Always watching
Bias of choice
Always limited
Ignorant selection
Mystery banished
Uncertainty ignored
Communal groupthink
Worldview
I step outside.
Always watching.
Seeing much. Knowing little
Open.
Caught in the middle.
Floating outside.
Tomorrow, my new job at Walmart begins! I’m very excited but also very nervous!
Things I’m looking forward to:
1. Having a job
2. Getting to be a part of the largest company in the world
3. Getting certified for Birkman and Image Consulting
4. A long drive everyday during which I can process, think, and listen to audiobooks
5. A salary!
6. Getting to work on a high-functioning team
7. Being challenged
I have two very different, very good job offers. Now time to decide. Decision due in 2 days.
—David Brooks, political and cultural commentator for the New York Times (via didacticblog)
Very profound!
(via theocial)
For the 13.9 Million Americans who, like me, are unemployed, it is easy to fall into one of two traps:
The first trap is the snare of complete independence. This person believes that everything is up to them, and nothing will happen unless they pursue it relentlessly. So we fill out job applications by the ream, and worry constantly that we aren’t doing enough to land that job that we are supposed to have. God helps those who help themselves, right?
The second trap is the bed of complete reliance. It’s so warm and toasty under the covers that this person would rather not get dressed at all. We tell ourselves that filling out applications is useless after all…it’s all about who you know. And I think some people know that I’m looking for a job, so they’ll find one for me. Besides…God’s in control, and he’ll take care of me! I don’t need to worry about a thing. I’m just waiting on the Lord.
I have been both of these people over the last several months, but recently, someone shared a profound observation with me: these two attitudes are both unhealthy extremes. A more balanced and wise approached is found in the parable of the dependent farmer. You see, a farmer is responsible for sowing his crops, tilling the field, and harvesting the bounty. At the same time, he is completely dependent on God to make it rain. If he does his job, and depends on God for the rest, he can do no better.
I am doing my part. I’m sowing the crops and tilling the field. I’m taking action. But I’m also completely dependent on God. I trust he will make it rain at exactly the right time.
A nice little read.
Waiting to be appreciated. Waiting to be believed in. Waiting to be invested in. Waiting for recognition. Waiting for purpose.
You cannot give what you do not have, and rarely do you get what you do not give.
Stop waiting, start giving.
I wrote this two years ago. Still true?
Ideas for Reaching the Millennial Generation/Things you need to know about Millennials
We like things that have to do with social justice, corporate responsibility, community, and sustainability.
We are interested in politics. We like the look of the liberals and spend much of media exposure under their influence, but respect the conviction of conservatives. We don’t understand where the conservatives are going.
We like Obama. You can criticize his policies, or show how he persuades people with his rhetoric. Anyone who doesn’t like him personally sounds extremely conservative.
We don’t like fundamentalists, because they claim to know the truth about everything, and dismiss everything else that matters to us.
We feel like we can make a difference in the world!
We think and talk in terms of our feelings.
Our style of communication, especially writing, is changing because of Facebook, text messaging, cell phones, and email.
We have a short attention span! If you want to communicate with us, get to the point and make it worth our time!
We are wary of absolutes, because we understand so many different points of view. Somebody claiming that only one is ‘right’ seems presumptuous.
Looks are important. Well-done graphics can make a big difference in our minds about a product.
We are easily bored and distracted. Information has to be exciting, relevant and meaty.
We like to be met where we are, not where we should be.
We are technology and media centered. Can you keep up with us?
We’ve been taught that nobody is a failure, and that we’re all special. We may be a little over confident, but we won’t let that set us back.
Our goal is less to get filthy rich, and more to be happy and make a positive difference in the world.
We are demanding and want the best.
Doom and gloom doesn’t work for us. Give us hope that we can change things!
Logic, not lectures
No scare tactics, no false absolutes, no hype. We’ve been over-marketed and can spot over-hyped marketing a mile away.
We have an entitlement mentality, and sometimes don’t even know it. And we don’t always think it’s a bad thing.
Before today, I haven’t cried in almost 7 years. I recognize that such a lack of emotional response is unhealthy, and I’ve often wondered what, if anything, would make me cry, and why I have lost this form of catharsis.
But today, at the funeral of a 21 year-old boy I never met, I could not hold anything back. The sorrow of a family that I deeply admire and respect, along with the love and support of the community that I have come to love, broke through my walls, and opened the floodgates.
Today’s funeral was a touching demonstration of love: the love of a father for his son, the deep bond of brothers, the love of a girlfriend, the camaraderie of best friends, and the love of a community for it’s leader. As we sang the hymn “It is well” and I watched the father put his arms around his wife and three children, I was deeply touched by their pain, their support of each other, and their love for their departed son.
I found myself wondering why I was crying my eyes out for someone I had never even met. But I realized that my grief, and the grief of many in the room went beyond sorrow for the boy’s death. We all wept because we love and respect the family who lost a son and a brother. Their pain became ours. Now I understand for the first time what it is like to weep with someone, and to share in the sorrow of another.
That’s what community is all about.
