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Wisdom Day 19 November 2016: Kid Smash

From Unsplash.com, by Bonnie Kittle

In Our Hands

Discipline your children while you still have the chance;
    indulging them destroys them. (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 19, Verse 18, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

We feed them sugar in its myriad forms, buy them a dizzying array of plastic stuff, and use the TV as our baby sitter. Then we pay the dentist. But the chance is gone to form their character and their intellect.

This holiday season, let’s give them the gift of ourselves, an informed us.

So what will I do for Sophie? I’ll play Zoominoes with her tonight and do tic-tac-toe. She loves that and cheats. Not really. She just changes the rules as we go along. Maybe she is on her way to Extreme Ownership. She does lead to win. By that I mean she grabs the pen and changes my O to an X. Voilá! Victory for the five-year old.

Oh, and maybe I’ll revisit Simplicity Parenting, the best book I know on child rearing, other than maybe The Book of Proverbs, which takes us back to where this post started.

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Wisdom Day 14 November 2016: Mind the Body

The wonders of modern medical research:

Over the past 20 years, mind-body medicine has provided evidence that psychological factors can play a major role in such illnesses as heart disease, and that mind-body techniques can aid in their treatment. Clinical trials have indicated mind-body therapies to be helpful in managing arthritis and other chronic pain conditions. There is also evidence they can help to improve psychological functioning and quality of life, and may help to ease symptoms of disease. (National Institutes of Health Medline Plus, Winter 2008)

A few years earlier, the world renowned researcher and scholar Solomon put it this way:

A sound mind makes for a robust body,
    but runaway emotions corrode the bones. (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 14, Verse 30, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

Working hard to control my bone corrosion factor, BCF (my own acronym). Since reading Extreme Ownership and listening to JockoPodcast.com, my BCF has dropped 19%, and I don’t even have a Trooper Rash Guard! Go figure!

NOTE: The Solomon Project cost U.S. tax payers nothing.

 

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Wisdom Day 11 November 2016: Blessed Blessings

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;
    those who help others are helped. (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 11, Verse 22, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

Veterans Day and Day 3 of the transition to a Trump presidency, a surprise to many and for some a source of anguish, anger, and rage. Among those who read this post will be some who are committed to the principles of Extreme Ownership. For them the challenge is to own even this period of roiling ire. How? To lead by example and to remember it is not what we preach, it is what we tolerate that counts. We start with ourselves. We must tolerate in ourselves and others only words and actions intended to mend rather than aggravate rifts. Were we on the losing side? Focus on constructive thought and action rather than the desire to break everything. Were we on the winning side? Avoid all gloating and arrogance, both in ourselves and in others. Of course, we can not control the words and actions of those around us, but we can be courageous enough to refuse to enter into conversations, actions, and reactions focused on fanning the flames. Rather, defuse the explosive devices by finding a way to bless others, through our words, our acts, the way we look at people. Curses generate curses, but blessings bring a harvest of blessings. Ourselves and our nation surely need to be abundantly blessed, especially now. It is time for a new Armistice Day.

 

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Torture: Post 1: The Decision

The young officer received orders for his next assignment: Vietnam, Chief, POW Interrogation Team. What to do? There were rumors of U.S. forces torturing prisoners. A predicament: Resign his commission, desert and flee to Canada? But his motives weren’t pure. He didn’t want to leave his beautiful young wife and their new-born son. Of course not. The lure of media exposure as a conscientious objector loomed large. TV interviews. Maybe publishing a book. Much more attractive than a billet in Nam. And regardless of possible media distortions, it was clear: lots of men were dying in Nam.

Persuasive factors but not honorable. So the lieutenant flew out to meet with his mentor, a colonel, to seek insight. Hearing the question, the colonel was crest fallen. “We don’t do that! We don’t torture prisoners!” That was it.

The lieutenant chose to go and see for himself. Ego was not absent from that decision either. Maybe the colonel was right. Didn’t seem likely, but maybe. In any event, Nam was the right decision for career advancement. He went.

Without knowing what preceded or followed this decision, can we judge its morality, its rightness in absolute terms? Both possible decisions were ego tainted, holding vast unknowns and based on fragmentary information about the realities of the war zone. What say ye?

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Wisdom Day 3 November 2016: Tree of Life

The Tree of Life, by Hide Obara

You’re blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom,
    when you make friends with Madame Insight.
She’s worth far more than money in the bank;
    her friendship is better than a big salary.
Her value exceeds all the trappings of wealth;
    nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.
With one hand she gives long life,
    with the other she confers recognition.
Her manner is beautiful,
    her life wonderfully complete.
She’s the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her.
    Hold her tight—and be blessed! (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 3, Verses 13-18, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

Too long away from wisdom. Wandering hither and tither is a fine way to lose the way. I came back to be with Lady Wisdom, my own Madam Insight. I missed her tremendously. I mess up a lot without her around. It’s good to be back, and it’s very good to see you again. Come on in and sit a spell. We can visit some good books, big favorites of My Lady:

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Wisdom Day 8 October 2016: Awake & Ready

Processed with VSCO with a8 preset

Pretty good Jocko #0445club motivation. Wisdom speaks:

“So, my dear friends, listen carefully;
    those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.
Mark a life of discipline and live wisely;
    don’t squander your precious life.
Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me,
    awake and ready for me each morning,
    alert and responsive as I start my day’s work.
When you find me, you find life, real life,
    to say nothing of God’s good pleasure.
But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul;
    when you reject me, you’re flirting with death.” (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 32-36, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

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Wisdom Day 7 October 2016: Desperate Housewives?

Adultery: High road to fun or low road to doom? Well, it’s Friday night, as it turns out. So maybe the whole chapter is worth sharing. Kill joy in the short run or kill boy long term? If as Jocko says, Discipline Equals Freedom, then lack of same = ????. Read on to find out or listen (click the speaker icon).

1-5 Dear friend, do what I tell you;
    treasure my careful instructions.
Do what I say and you’ll live well.
    My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it!
Write it out on the back of your hands;
    etch it on the chambers of your heart.
Talk to Wisdom as to a sister.
    Treat Insight as your companion.
They’ll be with you to fend off the Temptress—
    that smooth-talking, honey-tongued Seductress.

6-12 As I stood at the window of my house
    looking out through the shutters,
Watching the mindless crowd stroll by,
    I spotted a young man without any sense
Arriving at the corner of the street where she lived,
    then turning up the path to her house.
It was dusk, the evening coming on,
    the darkness thickening into night.
Just then, a woman met him—
    she’d been lying in wait for him, dressed to seduce him.
Brazen and brash she was,
    restless and roaming, never at home,
Walking the streets, loitering in the mall,
    hanging out at every corner in town.

13-20 She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
    boldly took his arm and said,
“I’ve got all the makings for a feast—
    today I made my offerings, my vows are all paid,
So now I’ve come to find you,
    hoping to catch sight of your face—and here you are!
I’ve spread fresh, clean sheets on my bed,
    colorful imported linens.
My bed is aromatic with spices
    and exotic fragrances.
Come, let’s make love all night,
    spend the night in ecstatic lovemaking!
My husband’s not home; he’s away on business,
    and he won’t be back for a month.”

21-23 Soon she has him eating out of her hand,
    bewitched by her honeyed speech.
Before you know it, he’s trotting behind her,
    like a calf led to the butcher shop,
Like a stag lured into ambush
    and then shot with an arrow,
Like a bird flying into a net
    not knowing that its flying life is over.

24-27 So, friends, listen to me,
    take these words of mine most seriously.
Don’t fool around with a woman like that;
    don’t even stroll through her neighborhood.
Countless victims come under her spell;
    she’s the death of many a poor man.
She runs a halfway house to hell,
    fits you out with a shroud and a coffin. (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 7, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

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Wisdom Day 1 October 2016: The Fool’s Vortex

Hurricane seen from space
The Eye of the Storm, NASA

Note to Reader: This post was due out two days ago but needed a bit more gestation.

Note to Self: Wait a minute! This warning is for you! That still small voice you’ve been ignoring for YEARS? Heed it today! Maybe there’s yet time to get to higher ground.

Note to Self and Others: Gravity, weather, and wisdom always apply. Belief gets no vote. The fool’s vortex is belief agnostic. Action counts!

20-21 Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
    At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
    At the busiest corner she calls out:

22-24 “Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
    Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
    About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I’m ready to pour out my spirit on you;
    I’m ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I’ve called, but you’ve turned a deaf ear;
    I’ve reached out to you, but you’ve ignored me.

25-28 “Since you laugh at my counsel
    and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
    I’ll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
    and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there’s nothing
    to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You’ll need me then. You’ll call for me, but don’t expect
        an answer.
    No matter how hard you look, you won’t find me.

29-33 “Because you hated Knowledge
    and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn’t take my advice
    and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you’ve made your bed—now lie in it;
    you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don’t you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
    Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
    Now you can take it easy—you’re in good hands.”  (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 1, Verses 20-33, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

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Wisdom Day 29 September 2016: Discipline Just in Time

Crowd on a narrow spit of sand

For people who hate discipline
    and only get more stubborn,
There’ll come a day when life tumbles in and they break,
    but by then it’ll be too late to help them. (The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 29, Verse 1, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

Being a fool by nature, I need a daily dose of discipline, or maybe several, to stay out of tough tumbles into tiger pits. But I just can’t make it every day to the psychologist, psychiatrist, priest, pastor, rabbi, imam or group meeting. But every day online I have:

The Word is Wisdom. Wisdom is the Word. Extreme Ownership put me back on a wise path. The fellowship of all the Troopers at zero dark 45 every morning helps me remember that, as Jocko says, Discipline = Freedom.

Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. (Paul’s Letter to the Church in Galatia, Chapter 1, Verse 1, The Message, BibleGateway.com)

I aim to own the freedom and connect for real with other humans in the pursuit of wisdom, short and long term.

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We Stand!

We know what we stand for, #0445club! Extreme Ownership!

. . . I will always do my duty,
No matter what the price,
I’ve counted up the cost,
I know the sacrifice.
Oh, and I don’t want to die for you,
But if dyin’s asked of me,
I’ll bear that cross with honor,
‘Cause freedom don’t come free. (Toby Keith, American Soldier)