day 1332: Respecting Those Who Came Before Us

"The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them."

Two weekends ago Patti and I visited her past boss from PepsiCo.  Even after all these years, I still see him as the senior executive who led the company into and through some of its most exciting days.  We are all "grown up" now, but some things can't be let go of and being with him always gives me a special feeling of being in the presence of one of those people who was the best of the best in industry.  Corporate memory is short and once a person is gone from the company, they will soon be forgotten.  Apple announced yesterday that their long time CFO is retiring.  I remember when Steve Jobs promoted him up from being the Controller of the company.  But, will a new college Finance hire, five years from now even know of Peter Oppenheimer?  Will she/he ever benefit from his experience and learning?  We need to find a way to better institutionalize corporate and executive history.  Maybe it's time to provide oral/video histories as a way for new employees to be oriented and have self development?  I don't know, but its something for us to think about.

In our spiritual lives we have giants in faith that have come before us and who still walk among us today.  Rather than letting them come and go, we can deepen our own spiritual being by reading these men and women, listening and watching them teach, and even reaching to them to meet and spend time.  More people are accessible than we imagine. All we have to do is ask.  That is the example of our God.  He is always accessible.  All we have to do is ask.  We should also be living in that example as there is someone in our workplace today who is struggling and needs us to be there for them, for them to learn from and carry that lesson forward.  Let's open ourselves up today for that moment to be there. We have no way of knowing if that moment might not be the one that opens their future that will always remember.

Reference: Proverbs 20:7 (New Living Translation) 

day 1195: Availability, Part 2

"Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing." 

Earlier this week was the first time I had been in NYC since they added CitiBikes.  I must say, I was amazed by the number of riders I saw using the bikes. But, I was even more amazed by the people I saw riding them.  Men, women, older, younger, dressed for work, dressed for hanging out, dressed for going out at night, all kinds of people using the bikes for what they needed; to get from one place to another. Before CitiBikes, they would have been in a cab, on the subway, or walking.  But, with a little availability of another form or transportation where they didn't need to buy, maintain, store, lock, or worry about their own bike, they were using a bike to get around Manhattan.  And, they were paying for it.  What can we learn from this?  What I see is that availability of everyday products and services, that when made accessible, that we will pay for the temporary use and fulfill a need.  Provide a bike.  How simple and to think how long it took us to get here.

I come back to the fact that our availability for others is more valuable than we even imagine.  Yesterday, I took a phone call with someone who I didn't know at all, who wanted to request some information from my experience for a project he was getting off the ground.  In 30 minutes we covered a lot of ground.  At the end of the time, he told me that the number of people who he couldn't get to call him back or spend any time with him, were beyond counting.  His appreciation of our time was also beyond measurement.  In that conversation I got the chance to mention my church activities, this blog, and why I give of my time to talk to others; enough dots for him to connect that part of my expression of God's purpose for me, access and grace comes through my time allocations.  Being available to do God's work can mean doing it when we least expect it. Being always available and on call for God is what we must do.

Reference: Philippians 2:4 (New Living Translation)