“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to” George Seaton

Common Sense

     Isn’t it funny how when thinking of different people you think of them as smart in different ways? Have you even known someone who you would classify as a MacGyver type person? That person who can make anything out of nothing, who can fix anything broken with just a piece of gum and a hanger? Then there is that person who you know who is on the I.Q. scale of genius, but as the old saying goes “can’t walk and chew gum at the same time”.  When I think of my own children and their different personality’s common sense also comes to mind. I have one son who is probably one of the best when it comes to hand eye coordination and pushing buttons. Of course this comes from to many hours spent behind a controller on a video game. He can usually fix your broken computer or show you how to program the TiVo to record but don’t, I mean DON”T ask him to hammer a nail in the wall for you or paint his room.

     People are definitely wired differently and most of us are better in one area that another. I remember when my boys were ages 5 and 6. We were painting the trim around the windows of our house. Boys, of course wanting to be with their day helping were right by our sides begging for a job to perform. My husband handed the older one a paint scraper which had some type of a pick at the other end. I presume it was to pry a difficult piece of paint loose. The five year old patiently scraped the window ceil but when we glanced over at the six year old the window looked like termites had eaten thousands of holes in it. After further observation we discovered what he was doing was hammering the point into the wood because it was much more fun. He is 18 now but we still don’t ask him to help us much with those sorts of projects. The other son is a natural when it comes to fixing things. For years when he got up in the morning he had to run to me and tell me about all of his new ideas for inventions. After school he spent many years making his prototypes.

     It has always amazed me when you meet an adult with no common sense. It’s always good for a laugh when you are joking around and they turn to you and say “really”? It is usually in such a naive way that you almost feel guilty. I guess that God made each of us different to break up the monotony. It would be a pretty boring world if we were all the same. 

A modest man is usually admired, if people ever hear of him. ~ Edgar Watson Howe

 “I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps.”

Mahatma Gandhi

     With our earlier discussion in class about who we think is or was a humble person Mahatma Gandhi would definitely be a person who comes to mind.  I even found this quote of his about humility. 

     What are some of the qualities that you look for in a friend or a mate? Is humility one of these qualities? What makes a person humble? I find that I am very attracted and in awe of humble people, possibly because it is one quality that I cannot seem to master.  It is definitely easer to be humble in some other cultures than our own. We as Americans (including myself) tend to puff out our chests and want to tell the world about the good we have done. You have to admit that it sure feels good to be honored or held in high esteem for something that you have done. Not that that is the only reason for doing a good deed.

     When I think of people that I personally know that stand out as humble people, I think of my pastor’s wife.  She is unlike any other pastors wife that I have ever known. She is not all about church business in fact unless you knew what she did you would wonder why she was even in the office. She runs an organization called the Guardian Foundation. This organization reaches out to children who are in groups such as foster homes for children with aids. She is currently working her magic with businesses in the community to get sponsors for a local elementary school in a very impoverished area where statistics tell us that 84% of the children who attend are below poverty level. Her plan so far is to find sponsors for 50 of the children so that they will receive a good Christmas. During back to school time she matched each family from the church up with a child with aids so that we could provide them with new clothes and backpacks to return to school. What makes her humble? She is always behind the scenes. She never takes credit for any of the great ideas or acts that she performs to make children’s lives so much better.

When I look at her I see the person that I would like to be more like.

Loose the ATTITUDE!

Loose the Attitude!

     I am the mother of children 26, 17, 18 and 11years old. Let me tell you about attitude. At my house attitude usually starts at about 6:30 a.m. and doesn’t end until the last eye closes at about 1:00 a.m. I started to think that I am finally approaching the age when there will be less of this in my life but last night I was reminded by a call from my eldest daughter and her husband that I now have walking, talking grandchildren and they are ready to just start on their attitude journey.  The good news is that they live in their house and I in mine and they are the parents and I am just a grandparent.  My daughter called me hysterical to tell me that they were watching a new television show where the TV father was being asked by the daughter for $20.00 to go buy coffee.  I guess most of us have heard this from one side of the fence or the other.  I know many of you in class are young and are probably on the asking side where I am on the wallet side which always seems to be empty partially since the opening of Starbucks. Anyway the father is telling the girl that she does not really need expensive coffee.  When hearing this my 2 year old granddaughter , knowing her mothers star bucks habit and always hearing her father say make coffee at home, approached her father and said “hey dad, sorry but mom and I need our FREEKIN coffee so please stop complaining”. Note, at 2 my granddaughter needs her vanilla star bucks milk in the morning also.

     Well anyway there are also good types of attitude that we can discuss. Attitude can be one of the most important qualities that a person carries with them each day.  Your attitude can project a wealth of information about you to people you come in contact with. Most people who know me say that I have an overall good attitude.  I try to convey this as part of my persona.  I do not get angry or bent out of shape much.  I try to take everyday events with a grain of salt.  What is a bad attitude going to get you anyway? For example today I was talking with a neighbor who stopped me to ask a question. We live on a dirt road and there was plenty of room to pass since I had not even left my property yet.  A vehicle approached behind the person I was talking to.  The man passed very upset and totally turned his head to make sure that my neighbor saw that he was angry with him.  Now no matter how hard I try I cannot think of that man the same as I had previously passing each other on our road. What did this get him? Nothing as far as I know except two people who now will never respect him again.

     Here is a quote that we should all try to incorporate in our day to day lives.

“Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. The factor is attitude.”

William James