A New Beginning

As we come to the brink of another new year, it’s a time to reflect upon the past and look forward to the future as well. If you had a great year then you’re probably hoping to maintain your momentum. Maybe 2011 fell below your expectations. If that’s the case, then a new year may hold the promise of a fresh start or a do-over. The wonderful thing about this life we live is that no one’s path is set in concrete, no destiny is yet determined, and every day offers the opportunity to change our course and adjust our sails. In that spirit, I offer the following essay as an encouragement to anyone who looks ahead to a different or brighter tomorrow. As I close I am reminded of a familiar chorus from the musical Annie which reminds us, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. I love you, tomorrow. You’re only a day away.” That’s just what I was thinking.

A Ring Around The Moon
By Frank Carpenter
The iridescent moon was not quite full, though seeming somehow larger than usual... almost as if it filled the entire evening sky. And then there was the ring, that big beautiful ring around the moon. Not a small ring like halo or a belt. No, a giant, endless, wonderful ring. For that moment, the ring seemed to encircle all that I knew or could imagine. For that moment, the moon and the universe within the ring which enveloped it were everything. The silver sky, or something within it, held me entranced, as it were, for a time unmeasured, or immeasurable. Perhaps I lay there only for a moment, an instant, though it might just as well have been a lifetime.
Nonetheless, I felt as though everything changed during the encounter. That conclusion was unmistakable. The winds of change blew over me. Silently, sweetly, certainly. They were not such winds as I could detect merely with my senses, or which disturbed so much as a single blade of grass around me. They were were the winds which blow through our souls and swirl within our very being, the winds of inner change.
The moon was still there, and very much so. The ring was still there. Yet, suddenly, I became aware of other things around me. Other things which had long cried out to be noticed, to be understood. Whose voices had been carried away by other winds and drowned out by more urgent voices. Yet now I saw, I felt, I knew.
I became aware of the ground beneath me. How long had I lay there, in the wet grass beneath the moon and its ring? Ah, the ring. It had been raining for days. The ground was wet, more than wet. It more held me than supported me, but the feeling was not unpleasant. The grip of the wet ground against my back, against my long soaked clothing was a comfort, almost a relief. Without the pull of the moist earth, I might well have drifted off toward the moon above, lured by the intoxicating glow.
I could feel more than just the ground beneath me. There was more, much more. There was a whole world. The same world I had always known, yet which now seemed strange and wild and undiscovered. That was the change. I could no longer accept everything which before had been so clear, so concrete. I knew the world had not changed in the least, but I had. So, in relation to me, everything else must change as well. I inhaled deeply. Not the kind of breath which merely replenished oxygen in my lungs. I inhaled something better, deeper. It was a breath of life, of things so long left undone, unsaid, unknown. I was different.
However, I understood somehow that I could not be different alone. I must make the world around me to be different like me, or with me. Was it a calling? Perhaps more of an accepting. The acceptance of a call so long unheeded, one nearly snuffed out in the shuffle of daily life with its minutia of urgent details begging to be attended to. We get so busy with living that it becomes something less than living. I had forgotten how important every minute detail is. I had forgotten how very important life is. Now, I remembered.
All of this happened within the circle which held me through that time. The ring around the moon. Just an optical illusion, water vapor, reflected light, barometric pressure. Perhaps. Moon dust and magic are, however, somehow more appealing. A sign, a signal, a catalyst. It was enough. For whatever reason, I would never be the same. I could not, nor could anything else be. Blame it on the ring, the moon, the movie, romance, whatever. The world, the universe, were entirely different than they had been just a short time before. It matters not the reason, for the why and the hows only serve themselves, yet they would be our masters if we tarry long enough to let them enslave us. No, there are other more pressing issues at hand ... broader frontiers yet undiscovered. Let it begin.

May you have a blessed New Year ... and make it an even better one than the last.

God With Us

One last thought before we get to Christmas weekend. There are a lot of distractions this time of year. But let us all remember that the root word of Christmas is Christ. That is what we celebrate. So here's my take on the Christmas story based upon one of the names Isaiah foretold for the Messaiah. Emmanuel means "God with us" and that is exactly what Christmas is about ... about God choosing to be with us, to love us, and ultimately to redeem us. Merry Christmas to all!

 

Emmanuel

For centuries, we were in darkness

And God seemed so far away

But, in compassion, He reached out

To the world on Christmas day

Keeping his promise to rescue us

And bless man through Abraham’s seed

God offered the olive branch of a Savior

Showing His faithfulness indeed

After four hundred years of silence

God chose to among us dwell

Clothing Himself in human flesh

As the long awaited Immanuel

That is really what Christmas means

Not presents or trees nor snow

But the mighty God of the universe

Reaching out to men below

Immanuel means “God with us”

As the prophet Isaiah foretold

And the angel in Joseph’s dream confirmed

The messiah God promised of old

Jesus was born and laid in the manger

So long ago and far away

But that was just the beginning

And He is with us still today

As the victorious, risen Savior

Whom the Christ child grew into

Sent to reconcile men to God

And, at last, make all things new

So when you celebrate your Christmas

We pray you remember well

How God sent His only Son to us

As our Savior, Immanuel

     By Frank Carpenter       

Days of Infamy

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. Most of our parents and grandparents remember right where they were when they heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Those of us who are at least a generation away simply remember the poignant opening words of President Roosevelt’s speech to Congress: “Yesterday, December 7th 1941, a day which will live in infamy...” That attack drew the United States into World War II and the rest is history. As I considered this day, however, I realized that those of us who missed WWII recently had the opportunity to experience what Pearl Harbor felt like to the average American. That is because we lived through September 11, 2001. Like Pearl Harbor, that day brought an unprovoked surprise attack on American soil, resulting in a similar number of deaths. We experienced the shock, the sorrow and, eventually, the rise of an anger which cried out for justice. Perhaps all the more so because the September 11th attacks were primarily against civilians. Also, due to our modern technology, virtually every American repeatedly saw the news footage of the planes striking the World Trade Center and the collapse of the towers. So today is a day to think back over the years, to remember the events of 1941 and how they changed the course of history. I would encourage us to remember 2001 as well, for it evokes the same feelings and the war it sparked is still under way. That war is not just one of armed conflict, but a war of ideologies which will help to shape the next fifty years of history. As we look back on those two days, I offer a pair of poems which return us to that roller coaster of emotions. I wrote them both on September 11, while sitting at my desk that morning and watching the endless reruns of the images that terrible day brought to us. Below the poems, you will also find the entire text of FDR’s famous speech to Congress on December 8, 1941. I believe you may discover the emotions expressed therein to be familiar, even if you weren’t born yet. I daresay that “Happy Pearl Harbor Day” is most likely an inappropriate greeting to offer you, being something of an oxymoron. Nonetheless, I do encourage you to think long and hard on this day in history and take it’s lessons to heart as we march forward in the creation of our own current history. Every once in a great while there is a “day of infamy” ... and they must never be forgotten.

Somewhere in the Rubble
Somewhere in the rubble
At this moment, there are tears
Suffering we can’t imagine
The very worst of all our fears
Calamity in such proportion
That we can scarcely comprehend
Hours of darkness, just beginning
And we have yet to know their end
But somewhere in the rubble
In that city far away
Thousands still are clinging
To a thread of hope today
Our hearts are filled with anger
With bitter shock and with dismay
But let us not forget this hour
To pause and simply pray
For those who are in peril
And their would be rescuers
That God somehow may protect them
Give them strength to yet endure
That He might comfort those with loss
Give wisdom to the leaders there
And wrap His arms around this nation
In our hour of despair
Let us lift our prayers together
As we struggle just to cope
For somewhere in the rubble
There is still a ray of hope
By Frank Carpenter ©

The Heart of Freedom
Beware, you foes of freedom
Who dare to maim and kill
Who, by force, would stand against us
You have galvanized our will
You have struck the heart of freedom
Spilled sacred blood upon our soil
Stung the bastions of democracy
Yet, though we may recoil
Be it known, we shall not falter
In the midst of travesty
A sleeping giant has awakened
Which will rise from the debris
With a resolve and with a fury
Such as you have rarely known
Freedom’s mettle has been tested
And now its true strength shall be shown
By Frank Carpenter ©\

FDR’s Speech to Congress on December 8, 1941: "Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack. It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire."

From site: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/fr32/speeches/ph.htm

Information

I stumbled upon a quote recently from Albert Einstein which intrigued me: “Information is not knowledge.” This is a very profound statement by a man who was one of the great minds of the twentieth century and it got me thinking as well. I’m clearly not one of the great minds of either of the centuries I’ve lived in, but I had been pondering a similar subject of late. There is now so much information available to us, not just from books but also through our easy access to the nearly limitless data coffers of the internet. In fact, Einstein himself would probably be overwhelmed by how much we know … and can know. He missed the computer age by just a decade or two and the world has changed so much since then. However, I’m not here to sing the “aren’t we amazing” song. My interest today lies not in expounding our informational achievements, but in quantifying the value of the volume thereof. Especially in light of the advances in handheld wireless devices we have more information at our fingertips than we could previously even have imagined ... and we’re obsessed with it. The issue I see developing is that we seem to revel in accessing a broad spectrum of data, of facts, figures, news, opinion, history, gossip, technology, etc. However, I don’t always see it improving the quality of our lives, nor the value of our lives. This leads us to the next question. Fortunately, it was previously posed by someone more intelligent and articulate than me. The poet and critic T. S. Elliot once wrote, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” Interestingly Elliot also died just a decade or two before the true computer age. Yet he, like Einstein, observed this phenomenon as early as the mid twentieth century. They both understood that just knowing things, and having access information, does not make us better as people, or as a society.

So for clarification, let me take Elliot’s wise words and condense them to a formula that Einstein may have appreciated:

           INFORMATION ≠ KNOWLEDGE ≠ WISDOM
In the spirit of the information age I myself went to the internet in search of a way to express my train of thought. I found an article on foundationsmag.com that helped clarify the difference between these three words. “What is this elusive quality called wisdom? How do we get it? … let’s begin taking a look at the four levels of thinking.

The first level is data-simple facts and figures. Second we have information. Information is data that’s been collected and organized. It is a reference tool. Something we turn to when trying to create something else. The third is knowledge. This is information that we have digested and now understand. Organized as knowledge, the information we have collected is given context. The fourth and final level is wisdom. Today, wisdom has become for many, indistinguishable from knowledge. But they are two different things. Often, what we find touted as wisdom is simply opinion. Knowledge is not wisdom. There is a big difference. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge. To be more precise, wisdom is knowledge that has been applied in a way that takes into account all its pertinent relationships and that is consistent with universal laws.”

That’s exactly what I meant to say. There is an undercurrent of belief that our technology, our education, and the sheer data we posses makes us somehow better than our predecessors or those in third world countries. I’m not so sure because sometimes it seems that we have become dependent upon information, requiring larger and more convenient doses to satisfy us. That’s why it is important to differentiate between information, knowledge and wisdom. We may have become more technologically advanced, but it’s not clear that we have advanced morally or ethically, that we have grown in wisdom or character or virtue. These are the real measurements of better people or an elevated society. Our access to unlimited information does provide tools for actually making us better people, but so often they are lost in such an expansive mine of data that it can be difficult to dig out the nuggets that are really worth finding. There are just too many distractions, and as is the case in so many areas of our lives the good and the interesting tend to distract us from the great and the truly valuable. Thus we become, in a sense, intellectually ADD.

So, my friends, I would encourage us all not merely to fill our minds, but to improve our minds, not to mention our hearts and souls. Consider what would actually make you a better person, a better husband, father, mother, friend or citizen. Too much information without purpose actually makes us shallower rather than deeper. Wise Solomon once wrote: “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.” (Proverbs 3:13) Those would be fine words to live by, and they shed encouraging light on this subject. The secret to life lies not in what we know, but how we know it … and what we do with it.