God's Will

 Is optimism just wishful thinking?  Being positive about everything is a good attitude, or is it foolishness.  I once saw a poster on the wall that said, "If you think you can, and you think you can't, you're both right.  

I think it's better to trust in God.  Of course, bad things will happen.  But if you rely on God to know what he's doing, then you're better off.

One of my "cloistered brothers," was once waiting to be granted his appeal.  He was denied.  But he said, "God must think I still have something to learn in prison, or someone here has something to learn from me."  This is the attitude that is best.

Problems

I saw a poster today that read "It's not the problem that's the problem.  It's your attitude towards the problem."

I'm saving that one.  I'll hang it up to my other favorite poster, "If you think you can and you think you can't, you're both right."

Attitude!

Bitter or Better

Joseph and His Brethren Welcomed by Pharaoh, watercolor by James Tissot (c. 1900)
Wikipedia picture

You know why I love the story of Joseph, in the Bible?  It's because of Joseph's attitude.  The bad doesn't get him down.  Well, he's human, so when bad things happened to him, he must have been thrown for a loop--but not for long.

The story begins with Joseph's brothers throwing him in a deep pit.  They were going to leave him there to die, but they took advantage of a passing caravan and sold Joseph to them, as a slave.  And you know what that means when you're a young teenager!  While working as a slave, a woman lies about Joseph and gets him thrown in jail.  (Take heart my "cloistered brothers," Joseph was blessed by God while incarcerated.)    God gave Joseph the gift of interpreting dreams.  He was so good at it that the King heard of it.  Joseph interpreted the King's dream.  He was released from jail.  Eventually, he was given a high responsible job. It was because of this job that he was able to help his brothers.  (Yes, those mean, cruel, dastardly brothers!)  Joseph saves his family and tribe.
But my point is Joseph's attitude.  Twice Joseph was victimized.  But he didn't keep him a victim.  His attitude didn't allow him to be a victim.  He looked ahead.  He stayed positive.  He always tried to make the best of bad situations.

Remember Joseph when the bad things happen to you.

Cops Aren't Your Enemies

Women prisoners, c 1864, Cadillac, France

This post is inspired by Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar's message on FaceBook.  Click here.  I agree with his saying that the newspapers and other media, that label the marches as anti-police, miss the point.  They're protesting the anti-black, anti-poor, anti-minority, anti-youth, anti-vulnerable, attitude.

Volunteering in a prison, I can personally affirm that fact.  Just look at the color of the majority of the prisoners.  Look at the predominant nationality.  Look at what economic strata the majority of prisoners come from.  It all can be simply reduced to the fact that the majority of prisoners are poor--the vast majority.  If you have the money to get a good lawyer, you can get away with murder.

Since most of the poor are profiled as a certain race/nationality/ minority, they are viewed and treated differently than the more affluent.  Those profiled as such, are presumed guilty before even given their chance in court.  That's what I deduce from Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar's comments.

The police aren't the enemy.  They're the victims of this culture, too.

Once everyone recognizes that fact, maybe we can focus on figuring out what to do about it.  How do you change minds?  More importantly, how do you change hearts?

Attitude

Once again, while waiting for swimming lessons to be over, I found myself staring at the poster that said

If you think you can,

and you think you can't,

you're both right.

I love it and it has encouraged me, many times.  So I loved it when I came upon this story.

Many years ago, a large American shoe company sent two salesmen to different parts of the Australian outback to see if they could drum up some business among the Aborigines.  Some time later, the company received the first telegram:

No business here...natives don't wear shoes.

Immediately after, the second salesman sent his telegram.

Great opportunity here...natives don't wear shoes.