Tag Archives: responsibility

Monday musings on March Madness & other stuff…

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I think I watched one complete college basketball game this regular season. Yet I still found myself glued to “Selection Sunday” – the several hour long ‘epic’ discussion of which teams would actually be selected by the Committee, thereby gaining entrance into March Madness

And I’m going to fill out a bracket. One.

And as Selection Sunday came to an end, the whining began in earnest. From where, you ask? From the supporters, advocates, & coaches of teams that didn’t make it into the Dance, that’s who. Somehow, someway the Colorados, Virginia Techs, & St. Marys of the world fill the air with tales of woe, mistreatment, aiming blame at a long list of people…

Ultimately, they didn’t get in because they didn’t win their conference tournament. They didn’t win quality road games. They didn’t win. Enough.

The airwaves (radio & TV) will resound with the “woulda, shoulda, couldas” all week… or at least until Thursday when the ‘real” games begin in earnest.

All the whining & blame shifting reminds me of how common it is to point the finger for the wrongs, injustices, relational faux pas, & unmet expectations at others, instead of looking in the mirror & considering what role I have had in sowing & reaping the consequences I’m experiencing. Cause really, my choices to act/not act, invest in/ignore, feed/starve habits can & do affect me far more than the vast majority of choices others make. And if/when people don’t meet my expectations & gasp! let me down, throwing a tantrum, taking my proverbial ball & going home, whining & crying to all that will listen is a pretty tired, ineffectual way to live.

My brain feels silly this morning… the trip to LA last week (Monday-Wednesday) left me scrambling to stay afloat with school/work/family, so by the time I stopped to catch my breath, I realized that my brain was not in its usual place, & was demanding a respite from GOing.

Sigh.

Got reminded yesterday that its my responsibility to keep hope alive in my heart, even if its just tending the glowing embers & making sure that there is enough space for the hope-fire to burn. And a hope that is firmly rooted in my Living Hope, & my Hope that doesn’t disappoint, is a hope worth contending for.

Simple things can make all the difference. Like fitting into a pair of pants that one hasn’t been able to wear for 6 months. And having room to spare. THAT is a good thing.

I’m not on a diet. Just avoiding the refined sugars & refined flours again. And 3 weeks in, it’s working.

A thought on Joseph & his brothers…

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I was reading this morning where Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers – the very same brothers that had sold him into slavery years before…

Instead of getting his revenge on them, Joseph used his position of leadership in the nation of Egypt to provide a way for his father, brothers, & their families to escape the brunt of the worst famine in recent memory by being relocated from their homes in the Promised Land to Egypt.

The 11 brothers were loaded down with loads of the best produce & provision that Egypt had to offer to make the journey as pleasant as possible.

What stood out to me was the last thing that Joseph said to his brothers before they left with their caravan to bring their father & families back:

Don’t quarrel about all this on the way.

I laughed when I read it.

I laughed because here are 11 brothers whose lives have been utterly turned upside-down for the good; whose worries about the famine & what they would eat, & how they’d provide for their families in the present & foreseeable future had been answered; whose past lies, treachery, greed, & jealousy had finally been uncovered; & also whose brother, the one that they’d sold into slavery, was now the 2nd most powerful man in the world.

Ouch.

They had to go back to their father & confess what they’d done to him years prior. Come clean about the carefully crafted ‘stories’ they’d told over the years to keep up their deception. Look into the eyes & face of their father, the man who they had directly caused so much pain to with their actions.

All of that can make one feel fear.

And rather than confronting our fear, which makes us feel weak & powerless, we respond in anger, which makes us feel strong. Placing blame on others, doing anything to shift the weight of personal responsibility, if even in appearance, onto the shoulders of another.

Joseph knew his brothers. Knew what they’d be doing when they got home. And knew that in spite of all the good that was going to happen to them & theirs, they’d first have to confront their own sins & wrongdoing.

It’s a good word – in the face of having to walk through tough stuff:

Don’t quarrel on the way.