“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”
Ukrainian-Israeli educator and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir, was born on this day in 1898 (d. 1978)
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time driving. The reasons vary. But it gives me a lot of time to think.
After all, I’ve caught up with all the episodes of my favorite Shakespeare podcast and I’ve yet to find a suitable replacement.
As I mentioned yesterday, on my drive to, or from, the park I “rewrote” my current novel project. Actually I just re-sequenced it and made the necessary notes for when I get back to it.
One major project at a time, remember?
Other times on the drives I’ll engage in the futile “what if?” game.
The most recent was prompted by a post from a high school friend. It stirred up a memory that was both painful and embarrassing. Details don’t matter, just know that it was high school boy stupidity. Your cluelessness may vary. But I asked myself what might have happened if I’d made another choice.
I can ask myself that same question about a lot of choices over the years. What if I’d taken that other job offer? What if I’d moved there instead of…there.
It’s all speculation and none of the questions will change anything.
I can look at points in my life that were significant turning points and consider how my reactions and decisions might have been influenced by circumstances or the well-meaning, but erroneous, advice of others.
My Dad died when I was only twenty. What if he’d been around another twenty years when I finally started to grow up?
There are the decisions I made immediately after college. Those that seemed short-term at the time, but ended up influencing my career path. What if I’d gone back to the mission field, or to seminary, instead of trusting the advice of someone who I thought was looking out for my best interests, rather than his own?
What if I’d accepted that television job, or that campaign job, or…
It doesn’t matter.
And it doesn’t matter what the influences or circumstances were.
At each turning point, I made the decision.
That left turn in Albuquerque if you will.
I made the decisions that got me here.
And here, as it turns out, is not such a bad place.
American singer and actor, Frankie Valli, was born on this day in 1934.
THINGS YOU SHOULD READ
Filler-Corn Flips Off Bystanders After Losing Leadership Vote
Shaun Kenney at The Republican Standard
Former Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) decided to let her emotions get the better of her last week. Read More.
BREAKING: SCOTUS rules Boston violated First Amendment in refusing to fly Christian flag among flags of other groups
The Post Millennial
“The line between a forum for private expression and the government’s own speech is important, but not always clear,” he wrote. Read More.
Joe Biden’s ‘Ministry of Truth’
Joe Concha in The Hill
The person chosen to lead this new “Committee of Public Information” under Mayorkas is Nina Jankowicz, who calls herself “a disinformation fellow” and a Russian disinformation expert. Read More.
Hunter Biden To Receive $50K Per Month Salary For Seat On Disinformation Governance Board
The Babylon Bee
“We are proud to welcome Hunter to our Ministry of Tr– um, our Disinformation Governance Board,” said Jankowicz. “As the victim of a Russian disinformation campaign that claimed his laptop held evidence of horrific sexual crimes and international corruption resulting in tens of millions of dollars being funneled to the Biden family, he is uniquely equipped to speak to these issues.” Read More.
BORN ON THIS DAY
1903 – Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (d. 1977)
1906 – Mary Astor, American actress (d. 1987)
1919 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2014)
1921 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (d. 1989)
1933 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2006)
1951 – Christopher Cross, American singer-songwriter and producer
BENEDICTION
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:7–8