From Virgil - Quote of the Day

"I have tried but reached only disaster; I have battled but broken my lance; I am bruised by a pitiless monster; that the weak and the timid call chance. I am old, I am beat, I am cheated of all that youth urged me to win; but name me not with the defeated, for TOMORROW, I BEGIN AGAIN."

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! TOMORROW'S ANOTHER WONDERFUL DAY!

And here is our friend's column - Dr. Thomas Butts...

On Beginning Again

by Dr. Thomas L. Butts

There is something humbling about having to begin again with some project we assumed we could get right the first time. There are some for whom failure the first time around is not only embarrassing, but absolutely unacceptable. For those who hold this view of reality, a project is abandoned after a first-time failure. That is why there are so many who have given up on so much, including life itself.

We have just ended a year in which so much has happened that so many never dreamed could happen. The landscape is strewn with victims. Many systems and sectors of our social and economic fabric have failed. A systemic failure is not singular. There are thousands of people who were not directly employed by some failed system whose lives have been adversely affected. Many are depressed and discouraged by what they have lost or may lose. Psychiatric hospitals nationwide are reporting that admissions have more than doubled due to people suffering extreme stress about home foreclosures, job losses and plunging stock prices. The fear and turmoil are palpable.

Have I left any of you out of this picture? I doubt it, but if I have, the picture can be expanded to include you--and me. There are so many people who are struggling in a web they did not spin.

What to do?! I recall a short piece of poetry attributed to Virgil, the great Roman Poet. See if it speaks to the situation in general and you in particular. "I have tried but reached only disaster; I have battled but broken my lance; I am bruised by a pitiless monster; that the weak and the timid call chance. I am old, I am beat, I am cheated of all that youth urged me to win; but name me not with the defeated, for TOMORROW, I BEGIN AGAIN." Can you hear that?

There are many people who at some turn in their lives come to see that their original life goals and dreams have not been realized, and probably never will be. A business failed, a marriage ended up on the rocks, a child brought home a load of trouble you cannot fix, somebody died or somebody left us in one of the many ways in which someone can go away. There are a thousand things (most of them unexpected) that can unhinge life and leave us anchored in the zone of desperation. Most of them can happen to any of us. Perhaps some one of them happened to you in the past twelve months.

Our life-story has far less to do with what has happened to us than with what we do with what has happened. We have all had enough misfortune in life to make a pretty good case for our being unhappy, if we choose to respond to reality in that manner. We forget, or never learned, that the most likely atmosphere in which creative changes takes place is in the atmosphere of crisis. The crisis of adversity is often life's way not only of telling us that something has gone wrong, but that we need to make some changes in life. It has been said, and I agree, that when you are down to nothing, God is up to something. Stay tuned to that thought.

It was good insight on the part of Virgil to suggest that we wait until tomorrow to begin again. In the throes of adversity we all need some "crying time". Any person who hopes to have the strength to "watch the things you gave your life to broken, and stoop and build them up with worn out tools" (Kipling) most allow some time for regrouping and healing. It is important to take time to grieve what has been lost. We may even need the temporary use of self-pity (that easy, cheap, warm emotional anesthetic, which we have in such abundance) to get us past the grief and hurt. Just don't get hooked on it!!

Do not despair with people who need to relive their hurts, voice their bitterness and take a few shots of self-pity. These are feelings with which you may best liberate yourself by expressing them on the way to a more noble resolve. If the expression of these negative feeling are blocked by well-meaning friends, you will likely have to come back and deal with them at a later and perhaps more inappropriate time. Be patient with the wounded, especially if you are one of them. Given time, space and an empathetic ear, they are more likely to come out whole on the other side. You can know that a person has made it to safe ground when you hear them say: "Name not with the defeated, for tomorrow I begin again."

May this new year offer you so many opportunities that you will have to puzzle over which to accept; and may all your "tigers in the dark" turn out to be kittens in the light of love, both human and divine.

If you wish to send a comment or ask a question of Dr. Butts please use: tlb@gulf1.com

If you do not vote - Dr. Thomas L. Butts

If You Do Not Vote. ....

by Dr. Thomas L. Butts

For more than 50 years I have looked for some way to motivate the people in my church and community to vote. The key word here is "motivate", but I must confess that I have been tempted to "intimidate", even try to "scare" people into voting. There is a big sign beside Interstate Highway 65 between Montgomery and Birmingham,Alabama that reads: "If you do not go to church the devil will get you!". That is not the kind of tactic I was taught to use in the ministry of trying to get people to church, but I must confess that in times of pastoral frustration with careless Christians, I have been tempted to use it. (When I was an active pastor I would sometimes remind my Methodist constituency that I made an "A" in Guilt 101 in seminary.) In my better moments, however, I remember that "fear" is the lowest and most unstable form of motivation.

What can I ethically and effectively say to those of you, who are gracious and patient enough to read this column, to get you to take time out of your "busy schedule" to go to the polls and vote??!! I do not want to tell you "how" to vote, even though I might consider giving you some sage advice on the subject if you were to ask. I am just asking you to vote.

There is no one thing of which I can think which is more basic to a functional and effective democracy than the informed vote of individual citizens. If you have ever thought your vote does not count, look for a moment at how just a few votes out of millions determined the last two presidential elections. Several years ago one of my friends won a county-wide election by one vote. He was never thereafter able to shake the sobriquet: "Landslide". Your vote counts whether it determines the outcome of the election or not. If you do not vote, you should not complain about who is elected.

It is a real shame for any citizen to fail to vote, but let me tread for a moment on slippery ground and address two particular groups.

Women! Do you remember the hard-fought battle of less than 100 years ago for women's right to vote? How could you forget?! Shame on you if you forget the sacrifice that was made to give you that right. Let your husband fix his own lunch while you go vote - or let him do without if he is too lazy.

African-Americans! Do you remember the violence and bloodshed in this country, in what surely is a "remember history", that made it possible for African-Americans to vote? The right to vote came at great cost. Do not dishonor your parents and grandparents (and a few white people here and there) who made it possible for you to go to the polls and vote without fear of intimidation.

Some say: "I do not like either of the candidates, so I will not vote". That is a "cop-out". There are almost always several people I had rather vote for than the available candidates, but that is not an option. Pick somebody, by some method you can live with, then go vote.

In closing, let me stoop to borrow the concept of the anonymous soul who put up the roadside sign between Montgomery and Birmingham,Alabama. "Vote or the devil will get you". And if he/she does not, I will, if I can find you.

God bless America!

If you wish to send a comment or ask a question of Dr. Butts please use: tlb@gulf1.com

If you wish to write a letter to the Editor please use: http://www.gulf1.net/letters/NewLetter.htm

If you wish to read PREVIOUS ARTICLES by Col Pappas, please see: http://www.gulf1.com/columns/tlb/tlbframe.htm