I pray the day finds you well.
I got to hang out with Frederick the Great the other day. No, it wasn't because I sold the bus and bought a hamster. Although, he did tell me some of his jokes; I retaliated with a few of my own, we finally decided it would be in our best interest to stop telling jokes.
We both had some free time and so we got together and told each other lies, I mean stories. He even gave me a book to read, which I was very excited about until I saw that it didn't have any pictures.
During our conversation, the aspect of relevancy came up; no, not moral relevancy and the philosophy around that, neither one of us have the I.Q. to discuss such a topic. We discussed the difficulty and importance of remaining relevant in the current culture, to not be so steadfast in what we have always done as to not be pliable to do what needs to be done today. This includes:
- Our language, has our language become "inside speak" not understood by others. Do we need to develop a new lexicon?
- How we view our organization, as compared to how it is viewed by others.
- Do we convey our mission, vision, and purpose in a way that both inside and outside of our organization can be understood and articulated?
As we talked I was reminded of something Kurt Vonnegut said in his book Slaughterhouse-5.
He said, "You know what I say to people when I hear they’re writing
anti-war books?
No. What do you
say, Harrison Starr? I say, Why don’t you write an anti-glacier book instead?
What he meant, of course, was that there would always be
wars, that they were as easy to stop as glaciers."[1]
I mentioned that, back when Vonnegut wrote this, the very thought of not having glaciers, or having the ability to even stop their forward motion was unthinkable. Yet, here we are some 50+ years later, witnessing the very thing that he could never have thought of. Kurt will have to find another analogy to showcase his thought on the fact that war was inevitable and ongoing.
His quote, that I like to use, has become irrelevant.
Today's kids would say, "Glaciers are stoppable."
And kids in another 50+ years will say, "Glaciers, What's a glacier?"
We began to talk about the YMCA and how we need a new lexicon so we stay relevant.
How sad would it be if in 50+ years kids say, "Why should I go to the Y?"
And kids in another 50+ years say, "Y, what's a Y?"
For those naysayers out there that say, "That could never happen." Don't forget Glaciers have been around a lot longer than the YMCA, all we need to do is look at them and realize if we don't take care of things, they eventually go away.
Then Trevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvor came in and before we could tell him that jokes have become off-limits, He said, "Two southern boys go to enlist in the army. The recruiting officer said, 'What can you bring to the Army?' and the first boy said, 'I'm a pilot!' The recruiting officer got really excited and said come on in, you're exactly what we needed.' The the officer turned his attention to the second boy and asked him what he would bring to the army, and the second boy said, 'I'm a wood cutter.' In utter dismay the recruiting officer said, 'I'm sorry son, but there is no place for you in the Army.' Rejected the second boy said, 'But you took my brother.' To that the officer said, 'Of course we did, he is a pilot.' The second boy responded, 'That is right, I cut the wood, and he piles it."
At that Frederick and I both grabbed some scissors that were laying on the table and started to run around hoping to trip and fall on them. Obviously, we didn't as I am still here to tell you the story.
As I ponder the words I use, and how I view the world around me, I wonder if I have become stratified in my thought and words. I will work harder to continue to speak in a way that is easily understood; to put the cookies on the bottom shelf, so everyone can grab one, so to speak.
Do you ever contemplate this stuff?
Something to ponder.
Blessings,
Roger
[1]Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-5.
(New York: Dell Publishing, 1969),8.
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