LET'S TALK ABOUT . . .


                                                                   "BE AWARE!"


Anne Murray's rendition of A Little Good News has been resonating in me this past week, especially in light of world news events.  Its main refrain is, "we sure could use a little good news today."  The longing for good news is powerful in modern times.  Many have given up on hearing much of it in local, national or international broadcasts and refuse to even tune in, "It's too depressing!" And yet, the longing seems insatiable.  Perhaps it is part of the human condition to long to be reminded of our "nobility," that we exist for so much more than we often witness in ourselves and others.

In my lifetime this longing has been immortalized in the artwork of Norman Rockwell, whose prints captured those precious everyday moments, the stuff memories are made of in our personal lives.  As well, we have been warmed by Kodak's "priceless" commercials over the years.  Having seen them or not often became a topic of conversation over coffee or around the office water cooler.  Presently, we smile listening to stories of pay-it-forward actions by random citizens.  How quickly others jump in and participate in an opportunity to be a part of something good.  The longing is to hear how long such goodness was sustainable before it came to an end that time.

The longing to see the best in/of humanity is powerful.  We long to be reminded that in the face of so many examples of the dark side of humanity, we can still hope to see genuine goodness.  We long to see it all around us, in positive proactive situations as well as negative.  We are deeply moved by stories of heroism in the face of present day crises.  While we stand in awe of such courage and action we silently wish we had witnessed it under different circumstances.

It is interesting that Rockwell, Kodak, even Murray's song point toward finding what one person recently referred to as "the extraordinary in the ordinary."  It is often in those little unrehearsed moments of life that we catch the purest glimpses of the extraordinary.  I have become increasingly aware of this and have started to be more consciously aware of those glorious moments.  I don't want to miss them!  Those moments ground us in what is really important and noteworthy.  They pull our focus away from all our busyness toward our being.

In my life it has been only as I have gazed upon the goodness of One that I have been transformed from the core of my being.  Our focus shapes and defines us more than we realize.  We want to believe that it does not matter what we engage, think about or focus on, as if it cannot "slip in" and become a part of our being.  Have you ever noticed how we follow our focus?  Think about driving--where were you taught to focus in order to steer correctly toward your desired destination?  

Re-visioning exercises are usually for the purpose of re-focusing in order to reach some desired goal, objective or destination.  More and more I am hearing about these kinds of activities at multiple levels in the world.  It is as if we are realizing how off track we have become.  The world is trying to re-focus regarding climate predictions, world health, governments, businesses, the markets,
communities, educational institutions and so forth. 

Re-focusing and re-visioning are not limited to organizational structures.  Sometimes we need to engage personally in such exercises.  It is good to be reminded of who we are and who we want to be, our self-definitions, before outlining the appropriate focus to follow.  How about you?  Are you engaged in such an exercise in your life?  Who are you?  Where do you hope to end up? 

Until next time . . . this is, Just Janice!