The Beautiful Music of Spring!

I have good news, folks!  I heard the first frogs of the season a few days ago!  Since then I have spied robins in the sunshine and buds on the trees.  This calls for celebration!  Below is a poem I wrote about this magical time of the year (which also happens to be my favorite).  I have another poem my brain is trying to organize.  I hope that I can share that poem with you very soon.  In the meantime, let us all say a prayer of thanksgiving for the wonderful buds of spring!

“Music in Spring”

Spring starts slowly in the Northwest,

like the winding up of a dusty victrola
long forgotten in an attic that groans
and slowly gains motion and finally music
crackles and catches and then smooths out.

You might first notice it in the morning air. 

A change in texture and smell.  What is it? 
Thawed earth?  New leaves?  New volume
in the air?  Snow-muffled quiet
traded for bird song and breeze.

Open your window as you drive the streets.

Windows shut up now open a bit, then more,
and before long there’s music
blaring from his car to yours
and heads are bobbing in your rearview.

You might laugh, but three blocks down

you’re at it, too, your voice mingled
with the radio and fingers tapping.
Everywhere is song and motion
and teens in fast cars checking each other out.

At home, in the woods, red-winged blackbirds

signal the wakening, then the Stellar blue jays
bicker in the trees.  And I say, “Shhhh… Do you hear that?
The frogs.  They’ve thawed.”  One at first, then tomorrow
it’s two.  By Friday the night is punctuated.

And I can’t help but stand, sock-footed and still –

the scent of mud and dripping rain
mingle with frog melodies and pine;
the chorus is caught, and doubles on itself –
on my deck, in the dark, the symphony rises.

Your Life's Mission in One Clear Statement

Most large companies and organizations have a mission statement. These statements clarify the organization’s focus, declare over-arching goals, and determine what underlies all of the choices that the company makes.  They act as both a guide for behavior and a mirror that keeps the members focused and unified.  Here are a few examples:

• Starbucks:  To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.
• The Humane Society:  Celebrating Animals, Confronting Cruelty.
• The Girl Scouts of America:  Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
• Facebook:  To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.
• SeaWorld:  To apply basic physiological research efforts and state-of-the-art reproductive technologies toward wildlife species management and conservation.

The charter school where I teach has a mission statement.  The railroad where my husband works has a mission statement.  Our church has a mission statement.  One thing I never really thought about (until recently) was why I don’t have a mission statement for myself. 

That’s right.  Why can’t people have mission statements?  If it’s good enough for Starbucks and Facebook and SeaWorld, why shouldn’t people have their own guiding principal?  The best part about life statements like these is that they are designed to be short, concise, and focused.  They are foundational, and they can be pulled out and studied in times of crisis, loss of focus, and movements toward change. 

I had never considered this until a few weeks ago.  Our church is in the process of calling a new associate pastor.  Being a part of the process has taught me a lot, and meeting the potential pastors has been very edifying.  One of the potential pastors, who visited our church for a meet-and-greet and brief talk about discipleship, talked about having a statement that guides his life in all situations, from enduring hard times to meeting others and talking about Christ.  The statement, which comes from the Bible, forms the foundation for not only his decisions but also his point of view.  When he is talking to someone about Christ, he said he makes it a point to ask him or her, “What is your life’s mission statement?”  Then he shares his:  “Jesus is Lord.” 

I had never considered what a handy thing it would be to have a life statement until this moment.  Think about it:  Did you have a bad day, where nothing seems to be going right?  Well, if your mission statement is “Jesus is Lord,” then you can rest assured that no matter what the circumstances, Jesus has you in His hands.  He has a plan for you, and no amount of bad days can change that.  Okay, how about this:  Did you have the best day ever?  Did everything go as planned?  Did you find success?  Well, guess what?  “Jesus is Lord.”  And if that’s the case, you know where those blessings came from, and you know whom to thank.  Did you meet a nice person on that flight to Seattle?  Did you strike up a conversation about life and work and what book you were reading?  Now ask that stranger what their life’s mission is.  Then share yours.  If it’s “Jesus is Lord,” that swings the door wide open to talk about how God has worked in your life, and all of the sudden you are discipling and blessing someone’s life in a potentially life-altering way.  Pretty cool, right? 

Ever since that evening where I was introduced to the idea of a personal mission statement, I’ve been sorting through my favorite Bible verses and passages, trying to decide what my life statement will be.  I want to it serve as a cornerstone for everything that I do.  I want it to speak to my attitude about work, about the people I encounter, and about the goals and aspirations I have.  I want it to be both an encouragement in the rough times and a guardrail that keeps my heart and mind on track. 

When I discover my mission statement, I will be certain to share it with you.  In the meantime, have you ever thought about what statement, Biblical or otherwise, that you want to act as a pilot light for your life?  If not, I encourage you to ponder it out.  It might be just the thing to illuminate what values you want to permeate your future decisions and your overall point of view.

Lessons from Obedience School . . . .

Noel and I finished our eight-week basic obedience class last Saturday.  I am proud to report that we both passed!  I have never been such a diligent student of dog care, and I feel as if I have let all of my past dogs down for not being a more involved parent.  The class served to bond us together, gives us things to work on at home, and we have both learned a lot. 

I suspect that I learned more than Noel, however.  I suspect that I should have taken basic obedience training many, many years ago….with or without a dog. 

I have been learning a lot about dog care in the past few months.  In addition to obedience classes, I have been doing a lot of online research about various training issues, watching (with great attention) Cesar Millan’s television show “The Dog Whisperer,” and reading books about the proper care and training of our little corgi cocktail.  

When Noel strains at her leash, our instructor taught me to just turn and go a different direction.  If she begins pulling against the leash again, turn and go another way (I must look like a drunken sailor walking our road).  Eventually she will get into “heel” position because I am walking unpredictably.  Before we go outside for a walk I give Noel the “sit” command, then tell her to “wait,” then exit the house and give her permission to come outside with an “okay” command.  We are practicing the “come” command repeatedly, largely because if she gets off leash while playing with the neighbor dog, she refuses to come to me.  Each time we practice the “stay” command I extend the time so that she will learn patience and look to me as, what Cesar Millan calls, “the pack leader.” 

Oh yeah.  I should probably mention that I took something called an Enneagram test and scored a .7% for assertiveness.  That’s right, folks.  I couldn’t even crack into the whole numbers for assertiveness.  I scored seven-tenths of a percent.  I’m surprised the website didn’t offer me a consolation prize for being the least assertive human being to ever take the Enneagram test.  Wow. 

I need to muster up every ounce of my .7% assertiveness to learn how to be my dog’s pack leader. 

Fortunately, Noel is a very sweet, very eager-to-please dog.  But even so, I have found that if I let up on my training consistency, or if I allow her to drag me along icy roads while she strains at her leash, she quickly forgets who is (supposed to be) in charge.  One evening, though totally exhausted, I decided I had better take Noel out for one last visit to the latrine.  It was raining, windy, and all I wanted to do was go to my soft, warm bed.  We went through the “sit, wait” routine, but when I opened the door she immediately trotted outside.  Despite my fatigue, we went back inside and went through the whole ritual again.  The classes and endless articles emphasize that consistency is key.  If the dog is allowed to believe he is in charge, he will walk all over his owner.  A dog straining at the leash is under the impression that she is in charge.  The same is true for dogs that are allowed to enter the house in front of their humans or eat before their humans do.  So dog owners would do well to establish boundaries consistently, because Cesar Millan says that dogs are more at ease when they know that their humans are in charge.  

This week I was thinking about how careful I am to toe the line with my dog, but not with my fellow humans.  I caught one of my students interrupting not only his fellow students, but also me during a class discussion.  Another one of my students had her feet up on a chair, which I know I have ignored in the past.  As a result, she had moved from using one chair as a foot rest to two chairs across which to sprawl like she was enjoying a movie in her living room.  I quickly corrected the situation, asking her take her feet off the chairs, scanned the room and saw two others doing the same thing, corrected them, and got down to business discussing “Oedipus the King.”  As I was driving home I had to accept the fact that my easy-going demeanor was largely to blame.  Because I had overlooked these little habits in the past, the habits began to grow and spread.  What’s funny is when I asked the students to stop sprawling, I used my “training Noel” voice and praised them after they had complied. 

Yes, my dear readers, I should have taken basic obedience training years ago!  When I think of all the people I have let walk on me or take advantage of me in small (and big) ways, I realize that simple one-hour classes at dog obedience school could have saved me from myself. 

So, I will continue reading training books (first up, Cesar Millan’s Be the Pack Leader), Noel and I will sign up for more classes with the Coeur d’Alene Dog Fancier’s Club, and we will practice old and new tricks.  Next year I get to teach two 8^th grade English classes along with my usual high school literature classes, and I will practice my training skills on fourteen year olds. 

Perhaps in a year my assertiveness score on the Enneagram test will actually cross into a whole number.  Dare to dream….