Alan's Analog - Blog

Well, here we are, at long last. After much promotion and hype, the games of the 2008 Bejing Olympiad. I must confess, I've paid more attention to these games this year than I ever have before. The competition, great. The myriad of events, boggling. To a certain extent, what games are actually considered Olympic sports! Table tennis? Are you serious? Batmitton? No way! And they're canning baseball and softball! Unbelievable!

But, all that is all beside the point. If I've learned one thing about the spirit of the games (and perhaps more importantly, world unity); it is this: The ONLY way we, in and only of ourselves (as human beings) can manage to unify is thru... playing together! Playing games. Not conducting business, not managing governments and peoples, not spreading religon; but engaging in sports. Something we're told, from childhood - is only a game. If it is indeed, 'ONLY a game, why is it that it appears that's the singular way we can all come together from around the globe, and get along? I'm certainly not saying we should can everything else and just play games all day, all the time - of course not! Naturally, it is business and governement which paves the...

What's up these days? Its Summer in Phoenix. The dog days. Our lousy economy has squelched a lot of options. Travel that might have been for renewel not so probable for many of us. Our lives, our kids, our goals... where do they go from here? Ever feel stuck in limbo - vast arrays of good ideas, but where to go with them? What's the motivation? Where's the kick-start from the day-to-day routine, that gets them going? Its a wearisome time for sure.

I recently thought about high school... when I came alive after two years in - and started to actually like it. What changed? Got involved - just a little. A little which proved to be enough. Can I translate that in the now? One would think so. Why not? I remember praying once a while back and heard the 'little voice' say "Me First!" Of course that means... not ourselves! At the same time, its important to remember one's own drives, being careful not to neglect doing the things that are uniquely yours to accomplish. I think perhaps, do a God-thing first (whatever you/he have determined are your 'service' gifts), and do it. Just one. And then...