August 26, 2020
Tap tap tap. Knock knock knock. You there? Hello? Are you home? It’s extremely difficult not to be overtaken by the existence of news headlines. Now pour the poison over our invisible wounds by journalists designed to redirect the masses. The physical evidence is there! Each news outlet has its own agenda. Research gifts their paths of forward motion with the viewers and listeners they need to gain access to great ratings. The rest of us stand on the outside trying to pick which story best suits our mindset. I’ve tried to go the route of checking in with all sides of the objective. Every website from newspaper to podcasters. I figure if we sit somewhere in the middle we’re going to be safe. On this podcast episode an encounter with a baby fawn serves as a symbol of who we honestly might be during these massively out of control times. The fawn was darting around my forest like a wild child at 4:30 this morning. I never saw its mother. Normally I do because she runs toward my dog and I. Doing all she can to protect her baby. I didn’t see her. We were within the trees a very long time. Then it occurred to me. There’s no way this fawn exists. In my 28 years of knowing this forest this sort of thing has never happened so there’s no way this is happening. It has to be God playing early morning message games. When we got back in the house the fawn was very heavy on my heart. I compared it to who we as a nation are in 2020. Clueless to the dangers of the world and yet we think we’re strong enough to survive without proper protection. Our confidence and courage are the only value so many of us have left. The eviction letters are being sent out. Homelessness is about to exceed levels we’ve never seen. Businesses are closing and the Governor will probably keep us locked up another five weeks. Getting from plan A to plan B was a tough chore. Working from home. Our kids getting an education on a digital system that keeps failing. The fires of California. Two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. The protests and the news stories about an asteroid that supposedly is coming pretty close to the earth the day before the elections. Plan C feels like those moments when we’re standing on the ocean shore looking out across that water and we can’t see the land on the other side. They say it’s out there. We’re convinced and confident that these knowledge holders are guiding our ships toward smoother waters. But that fawn this morning said something different to me. I wish we could see what we truly look like. I see your social media pages. The plastic candy coated bathroom mirror smiles. This isn’t who we are. Not when you compare it to the conversations. It’s extremely difficult not to be overtaken by the existence of news headlines. Now pour the poison over our invisible wounds by journalists designed to redirect the masses. We need to break free of the media driven grip and stop playing Let’s Pretend. It’s time to grow forward with a message and stop assuming others have the ability to lead. Guidance requires confidence. It’s ok to admit that we’re dented but we aren’t destroyed. Mentally we’re being redesigned without admitting how much we have left behind. How could we ever forget? Because it feels like everything we do ends up on The Cloud. Do you know the password? Life in 2020 isn’t a game of Chess. It feel like 52 Card Pickup. It’s time to unlock the chambers that which hold the existence of experience and survival.