Everybody knows ...

Disaster!  National collapse!  Hardly.  These are the common
social fluctuations occasioned by economic variations. 
We adapt to the opportunities available.

Everybody knows that when your kids are 18, out they go!  Everybody knows that if your kid goes to college and then comes back home, it's a disaster.  You must have failed as a parent! 

Or maybe it's the end of the world!

Nonsense.

Welcome to the 21st century.  The phenomenon is called the 'accordion family' and 'boomerang children'. It has happened before and will likely happen again.  As the economy loosens or tightens, folks in transition may or may not find an adequate place in the workforce right away.  They may or may not be hired into a viable career path right out of school.  They may launch in the classic (1950's) sense, or they may emerge more slowly like youngsters did in the 1930's. Let's not struggle with social contextual issues as though they were a simple choice.  Stuff like that happens.

Going a bit further, it's worth noting that the economically tight times will first affect young folks, single-income homes, recent immigrants, and perhaps non-technical folks.  If extended, the economic impact will envelope the entire population.  It's done to us, not by us.  

Stay connected.
Stay informed.
Stay involved.

Family is the safe place, the shelter, the base camp from which each foray originates and to which one can always return to be refreshed, encouraged, and helped.  A healthy church serves similarly in our lives.

    Take a breath, get a grip, adjust.

Fuss, pray, fight, pray, work, push, pray, change, vote :), be thankful for the opportunity you have.

     Did I mention 'vote'? And pray too.  Of course.

Of note, our unemployment in the U.S. hovers around 8%.
In Spain today, unemployment is 25%, and in Djibouti, it's around 80%.

Take the time to understand your world.

Legal Purchase of Government Policy

One person, one vote.
One super-rich person, one vote, but troublingly greater influence.
Despite the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, this really isn't equal representation, IMHO.

Most folks conclude that the Super PAC use of influence is crooked as a dog's hind leg.

The 9 biggest PACs are primarily funded by just a few rich individuals, yet they have great influence in our country's governance.

Super PACs emerged from the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2011. PACs can legally raise unlimited amounts of money. They can legally spend that money on messages supporting the election or defeat of federal candidates.  This isn't money spent on research and analysis for the benefit of the nation, this is just advertising constructed to sell, to persuade, to inordinately influence.

From Forbes/Business:

"Super PACs are responsible for a new flood of secret and unlimited cash infiltrating our political system. They have become far more important and influential than the candidates themselves or the voters, and have fundamentally changed American politics. 

To date, there are 328 super PACs that have raised about $99 million and spent about $48 million in the 2012 election cycle, $42.5 million of which has been spent on the presidential race." 

The super pacs have more influence at election time than the candidates do.  That's a troubling possibility.

Update:  10/2016

2016 financial activity for super PACs

2,331	number of super PACs
$1,107,816,814	total raised by super PACs
$734,282,837	total spent by super PACs

That's money spent on advertising, smear tactics, biased recounting of history, and inaccurate representation.  There's no objectivity and no value in the actions, only detrimental misrepresentation and division in the nation.  If you're curious how it happened, this is a centerpiece.

I can see clearly now ... can't I?

World. View.

Worldview?

Every day, we are assaulted by talking heads, pushing us to accept some 'obvious' truth, or 'point of view' ... 

GenX/Yer    Millennial      Mosaic         ...?

Liberal  Conservative   Moderate    Radical       ...?        Tween  Teen   Twenty-    Thirty-something        …?

Optimist  Pessimist   Realist     Fatalist      Idealist         …?

     Do we know why we see things the way we do? 

Did we acquire our perspective from the media, the years, the culture?   From stories our father told?
Or perhaps we were dragged to it by life's circumstances.  
Do we see things clearly?   

One sociologist, for an example, describes us in terms of how we view people outside our own circle.  If we visited a dozen places, what might we see?

People as:
(1) interesting illustrations in dress and manner, or as 
(2) folks with whom you might interact as you travel and shop and eat, or as 
(3) potential friends, even extensions of your own circle of family and intimate friends.  

It's another way to describe our view, a continuum from isolation to social integration.  Does it help?  How many more such differentiations might there be?

   We hope to understand the world we see, to avoid narrow-mindedness born of ignorance.   

  We hope to make the world a better place for our having been in it.  

So what might one do for a better worldview?  
You can choose, you know.  

As a youngster, I was told with a smile ...

 Things are not as they seem.
    You were born into a world at war.
       Everything you do counts.

Perhaps a helpful beginning point.  

No mere mortal

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. 

All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities… that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. 

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.

Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” 

~ C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Welcome to your world, Gabrielle Elise, and to your first sunrise, and to everlasting splendor!

All Hallows' Eve 2012

Joy Stolen

It isn't the circumstances of life that rob you of your joy, it's all the time you spend worrying about them. 

Joyce Meyer

In the back of my truck, friends in western Africa ...

There are those among us who are consistently at peace, even when times are difficult.  There are those who, when faced with life-changing distress, can respond from a joyful heart and a grateful spirit.

Then, there's the rest of us.  High-drama folks, black hole folks, sour-faced, fearful over-thinkers.  Expecting the worst seems a common state of mind for many whether the current dilemma is financial or medical or relational ...

It doesn't have to be that way, though, does it.  We do know better.


Ever notice that children usually worry less than adults do?  Ever wonder why they can spend so much time being happy?  Why even when they have little, they can be content?

Why don't children worry?  Well, first perhaps, because their needs are simple.  A family, food, shelter, and security will pretty much take care of their concerns for today.  With such simple things, they're content.  Each morning is new and exciting, and they're happy for the opportunity.  Every day is a bit of a thrill.

The fortunate ones carry such simple contentment into adult life.

Except you become like a little child ....

 ... and learn therewith to be content.

It's a practical truth, not a religious thing.

Joyce Meyer gave us the opening line, by the way.  She's a thoughtful lady and a regular encouragement to folks around the world.   (In a church service in Kenya, the sermon, translated from Swahili, reminded me of Joyce.  After the service when I told the pastor, he laughed and said he'd been reading her stuff for years.)

IMPACT! Got a target?

  A teen looking for the meaning of life told me, 
  
"I'm going to spend my life on something; it might as well be something that makes a difference."  


A noble thought that deserves a workable plan!

Just for fun, here's a super-quick walk-through to seeing and hitting your target.
It's an informal 'personal mission statement' sort of exercise.

• On paper, scribble answers for the questions below.  
• Quickly write the first thing you think of. No editing.
• Give 30 seconds for each, and chuckle as you write.

Fun Life Questions:

1. What makes you smile? (Activities, people, events, hobbies...)
2. What were your favorite things to do in the past? And now?
3. What makes you lose track of time?
4. What makes you feel great about yourself?
5. Who inspires you? (Family members, friends, authors, artists, leaders, heroes, etc.) Why?

6. What are you good at? (Skills, abilities, gifts etc.)
7. What do people typically ask you for help with?
8. What are your top 3 values?  Examples (right):
9. What are some challenges, difficulties and hardships you’ve overcome? How?
10. If you could get a message across, what would it be?

And now, my life's goals:

“Writing or reviewing a mission statement changes you because it forces you to think through your priorities deeply, carefully, and to align your behaviour with your beliefs”   ~Stephen Covey

From the questions above:

• What do I want to do?
• Who do I want to affect?
• What is the result I hope for? 

Now if you like, you can see a life plan with goals.

• From your answers, notice the actions; for example, teach, help, change, educate, accomplish, empower, rebuild, encourage, give, master, equip, organize, produce, promote, travel, spread, support, provide, understand, write... 
• You can see who and what you believe you can help; e.g., people, creatures, organizations, causes, groups, environment, etc. 
• In a sentence or two, you might describe your goals. How will the ‘who’ from your above answer benefit from what you ‘do’? 

You can reshape it on purpose, of course. And over the years, it will perhaps need to be adjusted a bit. Absent a plan, though, what progress might you expect?

You can be herded along by others, or you can pick your own path.

Target identified. Fire for effect.