A giant yellow and black bumblebee flew slowly across my face while I dozed in my grandparents’ guest bedroom.
I leaped out of bed, grabbed my pillow and went searching to capture it. At age 6, I was visiting Nanny and Pop-Pop. There was no bumblebee. Decades later, that nightmare remains as clear now as then.
I was raised by a caregiver to explore almost anything, an optimist, to be ever curious. But in these times I’m challenged to oppose the chaos being wrought day and night. Resting quietly enables me to find better perspectives. My scholastic record was nothing to brag about, so I have to use the smarts I’ve got.
How about you?
Academic brilliance won’t enable you to overcome the destruction we’re facing. I know a number of Ph.Ds, and they seem as troubled as the next person.
So, using the smarts I’ve got and my interest in people I was raised to learn from, I’m asking questions. More important, I’m listening to people everywhere, everyone I hear or overhear. As the saying goes, “Life is full of surprises.”
With many exceptions, the more helpful expressions seem to come from people who have not had the benefits I have had, especially people from disparate conditions of life who have had to struggle just to survive. Who are they?
Let me begin: an alcoholic parent might head my list. A nurse once said to me alcoholics are usually nice people, except when they’re not.
As a pastor, I’ve sat with children of alcoholic parents. Also, people who were once abused by a parent and who became abusers. Often, they blamed bad behavior on themselves. Then, there are individuals who simply wander through life. Listen carefully, you can learn from them.
Ask questions, whatever comes to mind.
Many people are committed to a craft. Ask them how they came to find it. Did they learn from watching others or strike out on their own? There have always been people drafted into family businesses. I’ve asked some what profession they would have pursued otherwise.
Many have ”son” at the end of their surnames. Above my desk is a photo of my sixth-grade class in the center of which sits Anderson, who knocked around for some years after college. He finally decided to study medicine.
This led to his founding of the osteoarthritis unit at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. I reunited with him in his clinic. (I was almost 40 before I found my own career in amateur film restoration.)
Believe it or not, all of the above can help you acquire perspective in learning what to do to return law and order to our government. Best of all, it’s fun!
You can be intent on your work without boring onlookers. Some people may think you’re wasting your time. You’re not. You may be making an end run around something so important even you can’t describe it. Hooray for the wild people (but not the destructive ones).
Never worry about folks who seem to be unfocused in their practices. They may be exploring uncharted territory. Enjoy them as they are, for what they are.
The more we know about each other, the better we are able to oppose antidemocratic forces destroying good government. If we know one another we can form a much better society.
We will respond more intelligently to those who would destroy governing institutions necessary to community life. These institutions didn’t come about accidentally. They were built on perceived needs to advance and protect various social circumstances.
Bob Brodsky lives in Rowley.