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Finger Pointing

We just love to point our fingers at people, don’t we?

There’s been numerous headlines of late of politicians behaving badly….and the media loves it. Swarming like bees, they hover and sting from every angle. They act as if they are bringing us information, but what they are feeding is our appetite for drama. Just as drivers slow to rubber neck at a car accident, we stop to view and judge the unfolding disaster of someone’s life or career.

Charlie Sheen was a good example of this recently…we couldn’t get enough of hearing about and watching his personal train wreck…to witness his demise.

Perhaps it’s because it makes us feel superior when we judge and degrade. In seeing others destroyed, we somehow feel better about our existence…more secure in our imperfect lives.

It’s sad really. Because the truth is, when people are going through hard times, through a personal crisis, we shouldn’t watch from the outside and make judgements. We should send good energy and healing thoughts their way – so that they can weather their storms. None of us…not a person alive can say that they haven’t endured personal struggle, confusion, discomfort, fear. It is part of our path – part of what connects us as people. So shouldn’t that bring us together instead of dividing us into the “I’m better than you” segments of society?

Sure, yes – some of us have made HUGE mistakes…where others haven’t. Does that make one person more important, more worthy of love and understanding? I don’t think so. At least that’s the way I feel. Because compassion and understanding is something we could all use a little more of.

What We Need

(Just for the record….my last blog was about professional athletes and performance enhancing drugs – I don’t condone it, but I understand it. Just sayin.)

What we need…..all we truly need is love and respect.

I saw a great interview on CBS Sunday Morning this past weekend with Mike Tyson (of all people). I say that because my general interest in him is small….thinking of him immediately conjures up images of an out of control man, who abuses women (went to jail for rape), who has fallen from the public’s good graces.

But the story was revealing and insightful. It portrayed Tyson in a human light….which was obviously lurking below the surface all these years. Is it an act? I don’t know. Hard to tell. But it didn’t seem that way – and he’s been clean and sober for a little while now….so the clarity he seems to be experiencing appears real.

He’s come to understand who he was, what he wants, and what really matters. He displayed his boxing belts and called them garbage…that they had no value to him anymore. Because the truth is, they don’t have value in a true soulful sense. They have monetary value, but no human value. They shine in the sun, but have been a canopy of darkness in Tyson’s life.

He was an amazing boxer – that can’t be denied. And it’s his tough childhood that propelled him there. But in hearing him talk, the only thing that Tyson’s ever wanted was love and respect. Just like us all. Love and respect…the simplest and most vital of gifts. And this is most transparent when he talks of his pigeons, which he houses in coops, and has done so since his teenage years. He said he loves them (and I paraphrase) because they don’t ask him for anything…for things, for money….they just are his friends, pure and simple. It is the draw of most pets – their unconditional love – that Tyson needed, wanted. His connection to his pigeons is real….and honest. He gets what he needs from them – acceptance and affection without asking anything in return.

It’s the greatest of lessons….to understand that we are ALL human…every last one of us. We are ALL desirous of love and acceptance. It is a human necessity to be cared about and cared for. It is what drives each and every action….deep, deep down. It is this need to be loved and respected that drove Tyson into the ring…that fueled his rise to the top of his profession…and also toppled his boxing dynasty. And what a great gift he has been given if he’s truly realizing that he isn’t an animal, a monster or even really a boxer. That’s what he did, not who he is. Who he is, is a street-tough kid who fought to stay alive in his dangerous neighborhood and achieved fame and riches because of his fists…but would trade it all for the love and admiration of family and friends….hands down – there is no comparison.

Lance

I haven’t blogged in a ridiculously long time….not sure why.

But I have this to say today – about the 60 Minutes story last night – about Lance Armstrong taking drugs during his races.

Ok….come on now. Let’s think about this realistically.

Athletes. Their bodies are pushed to the limits constantly. The elite athletes of the world – runners, cyclists, Olympians, football players, baseball players…they are all under intense physical pressure to perform. Taking “performance-enhancing” drugs almost seems neccessary, doesn’t it? To keep their bodies going takes more than training….it takes rest, proper fueling, and “supplements” to keep their bodies in peak condition. Is it so wrong to give their bodies a little boost? How many people take 5 hour energy these days? How many people suck down coffee all day to stay awake? How many people eat vitamins and supplements like they are candy? Lots of them…and that’s just regular folks trying to keep their bodies moving.

So is it really a big deal when we hear body builders are taking steroids? If they are all doing it (and I’m sure most of them are) doesn’t it level out the playing field? These are athletes we are talking about – not politicians or CEO’s or someone of societal significance that truly affects our lives. What is our hang up with this idea?

Tyler Hamilton in his 60 Minutes interview admitted they “all” do it…not just Lance. He and many of his fellow cyclists take EPO to keep them going…have you ever watched the Tour de France? I get tired just at the thought of it. There have been many an athlete’s career and legacy destroyed because of these allegations and discoveries of this “doping” activity…but is it neccessary to do so? I know – but shouldn’t we teach our children it isn’t ok to dope in order to be the best in sports? Yes, we should. But the reality is different from the lessons we want to teach. The reality is bodies break down…bodies when trained and pushed to their limits, need a little help now and then. And how do you think those football players keep going after pounding each other play after play in the NFL? Advil doesn’t cut it….I’m sure a little locker room “assistance” is what keeps them boys going through the season.

Our expectations are too high….and the pressure for these athletes to be at the top of their game is immense. This is sports we are talking about after all – let’s rethink the whole blame game.

Cycle on Lance.

You’ve Got Soul

“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” CS Lewis

I saw this written on my horoscope the other day (yes, fun to read whether you “believe” or not) and I loved the quote. It is all in the wording isn’t it?

We tend to consider ourselves as having a soul, a conscience, an intangible self. We talk about this soul as if it’s something we have inside ourselves. But if we look at living, being alive, in its purest form, we are merely living in a vessel we call our bodies. A mass of blood and skin and veins and organs, that we inhabit. That which makes up the true self (our spiritual core, if you will) is that unseen personality which defines who we ultimately are. We aren’t our bodies…our bodies don’t define the kind of people we are, the kind of emotions we feel, the kind of greatness we can achieve. It is our spirits, our souls, that speak of who we are. It’s the twinkle in someone’s eye that comes through the body from somewhere far greater.

The best evidence that we aren’t our bodies is to view death. I saw my friend laying in his casket recently, and all I could think to myself was this wasn’t him. This was his human form – his body which has ceased functioning on a biological level, but it wasn’t HIM. It wasn’t who he was – it was his shell. His soul was still present although I could not touch it. We are always present, even in death.

Although it’s important to keep our bodies healthy – so we can enjoy our lives – we need to always remember it is our souls that need attention and care. We need to remind ourselves that we are more than our physical appearance – way more. That what we truly ARE is not bound by biology and genetics.

You are a soul.