Another bear has been spotted in our neighborhood. I am in the habit of walking my dog last thing at night which usually is after 11 P.M. Not wanting to stop that, I have started carrying the metal-headed driver from my golf bag. I realize there is almost no chance the bear would bother us and that the golf club would be useless but it’s a nice placebo. Last night there was a lot of lightning in the area. I had a dilemma. Should I be walking around with a lightning rod in my hand or forgo the club and just shout big and loud if the bear appeared? Now I know some of you are thinking, just don’t go. But then I would have to get up at and go downstairs at 3 a.m. to let the dog out. Choices. Choices. Sometimes the smallest of things requires so many choices.
Life is a series of choices. We make thousands of them everyday. Driving to work requires tons of choices. How fast, when to pull out, can I make that light, do I need gas, where to park, on and on it goes. Fortunately we train ourselves to make most of those decisions automatically. Our subconscious governs most of them. Have you ever driven home and suddenly realized you had no recollection of driving? You were so focused on something else.
One of my goals is to automatically do the kindest most loving thing. Today a student irritated me by trying his best to get around a degree requirement. He was spending more energy trying to finagle than he would have spent just doing the work. My automatic response was not kind and loving. Ah, there is so much character work left to do.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 2, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org