Hang in there.

Hang In There.

Yesterday I was aware that as I get older there are times when little silly words and thinking trips me up. Describing to a friend the recent meal of risotto that I had made I was listing what I had included in it. All of a sudden I could picture the vegetable that I but regularly but could I remember its name, not at all. Not an easy vegetable to forget the name of, asparagus. Time for me to once again keep the brain alert and thinking, I thought. 

While I was a minister I could have almost a thousand people in my church on a Sunday morning and on the way out of the church as I thanked people for their attendance I could remember the names of every one of them first names included.  The other thing I was aware of was if they had not been at the church for a few Sundays I would make a point of asking how they were and that it was nice to see them back. I found that people really appreciated being missed. 

There is a lovely story that shows the importance of a lively mind. 

A man had bought a new gadget-unassembled, of course, and after reading and rereading the instructions he couldn't figure out how it went together. 

He sought the help of an old handyman who lived nearby. The old fellow picked up the pieces, studied them, then began assembling the gadget. In a short time, he had it put together. "That's amazing," said the man. "And you did it without even looking at the instructions!" 

"Fact is," said the old man, "I can't read, and when a fellow can't read, he's got to think." 

The mind is an amazing thing with the ability to retain so much information but it has to be kept working and alert.

 Watts of power used by the human brain when it's engaged in deep thought: 14; watts required to operate an Apple personal computer: 90. Now does that not say much about what we possess?

Test pilots have a litmus test for evaluating problems. 

When something goes wrong, they ask, "Is this thing still flying?" If the answer is yes, then there's no immediate danger, no need to overreact. 

When Apollo 12 took off, the spacecraft was hit by lightning. The entire console began to glow with orange and red trouble lights. There was a temptation to "Do Something!" But the pilots asked themselves, "Is this thing still flying in the right direction?" The answer was yes--it was headed for the moon. 

They let the lights glow as they addressed the individual problems, and watched orange and red lights blink out, one by one. That's something to think about in any pressure situation. If your thing is still flying, think first, and then act. 

I am sure I have told the tale before about the young lad working in a store. it is a tale of quick thinking that makes me smile even now as I remember it. 

the young lad working in the produce department was asked by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He replied, "Half a head? Are you serious? Nature grows these in whole heads and that's how we sell them!" 

"You mean," she persisted, "that after all the years I've shopped here, you won't sell me half-a-head of lettuce?" 

"Look," he said, "If you like I'll ask the manager."

She indicated that would be appreciated, so the young man marched to the back of the store. "You won't believe this, but there's an idiot of a lady out there who wants to know if she can buy half-a-head of lettuce." 

He noticed the manager gesturing and turned around to see the lady standing behind him, obviously having followed him to the back of the store. "And this nice lady was wondering if she could buy the other half" he concluded. 

Later in the day the manager cornered the young man and said, "That was the finest example of thinking on your feet I've ever seen! Where did you learn that?" 

"I grew up in Grand Rapids, and if you know anything about Grand Rapids, you know that it's known for its great hockey teams and its ugly women."

The manager's face flushed, and he interrupted, "My wife is from Grand Rapids!"

"And which hockey team did she play for?" 

Let the mind of the Master be the master of your mind. The longer time goes on the more we need to keep that wonderful source of information at work.

Have a great day fill your head with wonderful thoughts.