We need more "Y" people. The world would be better off if we did.

Good morning,

I pray the day finds you well.

I am definitely coming to a clearing; there is more blue sky showing all the time. I wonder what kind of a clearing it will be, big, small, I cannot tell just yet? 

A thought just crossed my mind. I wonder if I am almost out of the woods? I have this feeling that I am getting close. My traveling companion doesn't seem to look at me with anxiety on her face. She is smiling more, laughing more. I am taking that as a good sign. 

Well, enough wondering about that. If I wonder for too long I will begin to ponder, and pondering has a bad habit of turning into perseverating, which is just another word for staring into the future and seeing mirages. 

Not going to do that. It wouldn't be prudent. 

The path has become flat and easy; not so much uphill, downhill, and sidehill walking. Just a flat path that is a bit straighter and not quite so curvy. 

The past week has been a good week, Darryl and I have driven back and forth to corporate a few times with only a small number of "It's on your side" moments. We have figured out a few organizational issues, and have drawn on the whiteboard, you know the one; it was the whiteboard that Wonder Woman held up because it was too heavy for me and Darryl.  

I sat in my office, which is right by the front desk of our "Y" and watched people. I look at their shoes. Most have muddy boots. On most boots the mud is fresh, some are stuck, a lot of people are trudging, many all alone. There are a few fancy shoe people, but not many. 

The fancy shoe people are funny. They complain about stuff that really doesn't matter, that is unless all your other needs are met and life is good, then I guess a shower head that still drips water when you shut it off is the end of the world! Or the water temperature of the pool is only 85 degrees and not 88 and your whole world collapses. 

You don't hear that kind of stuff from the muddy boot people, they have more on their mind than that. 

There are too many muddy-boot people for me to connect with all by myself. So I have asked for and gotten help. I am getting close to having 20 volunteer chaplains and a number of staff that have come alongside these peeps and walked with them. 

The volunteer chaplains are muddy boot people and so are the staff. 

A Gordon Lightfoot song just popped into my head!

Muddy boot people always seem to know when to call
Muddy boot people don't talk, they listen till they've heard it all
Muddy boot lovers don't lie when they tell you they've been down like you
Muddy boot people don't mind if you cry on a tear or two

I adapted it a bit, in case you hadn't noticed. 

Have I ever mentioned that it is loud in my head?

Do you know what I love about our "Y"? It is the staff. They are so good at handling fancy shoe people so that they feel heard, all the while working with muddy boot people in a way that they don't feel shame for having muddy boots. 

We need more "Y" people. The world would be better off if we did. 

What kind of a person are you? 

Are you who you want to be? 

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger