Posts Tagged: committee defined

“ACTION FIRST, WORD LATER”

On January 8, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.” (John 7:17, New Living Translation, italics mine)

My wife is taking our dog to puppy lessons.  Our dog doesn’t really need any lessons to be a puppy; she is already pretty good at that.  Being a good puppy is another matter, at least at times.

My wife came home from the first lesson with all kinds of good ideas, which I was promptly told about.  I’m not sure, but I suspect that my sweetheart is hoping that some of the suggestions may be transferrable to another species—particularly to a homo sapiens with whom my wife has to deal on a regular basis.  I think that her suspicion is correct.

For example, one of the principles that the puppy training manual handout holds out is as follows:  “Teaching your dog a reliable Sit is very important.  . . .”

The instructions continue with,

“Don’t say ‘Sit’ yet.  Your dog needs to master the action first.  If you say the word before your dog understands the action, he’ll become immune to the word.  When your dog sits every time you use the hand motion, you can add the word.”

Action first is a principle that I am still trying to master.  I want to have a word for something I am supposed to be doing, before I do anything.  Frequently, I get so interested in the word that I forget all about the action.  The Book of James in the New Testament has a great deal to say to people like me.

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:19-25 New Living Translation)

Someone has defined a committee as “a group of people talking about what they should be doing.”  That is pretty good as a definition.  It is even better as a wry comment.  If you didn’t get the wry flavor on a first reading, try rereading the definition, with the emphasis on the word “should”!

I am also reminded of the old quip, “When all is said and done, there’s a lot more said than done.”  Yes indeed!

Perhaps I should actually do something today.  I’m not sure if posting a blog counts or not.

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“ACTION AND THINKING”

On June 9, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

 

“One of the CAC’s Core Principles is: ‘We do not think ourselves into a new way of living, but we live ourselves into a new way of thinking.’”  (Richard Rohr, https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/, accessed 05-29-2016).

. . .

“Franciscan alternative orthodoxy doesn’t bother fighting popes, bishops, Scriptures, or dogmas. As stated in another of CAC’s core principles, ‘The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better. Oppositional energy only creates more of the same.’ This alternative orthodoxy quietly but firmly pays attention to different things—like simplicity, humility, non-violence, contemplation, solitude and silence, earth care, nature and other creatures, and the “least of the brothers and sisters.”  (Richard Rohr, https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/, accessed 05-29-2016).

“Move a muscle, change a thought.”  (Twelve-step saying.)

Having mused yesterday about my tendency to overvalue and too narrowly define “productivity,” I want to come in with a good word for action, especially in relation to thinking.

I often fall into the trap of thinking that thinking precedes action.  In a sense, that is true—or, at least, it should be true.  I do indeed need to think before I act.

However, I also need to remember that action often needs to come first.  I remember many years ago participating in a class that was built on an action-contemplation model.  We were supposed to do ministry tasks, and then contemplate what we had done.  I hated the class!

But why did I hate the class?  Perhaps I hated it because I would much rather sit around and think (and talk!) about things, rather than actually doing something.  I remind me of the definition of a committee: “A committee is a group of people talking about what they should be doing.”  I am a one-man committee!

What would happen, if I were to put action first?  I might do some better thinking, for one thing.  For another, I might get more done.

Of course, the truth is that I need to do both, moving back and forth between the two.  Better action leads to better thinking, which leads to better action, and so on.

The name of Richard Rohr’s organization is “The Center for Action and Contemplation.”  I suspect that, Like Rohr, I need to put action first and contemplation (and thinking) second.

Sorry to cut this post off abruptly, but I need to go do something!  I’ll think about it and contemplate later.

 

 

 

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