Tend the Land

God put us in the land and told us to tend it.

We have a lot of tending to do I noticed walking through a parking lot the other day.

We will always be cleaning up after other people, but we need first to begin cleaning up after ourselves. If we can keep our allotment of land orderly (front porch, driveway, sidewalk, garage, barn, shed, bathroom, etc.); it will foster in the eyes of others the care of your ‘land’, and just might motivate them to tend their land better.

‘It’s not my trash, it flew out of the trash truck and landed in my yard!’ ‘I didn’t break the glass bottle on the street in front of my house, somebody else did!’

We’re sending signals to others around us how we do things in our land. Let’s send good signals that we are clean, neat, tidy, orderly, caring and respectful people. We will have to send these signals repeatedly, daily, over and over. That’s just the way it is. But it is worth it! You will feel better because you were helpful and did something good. Indirectly, others will feel better because things are orderly.

We individually can’t tidy up the whole world, but we can tend our small ‘plot of land’.

What do I need to tend to today on my land?

Who Can I Be Good to Today?

The war is on! Is it really people against people? Or is it good vs evil?

We, all of us peoples all over the world today and everyday make choices, have choices to make. We personally can and are responsible for the choices we make…whether to further good or to side with evil. We have to be discriminating how we watch, listen and respond. Will what I ingest through my eyes, ears and doings be a good choice for me, my family and my fellow man?

We can simplify our lives greatly if we live by the principle of being and doing good.

There is so much alarmism in the news, trying to gain a foothold in our minds. Then all we think about is trouble and how to get even, retaliate, hate and worry. The downward spiral leads to loss of hope, despair and often hiding.

And while we’re in ‘neutral’ – fearing, hating, worrying, hiding – nothing good is being accomplished. It takes effort – strength -physical and mental – to do something good when evil is happening. If all we do is watch others tear things down with words and actions, who will be the builders–many times not only building, but rebuilding, cleaning up after others’ messes. That is just the way life operates.

Someone is always watching us. Are we giving them an excuse to continue in bad ways, or will they see a reason to change and help others by doing good?

Your ‘good’ might only need to be a smile, a helping hand, a word of encouragement, a cup of coffee, a ride to work, opening the door, sweeping the sidewalk, but it will multiply.

Who can I show good to today?

I Can’t…

Saturday morning at the ice-rink a boy about 7 years old kept falling down.

The instructor would help him up and he’d fall again. When she got him up he only wanted to hold on to her. He didn’t want to try to stand or skate alone.

I could see the look on his face. Total frustration, almost red-faced anger at his young age. The instructor would help him time and time again – even getting down on the ice and showing him how to position his feet and legs so he could get up by himself like all the other young skaters were. Everyone was falling down and eventually getting back up all by themselves. This little boy was not really trying. He’d look like he tried to get up and then fall again and squirm until someone came to ‘help’ him. The instructors were looking back and forth at each other wondering how many times to ‘help’ him – when he would not help himself. He was not incapable – just not-capable because of his thinking. Somewhere along the way, he had given in to the ‘I can’t’ mentality. I imagine it was more than just on the ice.

The reason I could see it so clearly is that had been me at different times in my life…Algebra and math. I just ‘couldn’t‘ (I thought). Or meeting new people. I was too shy (unwilling to step out of my security box). I put off learning computers for years – thinking it was a passing fad. ‘I can’t‘ trying to rule me again.

Many times, teachers have learned…allow the student to struggle until they are hungry enough to learn. Then they will.

Back to the boy on the ice. He wasn’t ready to learn. Not yet. Give him a little more time, or maybe find something else he is interested in. Don’t nurture the ‘I can’t’.

In our mind, if we will remove the ‘t‘, it will spell, ‘I can‘. The first step is begin to recognize all our ‘I can’ts’

Where can I begin today?