Monday, December 15, 2008

Shame, Embarrassment, and Deepest Apologies

Hello fellow crazies,

I'm embarrassed when I see how long it's been since my last posting.  I apologize to both of you who occasionally read this rag.  My Aunt Fern tells me that she reads it sometimes, and a guy named Jeff B. has checked it out a few times.  Other than them I can't figure out who the other 1,860+ hits to the site might be.  Probably people who clicked accidentally while looking for something else.  Oh well. Writing is mainly therapeutic anyway.

To be perfectly honest I don't have any burning issues driving me back here to write again, that is except for feelings of guilt for having started a blog and then pooping out on it.  Why do I find it so hard to maintain consistency?  I'm certainly not the first one to have asked that question. It seems like most of us humans are great starters but not so good at following through.

Permit me to offer some examples.  All full of vim and vinegar we start diets, intent upon losing those ugly pounds.  For the first two days or so things go smoothly, but then we start to lose our resolve.  We look in the mirror and tell ourselves that it's not that big of a deal.  First it's a bowl of ice cream, then a big meal out with friends, then a complete leap off the wagon.

We make a New Year's resolution to have personal devotions every day.  We do all right for about a week, then we miss a couple of days.  Now we are out of sync with our One Year Bible reading plan.  To get back on course would mean reading all those extra chapters that we missed, which would take more time than we have right now.  So... we set it aside thinking we'll catch up later.

Or how about this one?  Our doctor says that we need exercise so we decide to start walking for a half hour every day.  That works out for the first few days but then some bad weather rolls in and we rationalize that we wouldn't want to pick up a nasty cold or sore throat so we beg off from the daily stroll.

Does any of this sound familiar?  We humans are great starters but our sticktoitiveness is often in short supply.  I think this problem manifests itself in some other ways too.  Marriages fail because people find it easier to jump into a new relationship than to take the time and trouble to fix the old one.  People choose to leave their flawed church rather than invest in making it into the ideal church they've always dreamed of being a part of.  It's about commitment.

Being aware of the problem puts us on the path toward a solution.  I'm back to walking regularly again, and I plan to be more regular at posting to my blog.  I will try to offer things worth reading, or things that will brighten your day.

Finally back in the blogger saddle,
Mike 

P.S. If you read this leave a comment to let me know.  My goal is to provide a dialogue place where we can share thoughts and ideas.  Besides that I am pathetically dependent upon your feedback to keep me going.

7 comments:

  1. Hi Mike,
    I am one of those who check your site I always like to see what you have to say and enjoy it since I don't get to hear you much anymore. I started a challenge this weekend that you might be interested in. It is called challenge360 and you will find details at coolchurch360.com. It is definitely about sticking to it and the idea that by starting you are in a better place than having not started at all. Let me know what you think, kym

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  2. I gave you the wrong address to check out. It is 360@coolchurch.com sorry kym

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  3. I love to read your blogs. From an almost professional procratinator:

    It is easier to begin well than to finish well.
    - Plautus

    In soloing-as in other activities-it is far easier to start something than it is to finish it.
    - Amelia Earhart

    Genius begins great works, labor alone finishes it.
    - Joseph Joubert

    Business is full of brilliant men who started out with a spurt and lacked the stamina to finish. Their places were taken by patient and unshowy plodders who never knew when to quit.
    - J. R. Todd

    I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.... I had poems which were rewritten so many times I suspect it was just a way of avoiding sending them out.
    - Erica Jong

    Can anything be sadder than work unfinished? Yes; work never begun.
    - Christina Rossetti

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  4. Hey Mike: I like your profile that includes you volunteer police chaplaincy> I have served eight years as a PD chaplain and have recorded a series of 21 stories that occured during a ride-out. Most do not have fast cars and big guns; rather they deal with the average shift live of a patrol officer. The book's title: Stories of the Street: Images of the Human Condition. It is available on www.stategicbookpublishing.com/StoriesOfTheStreet.html
    in case you are interested.
    Volunteer Police Chaplain Steve Best, Emeritus

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  5. Wow! Some real, honest-to-goodness comments! Thanks guys, for your responses.

    Kym, I looked at the www.coolchurch360.com website but couldn't find anything about the Challenge 360 you mentioned. But I'm glad that you guys have found a good church to attend. But we miss you.

    Hey D, thanks for the great quotes about starting and finishing. And thanks for reading and liking my blog. That encourages me to do more.

    Chaplain Steve, thank you for your comment and for your service. I agree with you. The most important part of chaplaincy is the quiet part, what goes on in the down times--drinking coffee together on a break, long talks inside the police car when nothing is going on. I'll look forward to reading your book. Blessings on you.

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  6. Hi Mike

    Jeff B. here reading along. You have been gone quite a while! I just got done with a major project. The project involved about 2,000 miles of road tripping with a guy whose beliefs and thoughts are different from mine on occasion. On more than one occasion as those long miles slid by some of them spent discussing issues with this guy, I was reminded of the discussions I have had with you. Although we have not met and most likely never will, reading what you write helps me galvanize my own thoughts on the topics you choose to write about. So keep it up! I may not agree with you but I respect you and your outlook on life as you see it!
    bonne chance!
    Jeff B.

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  7. Hi Jeff,
    Thanks for your encouraging comment. I appreciate you dropping by once in a while to read what I've written. It's nice to know that someone out there is listening. Congratulations on the successful completion of your project and your safe return from the long road trip. I too have enjoyed our several cyberspace conversations. Your comments and reactions have forced me to revisit and reevaluate some of my firmly held beliefs, and that is healthy, I think. Too many people go schlepping through this life brain-dead and clueless. You are not one of them. May God bless you today, my friend.

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Please feel free to comment on anything here. I look forward to feedback from you.