Foxholes make Believers
Because I cuss like a sailor and appear to live life without boundaries, some might find it odd that I also like to listen to prosperous preachers like Joel Osteen, Catholic Talk, and Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday. But if you think about it, risk taking people have a big need for believing in a higher power. As the idiom goes, “There are no atheists in a fox hole.” Metaphorically speaking, it’s in a fox hole where humans often find themselves and if you’re one of those people who are always pushing the limits, you are likely there a lot.
Expectations Create Stress
This week was packed full of deadlines and expectations. Grady and I are preparing for a business trip and we have expectations on the horizon. Also, son Jack flew in for a short weekend in which I made plans and also had grand expectations for. But the weekend did not go according to ‘my plan’ and I began to worry that neither would our business venture.
Attitude is Everything
It is easy to take the mental train down the path of loathing and despair. Whether you live alone, work alone, or have a big family and office with many customers, it sometimes only takes one event to ruin your day and possibly your good night’s sleep. I am continually reminding my salespeople, (who I call the Marines, because they are on the frontline with the public), that ninety-nine percent of our customers are lovely and happy. And to fight the temptation to let one unsatisfied, mouthy person on the other end of an email or phoneline ruin your day.
Help Comes in Curious Ways
But alas, we are human and even when you know better, it is often hard not to fall from grace. To err is human – along with focusing and obsessing on the error. That is why, when alone in my car, I like to listen to upbeat dance music or, if I am really fighting the devil speak in my head, encouraging religious talk radio. If you’re like me then you know; the sermons or conversations you randomly search and land upon are often weirdly poignant to whatever is eating at you. This day was no exception.
Turn On the Radio
When I pushed the seek button on my satellite radio, I landed on a conversation between Pastor Joel Osteen and movie Producer DeVon Franklin. Aside from being a very successful movie maker, DeVon is a bestselling author.
In DeVon’s first book that he wrote with his wife, The Wait is what they did until their wedding night (you get the picture). Being a child of Free Love, Bra-Burning, and The Pill, I am a little suspicious. Guess it depends on how long you date. My mom always bragged she and Dad waited till they were married, but then again, they only dated 3 months, most of which he was at WWII boot camp. By comparison, Grady and I dated 5 years. If he had waited, I might have wondered if he was a eunuch.
Just What I Needed to Hear
DeVon gave examples of how expectations had been keeping him from enjoying his success and how after much soul searching, he discovered that it was the expectations for himself, of others, the day, the week, his career, etc. that was the common culprit. He realized that his overthinking was robbing himself of enjoying life, setting himself up for disappointment, and if speaking in spiritual truths, being faithless in God’s plan for him. In his latest book, Live Free, he writes about letting go of expectations. This is not to say stop dreaming big, but rather live in the moment. It reminded me of my favorite spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle, https://eckharttolle.com/ and his book The Power of Now which I have read multiple times.
My Fall From Grace
I imagine you have guessed by now, that I am not searching the radio and listening to prosperous preachers and motivational authors for no reason. As I said, this past weekend “expectations” did not go according to “my plan”.
I had a fall from grace.
