4 Levels Of Love

U2’s healing impact throughout the world was one of the most intriguing aspects of my concert experience.

My curiosity was peaked when I heard Bono mention and thank Rick Warren for his help with the world AIDs emergency. Rick Warren is the Baptist preacher of Saddleback Church is Southern California and the author of the hugely popular “Purpose Driven Life.”

That book catapulted him into the realms of the rich and famous and he, along with his wife, Kay, have been on the front lines of Evangelical Christians helping with the AIDs emergency.

It is preciously this kind of a compassionate response to the world that I want to foster in people. One of the complaints about global outreach is “what about the crisis here at home?”

The point being that we need to help people in our own backyard. We don’t need to go to Africa to find a need; we really need the help here.

Good point. But actually the two are one. We just need to help.

I appreciate the fact that people are helping in so many ways. In my church at least 50% of our congregation is active in some form of social justice or helping activity. Many help with aging underprivileged seniors providing them shelter and care. Several are in helping careers, like education for migrant kids and life skills for developmentally disabled young adults. Other distribute help on the streets.

It is really rewarding for me to see all that goes on. But I am so inspired by the work of people and groups like U2 and the organizations they partner with that I wonder what more can we do? How can we be more effective? What do we need to do get more people involved in compassionate living?

Future living is a mindset that I am attempting to build into the hearts and minds of all the people I meet.

Future living is peaking into the future of our planet and existing there rather than merely living for today.

Future living envisions our children’s children’s children and reaches out to them to prepare them for the challenges they will face, even though they are not born yet.

It is a crazy concept to live for the future. But the benefit of it for people is that it gives real meaning and purpose to life and helps people feel good about their contribution.

The Old Testament reading for this Sunday is the famous passage of Deuteronomy 6 which includes this idea of generational transmission of love and faith. Check it out.

But don’t just check it out. Let us join U2, Rick and Kay Warren and other leaders in making the future a better place.

Future living not only makes life better for them but we can and will literally save them.

I love you- Bryan Martin

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deut%206:1-9&version=NIV

Our Thanksgiving gathering is changing this year. Instead of traveling to my mother’s home we are going to observe Thanksgiving in my home. The change gives us the opportunity to do some things differently.

I’m going to begin our Thanksgiving meal with a water ritual. Water, of course, covers most of the planet. Spiritually water is the symbol of many things.

For me water symbolizes how the most precious element for sustaining life is so abundant. Without water there is no life. Water, though there is so much of it, is more valuable than diamonds or gold.

Ironically we use it flush the toilet and we use it to preserve our very existence.

In the Universe water, life sustaining water is relatively rare. Extrasolar scientists scan the stars searching for planets with water, among the billions they find few.

Like the air we breathe we take water for granted. We believe it is inexhaustible, ever recycling, always available, as much as we need. But it is precious, the fundamental building block of life, an incredible gift of God.

This Thanksgiving place a place a container of water on the table. Prior to the meal call its presence to attention of your guests with words and actions like these.

“Let us consider and be thankful for the most basic and essential elements of life (Pour a small amount of water in to each persons cup.) A poet once said, ‘Water, water everywhere, nor but a drop to drink.’ On Earth water is everywhere yet it is precious. We use it without thought, yet without it we can not live. Let us give thanks to God for water and for the abundance of life and love. Let us never never take it for granted but always always give thanks for water. Let us drink this water together, and may love and thanksgiving flow, like water, from God, through our hearts, and to the world.” Drink.

I Love You – Bryan Martin

I love Bob. His family sees all his humanness but all I see is a super hero.

Bob is doing it again. The fool is riding in the AidsLifeCycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, this third time!

I call him a fool because MY butt hurts just thinking about riding 575 miles on that little thing they call a seat. Who, in their right mind, would volunteer to ride 575miles.

I’ll tell you “who” … Bob! Why… because Bob wants to see the ends of AIDs in the world and Bob, who is not a scientist working on a cure, is raising money so scientist CAN find a cure.

Bob is single handedly going to find a cure… well… not exactly singlehandedly, but with singleness of heart.

I love Bob because he not only has a good heart… he is actually doing something to help the world. It is, by the way, totally out of his box to be involved like this, which is another reason why I love him such. Bob is “just” a married man with two boys, a retail clerk at Von’s grocery store, and internet geek who sits on the computer sending neat, and sometimes not so neat, stuff to his network, and he is the best church worker in the world. How in the world did “this” guy get in the crazy world of the San Francisco AIDs Foundation and start riding to raise money for AIDs research? He saw what AIDs does to people and became passionate about helping. That’s why I love Bob

Bob! I LOVE YOU and I wish all my friends and everybody I know were just like you.

Let’s raise a lot of money. Donate today!

http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE9/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=1135842&pg=personal&fr_id=1210

I Love You – Bryan Martin

Out of the box; that’s what I called our purposed attendance at the U2 concert in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl.  I have to credit Mike Ferry, famed real estate coach, for the incentive. He maintains that getting out of your comfort zone is essential for your personal growth and happiness. And I thought he was just a great real estate coach.

My box does not include an intimate evening with 100,000 screaming yelling fans with music blaring inflaming my already tender over used 55 year old ears. My box does not include spending several hundred dollars on tickets, travel, meal and lodging. My box does not include being subject to plumes of marijuana smoke wafting in my direction thick as the Tule fog. My box does not include the hip hop theatrics of the Black Eyed Peas as they opened. My box does not include venturing into the unknown.

But I did it.

Wow… am I glad! I was more than “Oooo and Ahhhhed” by the spectacular show. Spectacular is a poor descriptive modifier for what I experienced. “Enlightened” is a better word. I had no idea that THAT world existed. Sheltered in the cozy sub culture of my box like existence I am, or was, isolated from a world of music, technology, love and social change.

I was blown away (my apologies for using such an inadequate word) by the creativity, not so much by the music, as good as it was, but by the teamwork, organization, collaboration, and dream fulfillment. That production was a marvel of modern achievement.

How do I get that for my life?

I don’t know. But I do know that I was stimulated. And I know that if that is what it take, that is, getting out of my box, to experience that kind of encouragement, push to grow, dream accomplishment, then I am going to crawl, push, run, and make my way, by any means possible to get out of it and get there.

Man… “What hath God wrought” that I may experience it and do it for others.   

GET OUT OF THAT BOX!

I love you- Bryan Martin

 Experience #1

Chuck is battling an aggressive form of cancer. I ran into Joyce and him walking their dog yesterday. I thought walking the dog was a good thing. His chemotherapy is a “poison that supposed to kill the cancer before it kills me.”

Now there is an interesting mind set.

I wonder if scarcity makes people appreciate “things” more. Like Chuck’s mindset; everyday must special, each moment is meaningful, every breath refreshing and full of life, every dawn a brand new creation to behold, take in with wonder and awe.

Can you do that without the scarcity?

Experience #2

We discovered a major flaw in an organization we belong to. The stake holders are very defensive about it, even accusatory. Their defensiveness is surprising to us but they can’t right a wrong in a system in which they have a heavy emotional investment, what other response can they give?

Nevertheless it is a good organization, we truly believe it.

Most people experience this phenomenon in one way or another and it seems most distressing when you highly esteem the organization.

Fortunately we get disillusioned.

I learned in a college psychology class (a million years ago it seems) that being disillusioned is good: an illusion is a false perception of reality and having that “dissed” is good. Living in reality is better than living an illusion.

Of the two experiences I mentioned in my blog today… fighting cancer and coping with dysfunctional systems, which would you rather experience?

If you said neither… then I’m with you. Instead let’s love like wild crazy people at a U2 concert, let’s sing along with all the songs, let fight for what’s right, like Jesus did, because that is the right thing to do, and lets work hard to make the world a hell of a lot better than when we arrived. Deal?

I Love You — Bryan

I created Amorvia. It is a combination of two latin words amor and via or love way. I am changing the name of my blog as kind of a precursor. You’ll just have to wait to see what’s up my sleeve.

I will tell you that Love is the only way that we will be able to save future generations. I don’t mean salvation in theological terms, but I am referring to the fact that our planet will not exist for ever and that it will end, by one means or another. Rather than merely accepting the doom of the planet I am suggesting that we can help that generation who will be confronted with those realities and, moreover, as their parents we have a the responsibility to help them. We can help them, but it will take, among other things, a whole lot of love. Love is the way, Amorvia!

Extrasolar, in case you did not know, refers to the current search for habital planets in the universe. Last week scientist found 30+ earth like planets bring the total known, so far to 400. Imagine that!

Here is the question that will define our new purpose; How can billions of people escape this dying planet and find the relative safety of a new extrasolar home?

Now that is an interesting thought.

I love you– Bryan Martin

My extended family is very weird. My family of origin, on the other hand, is perfectly normal. And if you believe that… well let’s just say every family has it idiosyncrasies.

We experienced such an oddity in the Chamberlin family that was a topic of discussion at Tom Chamberlin’s funeral (Tom was my Father-in-law Jack’s brother). One of Tom’s grandson’s, a twenty year old man, wears elf ears. They are Spock looking ears that one might wear to a costume party or around Halloween time, only he has worn them for years now and he wears them everywhere… even to his Grandfather’s funeral. When asked why he wears them he states, “they make me feel comfortable.” For some the wearing of elf ears prompts the question, “What’s wrong with him?”

I have thought that the ears are kind of a transitional object, like a blanket, that provides comfort. Some people just say he is “special.” His ears cause no harm, they just draw attention and make people wonder about him as they politely state, “That’s odd.” Maybe he just thinks that the association with Lord of the Rings elf-like ears is cool or spiritual.

Most people I know would rather keep their “oddity” to their selves, those personal and familial idiosyncrasies private. The shame associated with our family quirks keeps us quiet. Hence the phrase “Has he no shame!” as if the undignified nature of his behavior should be politely hidden.

On the one hand it is perfectly acceptable to mark our bodies with all kinds of tattoos and piercings. I guess nose rings are more acceptable. Humm. When I go to visit my CPA I am glad that he wears neither elf ears nor tongue piercings, just a suit and tie… yet even he probably engaged in some “unusual” youthful behavior.

Obviously it is no big deal and we have more important issues to deal with. Still, I think that it is a good idea, a Godly idea, to try to understand what’s going on with people. Whether it is a cry for help or merely self expression we ought to know. God knows the heart, it makes since that we should know, too.

I love you – Bryan Martin

They are riddled with manic episodes punctuated with deep persecutory depression. To chart them it would look like stock marketing topping 10,000 one day and the Great Depression the next. I’m talking about the Psalms of King David and how they reveal the huge ups and down of his emotional life. One day it is ecstasy as he experiences the beatific vision the next a horrible delusion of sudden death at the hands of his nemesis. It makes me wonder about his sanity.

It is the hazard of writing… it reveals the inner life of the author as he shares with his audience and there is nothing he can do about it.

Sometime I look back at what I wrote and think “what did you eat that made your blog so morose.” Or “You didn’t really publish that fiction of emotional mania did you?”

What I fear the most is that the negativity might slip out. It is sort of like a stinky fart… people around don’t necessarily see or hear what’s going on, but “Oh my God… what died?” You can try to ignore it, but the guilt of your action literally follows you and your body language rats you out. “What me?”

King David didn’t seem to be bothered by what others thought about his bi-polar spirituality. He just kept on praying. Guess what? He made it… even through all the emotions and drama of his bazaar family life and personal emotional upheaval.

There is a powerful lesson here for spiritual people. Thousand of years after his death David speaks to people about how to live with the vicissitudes of life. His life has spoken to more people after his death than during his life. In other words he actually lived for the future. He lived to help guide the generations that followed him.

Honesty I think your life has more potential to help people than you realize. Honestly most people are unaware of this and are forgotten within a few generations, their DNA their only legacy. It shouldn’t be that way.

If people can learn valuable lessons from the ups and downs of a dead king of three thousand years ago, don’t you think that there is something that you can give to the next few generations… even if you don’t have kids?

What if you started to live for the future? How could you help those stuck in time to be? You can help and it would make this part of your journey much more meaningful and significant.

I’d like to suggest that you talk to my friend Peggy Alessandri about sharing your experiences with future generations. She is a personal historian and can help you chronicle the lessons of your life for the generations to come (alessandri@comcast.net).

You may not be a King, but your lessons will help in ways that you never thought possible.

 I Love You – Bryan Martin

Hunched over men were walking aimlessly through the blighted central valley community where Jared, my mid-thirties son, and I were on a real estate errand. He was picking up a lock box from a bank owned property (the bank took back the property from the owners when they couldn’t pay the mortgage) that he sold for a mere $39,000. Jared called it a drug infested part of town. It seemed clear to me that they didn’t have any direction and were unsure about which way to go.

 Being without direction is a huge problem, and not just for jobless men in central California. These men didn’t need life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, they needed purpose and direction in their lives… and don’t we all?

 That’s why Rick Warren’s book was such a big hit. The “Purpose Driven Life” promised hope that there was something significant for us to do. Turns out it was little more than an extremely popular fad.

 They last time American’s had real purpose was WWII. Then the country came together. The Cold War against Communism was a close second, and the race to the moon third. 9/11 brought us together for a while, but the politics of war in Iraq and now Afghanistan has distracted us.

 The Chinese seem to have renewed purpose. Their economic engine is driving them to new prosperity. The pursuit of the all mighty dollar, or yen, will push them along for a while.

 Back home, I can’t get over so many people being so unsure about life’s direction.

 I, for one, have direction and am excited about the future. It is epitomized by my little grandchildren.

 Jared and Janelle, asked Jennifer and I to go with them to the last day of the Big Fresno Fair to help monitor the nine kids they were taking to the fair to celebrate Jadon’s ninth birthday. Those eight boys (number nine was granddaughter Lauren) were a blast to be with. Excited, enthused, energetic, and thrilled they were with the rides, smells, the animals, the gems, the pig races… it was a fabulous experience more so for me than the kids because I saw… the future.

 I think we have different inalienable rights than when our country was being formed. There has got to be more to it than “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” And I am sure there is. It is our inalienable right to help prepare the future for our kids.

 God gave us the ability not just to live in the now, but to plan for the future. Unlike any other time in the history of the world, we can do that now. Those hunched over men walking aimless through that blighted city would have been walking tall if they were holding their children’s hands and preparing them for life.

 Want some direction for your life? Look to the future. You’ll find God is already there.

 I Love You–Bryan