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.