relational safety is a wonderful thing indeed, but we shouldn’t misunderstand what it means. Those with whom we’re safe won’t hurt us, but that doesn’t mean they won’t hurt our feelings. The more faithful a friend is, the more that person will be willing to say what we need to hear, the bitter as well as the sweet. In a safe relationship, painful tidings will be delivered gently, but they’ll be delivered. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Book of Proverbs).

What it boils down to is this: those with whom we’re safe are those who will deal wisely with us, with our faults as well as our finer qualities. The safety in which we rejoice doesn’t mean that our shortcomings will be condoned; it means that we’ll be consoled, encouraged, and enlightened. When we fall, there’ll be strong arms to catch us and keep us from doing further harm. The very best will be believed about us — and when we’ve done less than our best, safety means that loving allowance will be made for our growth.

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away" (Dinah Maria Mulock Craik).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

IMPARTIALITY (FEBRUARY 18)

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"I am a great foe to favoritism in public life, in private life, and even in the delicate relationship of an author to his works" (Joseph Conrad).

WHEN THE TIME COMES TO ACT FAIRLY AND JUSTLY, WE SHOULD BE GUIDED BY IMPARTIALITY RATHER THAN FAVORITISM. If a crime has been committed in the neighborhood, for example, I may be eager to see the criminal brought to justice. But what if the criminal turns out to be my son? I should be no less willing for the law to be applied in that case than if the culprit were anybody else’s son. What’s fair is fair, regardless of who is involved.

Yet we sometimes veer off into misconceptions about impartiality that are prevalent in our culture. In these days of “tolerance,” we sometimes think that everybody should be treated the same, regardless of whether they’ve done right or wrong, and that, most assuredly, is not what impartiality is about. Thomas Fuller said it well: “He is not good himself who speaks well of everybody alike.” Impartiality doesn’t mean the innocent and the guilty should be treated alike. It just means that if two people have done equally well, they should be equally praised — and by the same token, if they’ve done equally poorly, they should be equally blamed. When right and wrong are opposed, justice not only allows us to take sides, but it requires us to do so. Impartiality is not even close to the same thing as indifference!

To be truly impartial, we must apply the same set of standards to everybody. It takes courage to do that, but it must be done. When called upon to make distinctions and render judgments, we’re tempted to apply a more lenient list of rules to our friends than to our enemies. And what’s worse, we’re tempted to apply an easier standard to ourselves than to anybody else, even our friends. Nevertheless, the temptation to play favorites has to be resisted.

As tough as it may be to look at things impartially, that’s what justice requires, and without justice, no society or community can last very long. Yes, justice is willing to take extenuating circumstances into account, and justice is also willing to extend mercy when that will produce a greater good. However, special cases like these notwithstanding, fairness still demands that the same rulebook be allowed to govern the game, regardless of who happens to be playing.

"Justice is impartiality" (George Bernard Shaw).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

ADVENTURE (FEBRUARY 17)

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"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable" (Helen Keller).

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE’RE PRESENTED WITH SITUATIONS THAT ARE STRANGE AND UNEXPECTEDLY DIFFICULT? Do we back away from them? Like a lazy river meandering down the course of least resistance, do we do that which is easiest?

There is a sense in which courage is the main quality that life requires of us. The word "courage" comes from the Latin cor (“heart”). To have courage, then, is to have “heart,” and that’s assuredly what we need. We need to be brave-hearted rather than faint-hearted, willing to take life as it comes and deal with it honorably. Life holds little good for us if we’re always retreating.

Courage, however, is a different thing than some people imagine. The truly courageous aren’t foolhardy — that is, they don’t throw themselves unnecessarily into difficult spots. And when it comes to true adventure (as opposed to recreation or entertainment), the wise don’t go looking for it. As Louis L’Amour wrote, “What people speak of as adventure is something nobody in his right mind would seek out, and it becomes romantic only when one is safely at home.” Real cowboys don’t make a big deal about being “adventuresome.”

Yet when adventure comes calling, we should be ready to enter into it openly and actively. Too often, we turn away from adventure for no better reason than that it would be too much trouble to deal with. We’re comfortable in our familiar habits, and so we wish to stay put. (Readers of J. R. R. Tolkien will immediately think of Bilbo Baggins at the beginning of The Hobbit!) Yet we miss much of the tang of life by our reluctance to be bothered. As G. K. Chesterton wrote, “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”

There is nothing life can do to hurt us as much as we hurt ourselves by our unwillingness to embrace life and live it fully. There are certainly times to be passive, but when the time to be active arrives, we don’t help ourselves or anyone else by defaulting and doing nothing. Lives that make a difference are lives that go forward!

"Live venturously, plucking the wild goat by the beard, and trembling over precipices" (Virginia Woolf).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

ELOQUENCE (FEBRUARY 16)

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"The eloquent man is he who is no beautiful speaker, but who is inwardly and desperately drunk with a certain belief" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).

NOT MANY ORDINARY PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT ELOQUENCE IS A CHARACTERISTIC THEY DESIRE TO POSSESS. It sounds like something of interest only to public speakers, but let’s take a closer look at the word and the idea it conveys. The American Heritage Dictionary says that the “eloquent” person is “persuasive, fluent, and graceful in discourse.” It seems to me that all three elements of this definition suggest some things we’d all do well to be interested in.

Persuasiveness. When you stop to think about it, a large part of the talk that any of us do on a given day consists of persuasion in one way or another. From the big issues down to the little details of daily life, we spend a lot of time trying to influence others. So if eloquence helps us be more persuasive, then it’s something we can all use. But the eloquence that is most persuasive is not the flowery kind we suppose great public speakers use. As Emerson said, the eloquent person is the one who is “inwardly and desperately drunk with a certain belief.” We will all become more eloquent, and therefore more persuasive, when we start believing more deeply in the things we want others to believe. Eloquence comes from conviction!

Fluency. Fluency is facility in the use of language. And isn’t that something that we all should value? Language is a wonderful and powerful gift. We show appreciation for this gift when we take the time to learn to use one or more languages easily and effectively — always in the service of ideas that are honorable and beneficial.

Gracefulness. There is enough crudeness in the world already. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a little more gracefulness in the way we speak to one another? Pindar, the Greek poet, said, “A thing said walks in immortality if it has been said well.” We do those who must listen to us a favor when we season our speech with a bit of grace.

“Eloquence,” according to Richard Cecil, “is vehement simplicity.” I like that definition. It suggests that we’re eloquent when we know what we want to say, we believe it passionately, and we say it straightforwardly. Eloquence, seen in this way, is not just for the orators among us. It’s for everybody else too.

"True eloquence consists in saying all that should be said, and that only" (François de La Rochefoucauld).

Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com