Orbits – The General Pattern of Life

Electrons have orbits.
Planets have orbits.
They make up the overall scope of existence.

As a preschooler, no orbit is there.
I am the center of the universe.
Everything revolves around me
It’s me, me, me.

But learning comes fast.
Oh, the awakening when I am thrown into orbit!
School is here. High School and then College -
To stimulate an ever expanding awareness.
My world and learning and acquaintances expand exponentially.

Growing older,
I become more aware of the real world.
Learning my life’s options greatly increase my orbit.
Career and family, if successful, induce a constant growth.

If I learn life’s major lesson -
I move from – ME and you – to YOU and I.

But as life progresses in age,
My orbit swells and then shrinks like a bubble.

Old age reverts to youth again.
My attention is dominated by the talk, talk, talk -
Of my medical infirmities.

My perspective returns to ME.
I become the center of the universe once more -
And no orbit remains.

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What Greed Gets You

Greed is an insidious thing. Never being satisfied with what you have, even though it may be much, will eventually lead to disaster. “Those who seek greener pastures on the other side of the fence, usually end up with a pile of horse manure” is an old saying with much truth to it. When is more and more and more actually enough ?

A good example is from a football game played recently. TCU was projected to win the Mountain West Conference title. They were also listed in the top 25 and projected as a possible BCS contender. They also led the highly ranked University of Texas for a good share of that game.

In their next game against the lower rated Air Force Academy, they were given stiff competition. However, they held the lead 17 to 10 with 49 seconds left in the game. They also had a first down on the Air Force 22 yard line. All they had to do was run out the clock to secure the win. But they wanted more. They tried to score a TD by throwing a pass to the end zone. It was intercepted and the Falcons got the ball on the 20 yard line. Three plays later it was 4th and one on the 29. TCU, expecting a sneak, bunched up the center of the line. But Air Force ran an option and pitched outside. The pitch recipient went the distance for the score and tied the game. In the overtime, TCU’s field goal bounced off the upright and Air Force made theirs to win the game 20 to 17.

Was that just dumb coaching on TCU’s part or the desire to win by a larger margin?

That seems to be what greed does for you. It will come back to bite you,

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Eyes of Love

Have you ever noticed a penny on the ground? Did you stop and pick it up? Many times I’ve stood by my school room and beheld a penny on the hallway floor. Students would invariably
pass over and not give it a second glance. They paid no attention to something they attached little value to. After a time, not wanting it to clutter the floor, I would rescue the coin and put it in a proper place. Where little value is ascribed, little observation occurs and poor understanding results.

When in the Registered Angus Cattle business, I cherished every cow in the herd. I could look at them lined up at the manger, from their back ends, and identify every individual and give a summation of each one’s traits. To others they all looked alike. But I had a deep love for Angus cattle and therefore noticed things easily. At a Utah State Fair, strolling
with my wife through the pavilion that housed art exhibits, we came upon a lady’s sculpture display. She had an excellent one of a bovine bull. She had titled it “Angus”. Though the
workmanship was very good, the title did not fit the subject. It was obvious that she had little real understanding of cattle. Wanting to know my thoughts, I was unable to convey to her that “feel” that was needed to have made the piece more authentic. An explanation that would be unnecessary to one absorbed with the subject matter.

My wife and I have developed an unbridled love for the natural world. Our eyes have been opened as a result and there has been a “snow-balling” effect. The more you notice, the greater the ability to notice becomes. When showing others slides of local birds and other life-forms, the comment always surfaces: “I’ve never seen any of those. Where have they been hiding?” It’s amazing – when the “covers” come off the eyes, things appear where they never were before. I’ve witnessed this marvelous event. New vistas of excitement, knowledge, and understanding results. Understanding breeds fondness. Understanding increases as fondness deepens.

Two people with an affection for each other, see things in the other person which the average observer cannot comprehend. Why is this? Because there is no one who
can view things with as acute accuracy as one who “looks through the eyes of love”!

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How About Some Serious Pondering

My brother Richard, in the later part of his working years, was employed by an irrigation company. His job consisted mainly of taking soil moisture samples and recommending watering
procedures to the client. In order to do this, it took a great deal of investigative searching, testing and the practical experience previously gained from operating his own farm. His Father-In-law would periodically ask his advice, only to completely disregard it in favor of that which he had heard on “the street”.

This frustrated my brother to “no end” to say the least. Yet he was quilty of the same thing regarding environmental issues that had entered the political arena – totally disregarding the findings of scientists in favor of “crack-pot” radio, television, and newspaper commentators ( the likes of Limbaugh, Bell, Maughan, to name a few ) who were pushing a political agenda.

Why do people do this? Why do they shut their ears and eyes to the obvious? I was a Biology teacher in high school and so I have witnessed this closing of the mind on a first-hand basis. This is especially true in environmental science and the theories relating to species continuation and adaptation. Parents were always interfering in the learning process. The following is a quote I have para-phrased that I believe most timely: ” People toss out science in order to assuage their insecurity in certain of their own ideologues, especially religious ones – purposely closing off any contact with biological education. Scientific illiteracy is leaving too many of us unprepared to discuss or understand the damage we are wrecking on our own habitat and even on our own existence. “

I have long been a preacher for the tremendous importance of variety. Variety seems to me to be as important an eternal principle as any other you’d care to mention, yet there is an almost insane drive by the human animal to reduce it as much as possible. Whether it is in our social drive to follow styles to be like the next guy, or the drive to make us all think and act alike in a religious context, or the replacing of naturally occurring bio-systems with
monocultures. Ethnic variety is what’s made America strong on the world stage. Likewise the elimination of variety in naturally occurring gene pools will eventually catch-up with us all. A very frustrating and frightening prospect to me!

I always cringe when others refer to me as a bird watcher. They talk as if all we do is recreate with birds. This attitude hits me as so trivial that it is irksome. While I do love birds and observe them, I love everything out there in nature. Our time is spent photographing all life-forms, birds being the most abundant and noticeable. What I really am is a naturalist and a conservationist. Hopeful what we do might have an effect in some small way on the attitudes of others. After all, I don’t think there is any concern facing the human race more serious than keeping our planet healthy. Also, to keep it viable through the preservation of all the variety possible in all the many and varied gene pools.

In this race for the dollar and the using up of everything on this earth, who will be the eventual winner?

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“Rules is for fools”

An old mountain climber (who lived in Hailey, Idaho) was being interviewed on PBS. He had surmounted most of the major peaks in the world. The girl interviewer suggested that he should write a book of rules for mountain climbing. Here was his answer: “RULES IS FOR FOOLS – each situation is different and if you can’t make a value judgment to apply to each,you’re dead!”

Upon much reflection, I think that was one of the most astute comments I’ve ever heard and the longer I live the stronger this statement comes home to me. I have often wondered why we have so many rules. I guess it is because there is an abundance of fools. Fools, by their actions, cause more rules to be laid down.

But when those with leadership responsibilities are incapable (or refuse to) of making a value judgment – they will follow “The Book” to the last word. It is then evident that we are being
controlled by fools and we are in big trouble. A good example of this is the endangered species act. The act has been very beneficial – a good thing! However, administrators of that act that won’t compromise or use good judgment in special circumstances, greatly harm the effort to protect the diversity of our planet.

Often, officials are more concerned with foolish perks than in using common sense to reach a realistic decision. Too often the drive to “save face” over-rides all other considerations – even if it results in negative or even harmful situations for others.

Christ gave us the only rules we need in the two great commandments. Some common sense, combined with someself-discipline in applying those two guidelines, would cover all the necessary bases.

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