Escaped Monkeys, 12 Step Programs, Tackling Negativity

Aside from an embarrassed zookeeper or the animals rights activists, one of the reasons that the  rest of us were intently following the saga of Zimm (with 1,000+ Twitter followers overnight plus mentions by CBS and NBC) is that there was very little hatred involved. No flags or SCOTUS decisions or boycotts or any of that. How nice. 

I attended a 12 step program meeting last week for the first time.  If you go with a certain attitude, then, yes, the clichés and stereotypes will abound. If you go in with an open mind, it can be a moving and humbling experience…no matter why or how you came to be there. Two things struck me immediately: (1)  everyone, from whatever walk of life, is on an equal footing, attentive and supportive, and (2) there is a big emphasis on making amends, directly or indirectly.  Stop me if you have heard this, but anger, negativity, grudges, derision, and the like are a virtual cancer in the mind &  body of the holder of those things: you may hate someone or something else, but you are the one harmed most over time.

And that’s the other thing: one day at a time – whether alcohol or drugs or negative attitudes. Every day is a new challenge and offers new opportunities, but the key is proactive, intentional change; change in behavior is one way to begat change in attitude & outlook (see last weeks blog).  A fine example is physical activity releasing endorphins.

So until we have more monkeys on the loose, I highly recommend spending your social media time on viral videos of baby goats and cats. And get out of your house just to make sure there isn't a monkey in your yard. You never know!

Two Movies, Two Songs about Starting Over

Theme from the film M*A*S*H:  “Suicide is Painless, it brings on many changes…”  written by Johnny Mandel/Mike Altman and recorded in 1970.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gO7uemm6Yo

From the film The Bells of St Mary’s: “In the land of beginning again…”  written by Grant Clarke/George Mayer in  1919; performed by Bing Crosby 1946. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Wn8ocU1k8

Suicide is a huge burden on the surviving friends and family, NOT at all painless as the song lyric suggests. But the “bringing on of many changes” makes more sense is light of giving up your old life for a new one, not physically, but in terms of radically changing things – careers, values, friendships, focus.  The Gospel of Luke (14:25-33) and Gospel of Mark (8:34-35) allude to this sort of complete realignment.

Leave it to Bing Crosby to phrase this more happily in song, “The Land of Beginning Again”. This 1919 tune was an overripe chestnut when he got around to recording it in 1946, and yet, it resonates. The land of beginning again is indeed a place that we all need to visit sooner or later and sometimes more than once.

Let’s be honest, if tomorrow holds  no more hope that yesterday or today, if we have seen our best days, then what’s the point of tomorrow?  Will it be just another round of same old, same old?  Of oh kids these days? Of that’s not how we used to do it?

It does not have to be.  Tomorrow can be better…but it may take some pretty radical changes.

Too Much Information

TMI. More than you really wanted to know. We occasionally run into that in the workplace, check out lines in stores, restaurants, any place to people might share a bit more than we are comfortable with.  Of course, no where do you see this more than on Facebook – not just food photos (guilty as charged) but diatribes about ex-spouses, political views, and so very much more. Way too much.

I  remember letters with stamps. I remember when email was new and novel. I remember Myspace, Plaxo,   and the opening of Facebook to non-students. I remember when Twitter got overloaded and the whale symbol went up. Seen that lately? No.  Of course Google+ is still out there even though no one cares and then what happened with Ello, the next big thing?

The thing is we now have a real time debate with no real consequences for chucking civility. It is an angerfest, an axe grinding marathon, and sad mess. I’m taking a break for a week or month or  year or who knows. I am sorry if you enjoyed my event photos and will miss them (and congratulations to the folks who hated them and no longer have  to endure them).

If you want to hear about my adventures, I will post to this blog..but you will have to be proactive in looking me up, I will not be in your face on Facebook! For now.

And I am looking forward to less screen time and dusting off  my books, magazines, and the remote for TV news.

So happy posting to you and if you need me, FB messaging will probably not be as effective as an email or , gasp, a phone call. Hello?