A Good Idea

My father liked good ideas. He was always remarking on new things that were being built, or new ingenuities that were coming out. He had a positive outlook on things, and did not appreciate the doom and gloom that seems to pervade every generation.

When I was young it was the Communists and the nuclear bomb. My father instilled in me that no matter who tried to take over the world and run your life they could never own your heart and soul. It was not for sale or take over, unless you wanted it to be. I always knew that I could withstand anything, and no one could take from me what was most important.

Even the nuclear bomb, more years were stolen by the worry than by the bomb itself.

My father was a positive man and encouraged positive attitudes in us. Positive was the fuel that we ran on. He was a small business owner and I do believe that if he had not had a positive outlook on his world that he would not have had the success that he did.

In that spirit of looking at the positive I listened the other night to "nut job radio" and it wasn't too nutty that night. I believe it was Ian Punnett back on the third of this month. Talking Paradigm Shifts.

When I was in college taking Philosophy of Science we had to write our final paper on what we saw as a paradigm shift that had just occurred or was occurring. I don't quite remember what my paper was on but the concept of a paradigm shift stuck with me like glue. That and the concept of Gestalt moments. But you see I love change and these two things are all about change.

So when Ian Punnett was going to be talking to the guy who took the concept of Paradigm shift from the world of science to the rest of the world my brain perked up.

But then what I got out of the rest of the night was far more than tripping down memory lane and listening to something akin to a college class lecture on the beauty of seeing paradigm shifts. A term that I find so very popular right at the moment I am sure that I needn't stop to define it, I hope that is okay.

What this fellow, Joel Barker's ,whole point was is that we need to be looking for positive ingenuities in our lives. We always seem to focus on the negative like a moth to a flame, the negative attracts us. Focus on what is going wrong with the world and we miss the good stuff. The good stuff, the solutions, are on the back page, but we have worn ourselves out with the front page doom and gloom before we even get to the back page in order to see the good stuff for what it is.

Joel Barker would like to encourage all of us to take sometime to find out a little about all the positive stuff that is happening, so he put together a blog about the positive innovations that are coming out right now. Stuff that could fix most of the mess. (not all of it can be fixed and Jesus warned us of that clear as day).

Go see some of the cool things that he has found to put on his blog, things that will be making a big difference soon. His list of stuff even got me to thinking about some of the stuff not on his blog. Like mushrooms that can clean up toxic soils and such. Leaving the soils perfectly fine and on top of that not being toxic themselves. Where does all the toxin go?

Any woo. Joel suggests that we talk about these positives more often. Talk about them with our kids, like my dad always did, talking about how this country was built on ingenuity. I think we adults need to think about these things a little more instead of wrapping our heads around the depressing seemingly insurmountable garbage that we think about all the time.

Yeah we know this world is going to come to an end as we know it. It is in the playbook. This does not last forever. But none of us know when that is going to be. For generations and generations we have constantly "knew" that the last days were upon us. Well ya they are but so far we still are here and we still gotta get up in the morning stick the toothbrush in our mouth and our feet in our shoes and get on with getting on.

So how 'bout we do it with just a more positive outlook. Then if it does keep going for a while longer it will be a brighter going. And if it is all over soon, well heck that is the best part of the story ain't it. That we get a new heaven and earth and new bodies and an eternity with our God!? And no matter what lies between here and there, God is with us the whole way through. He hasn't just said He'll meet us on the other side. He is here with us, going the distance with us .

So please, put this_blog on your reader or your side board, however you keep track of things to read. And share the phenomenal things God is showing man how to do, with your kids, your tired discouraged spouse or your sad neighbor. Get off this kick of dwelling on the negative.