Good Choices

“Everything can be taken from a [person] but one thing; the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
~ Victor Frankel, "Man's Search for Meaning"

"...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
~ The Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:8

Regardless of the circumstances in our lives, we can always choose how we respond to whatever our situation may be.  The statements above come from two men who experienced unimaginable pain and persecution in their lives yet chose to respond in positive ways.  

Victor Frankel survived the horrors of loosing his entire family and nearly his own life in the Nazi genocide of World War II.  He became a neurologist, psychiatrist, author, and founder of the psychiatric school of Logotherapy.  

The Apostle Paul endured persecution, imprisonment, and beatings while spreading the teaching of Jesus and organizing the early followers of Jesus into communities of faith that would eventually become Christianity.

These are both dramatic, nearly larger than life, examples of choosing to respond in positive ways.  However, our lives are filled with nearly constant choices within all the circumstances of our lives.  We never know when a small choice will, in retrospect, become a large one, so why not try as Paul says to choose to find the good in all situations.

This is not always easy to do, however the first step is realizing we have choice and the ability to respond.  We can't change the reality of a situation but we can always choose our response to it.  As Frankel says, the one thing that can't be taken away from us is our innermost response-ability.

As I use to say to our children when they were teenagers (and sometimes still do), but now mostly say to myself,  "Make good choices."

I don't always make true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, or excellence choice, but when I do, the world looks a whole lot better. 

Important Reminder!

One Eternal Presence will be using a new email delivery system beginning in August. If you wish to remain on the emailing list you must take a minute to subscribe. Please follow the link and complete the simple process which will include a verification email to activate your subscription.    SUBSCRIBE HERE

FYI - there is no need to unsubscribe to the present service as that will take place automatically on August 1 if you do not subscribe to the new service.   Actually unsubscribing now will prevent you from receiving it through July.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Thanks to each of you and I look forward to many more weeks and years of sharing with you.       

Migration

I've been on vacation for a couple of weeks and one of the things I allowed some rest was One Eternal Presence.  I considered re-posting previous blogs just to keep the space occupied but decided instead to give you a rest as well.  I hope you've missed it.    For me, this little break has prompted me to reflect on how it all began and where it is going.

Three years ago on June 15, 2011, I posted the first entry to a blog I had created in order to reflect on and share my experiences while on a three month sabbatical.  I called the blog "One Eternal Presence" which was the guiding theme of my sabbatical.   Shortly after returning from sabbatical I began sharing at this same website weekly thoughts, reflections, and messages with members and friends of our congregation.  Others began to subscribe and soon I was emailing these weekly messages to over 180 people.  135 post later here we are.

The email delivery system I use tells me that approximately 40% of you regularly read (or at least open) the email.  I'm also told that this is a pretty good percentage for a blog. I truly appreciate each of you who regularly reads the blog, and especially those of you who offer occasional comments and insights.  I get regular feedback that my musings are meaningful to you.

So with all of this in mind, I'm making a few changes to One Eternal Presence, mostly in how and to whom it is sent.  Beginning in August I will use a different delivery system which will require each of you to actively subscribe to One Eternal Presence. Until then you will receive it as usual.  After August 1 only those who have subscribed through the new delivery system will receive it.  I'll be reminding you during June and throughout July, giving us plenty of time to migrate.  Then in August we start out with a fresh mailing list of those who have intentionally subscribed for the sole purpose of receiving One Eternal Presence.

The content of One Eternal Presence will pretty much continue to be my personal musings in conversation with ideas and wisdom from other sources, as well as your comments.

So, let's get started.  If you wish to remain on the One Eternal Presence emailing list please follow the link and complete the simple process which will include a verification email to activate your subscription.    SUBSCRIBE HERE

FYI - there is no need to unsubscribe to the present service as that will take place automatically on August 1 if you do not subscribe to the new service.   Actually unsubscribing now will prevent you from receiving it through July.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Again, thanks to each of you and I look forward to many more weeks and years of sharing with you.