Posts Tagged: Tampa

“Concerning Short-Cuts and Bright Ideas”

On February 23, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

My affirmation for today is “Today, by God’s grace, I am praying the Serenity Prayer at least ten times, and living the prayer all day.”

To live something out, I first need to live in it for a time.  There is no shortcut for living in and with someone or something, before I can live that reality out.

And yet, I’m always looking for shortcuts.  For example, . . .

. . . on Friday, my wife wanted to go for a short bike ride, so we did.  It was cloudy and windy and (for Tampa) cold.  But we bundled up and went out for our “short” ride.  Straight down S. Newport to the bay.  The wind was worse along the bay, but it was at our backs.

When we turned around, I realized immediately that the wind was going to be a problem.  So, I had A BRIGHT IDEA!  Why not cut inland a few blocks.  We would be sheltered from the wind, at least a bit, by the houses.

At first, my decision felt pretty good.  The wind and the traffic noise on Bayshore were substantially diminished.  Excellent, I thought to myself!  I’ve had a bright idea that really is bright.

But the brightness of the idea soon dimmed.  The roads along the bay started in one direction, and then took off in another.  Some of them were cul-de-sacs.  The GPS on my phone stopped working.  Finally, I asked a lady out with a stroller how to get to Newport, in Hyde Park.  “Hyde Park is that direction,” she said, pointing the opposite way from the direction we had been going for quite some time.

Well, we started off taking her directions.  They were good—up to a point.  She had told us to turn left on Morrison, but apparently had forgotten that there was another turn before that.  However, my GPS now decided to start working.   We had already had a good deal more than “a short bike ride,” and my GPS informed me that we were 3.7 miles away from our destination.

My wife was really kind about all this.  I think that she could see that I was beating myself up badly for my stupid brilliant idea.  We did make it home, I made her some hot tea and myself some coffee, and (after an hour or two) we got warmed up.

“Do me a favor, sweetheart,” I said.  “The next time I have a bright idea, or want to take a shortcut, just shoot me.”

There is an old saying in chess: “If you see a good move, sit on your hands.”  In other words, “Don’t be premature, baby!”

Bright ideas and shortcuts very rarely are either bright or short.  I have heard it said that a shortcut is a quick way to a place no one in his right mind would want to go.  And as for bright ideas, they are usually about as bright as a burned-out light bulb. There is no shortcut to anything worthwhile.  If I am to live out the Serenity Prayer, I must first live in the Serenity Prayer for a long time.  Otherwise, I will miss the right path as sure as shootin’.

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“THE KINDNESS OF CHECKING ON PEOPLE”

On February 22, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . kindness . . . .” (Galatians 5:22)

One really nice form of kindness is checking on people.

A good friend, who is also a faithful reader of these blog posts, had his wife send a text to my wife to ask if I was okay.  I hadn’t done a blog for a couple of weeks, and he was worried about me.

The truth is that I am both alright and not alright.  To some extent, my web silence has been because I’m enjoying the beautiful city of Tampa, Florida.  Also, while it is a lovely city, it seems to take at least 30 minutes to get anywhere, so we’ve doing lots of driving.  (The only exception is my twelve-step meeting which is only an eleven-minute bike ride away from where we are staying.  Sweet!)

Also, I have been working on a scholarly paper, which I am presenting at a conference in a little less than a month.  And then, there is going for long walks/runs with the dog.  And, of course, when you stay in any place for more than a few days, there are dishes to do, and clothes to wash.  Even in paradise, the trash needs taken out a couple of times a week.

But it was good for my friend to check on me.  For one thing, it reminded me to get off my lazy butt—or rather, to get on my diligent butt—and write a blog.  The laziness has an explanation, but no excuse.  The explanation is, at least in part, that I am mourning the closing of the university where I taught as an adjunct for over eleven years.  The truth is that I am also feeling rather sorry for myself.  Mourning is okay; self-pity, not so much.

Sometimes, though, a friend just checking on you helps to blow up your excuses and your laziness and your writer’s block.  Kindness is quiet dynamite.

My challenge today is two-fold: to be grateful for the quiet dynamite that others place under me, and to place some kindness under others.  Maybe this blog post will do that for you.  You have to light the match, though!

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