Pep Talk: "Our Nation, Our Time?"

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean flying toward Europe for a rendezvous with darling wife, your knucklehead scribe’s brain percolated. It’s a blessing and curse.

The cranium was gurgling with truth revealed three years into a community outreach wellness movement, A Stronger Cord. ASC’s philosophy purposively engages agencies serving the isolated, vulnerable and displaced. We have too many in our world today. In missions, mansions or on Main Street. All colors, shapes and sizes. Diverse. Quite often, in serving the afflicted (aren’t we all?), it’s apparent an overactive brain and ill-advised ways to effectively deal with it, lead to destructive addictions: Drugs, booze, power, crime, sex/pornography or whatever counterproductive outlet we choose.

ASC uses exercise to calm down that overactive noggin. A devotion to fitness sure has helped this ol’ jock deal with stress over the years. However, the workout is the warmup, first step, in a three-pronged wellness program reducing anxiety, building healthy relationships and encouraging community service. As ASC devotees say, “Work out, hang out and help out. More fit, connected and giving. Healthier, mind, body and spirit.” Ah, a beautiful cord of three strands not easily broken.

Just personal opinion, but these days America’s policy toward an overactive brain seems dominated by the prescription drug faction. Big Pharma. The first thing seems to be, “Get them on medicine!” There is little conversation about “Get them in a wellness program!” We know exercise reduces stress. All science supports such a statement. For a frayed nation needing fresh ideas concerning building a stronger cord to one another, why not wellness?

As the flight continued its trans-Atlantic trek from Houston to Amsterdam, I was reading an article in the Denver Post about the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.  The well-written story described the evolution of a Japanese-American family detained in one of our nation’s World War II internment camps. After the 1941 surprise attack, Japanese-descent families were ordered to surrender homes, jobs and possessions and report to prison-like facilities. One was Camp Amache, in Granada, Colorado.

The other day I heard a fabulous pastor, Denver Dream Center’s Bryan Sederwall say, “We have to embrace life’s interruptions as an invitation.” Japanese-American lives were certainly interrupted by a fearful nation after a savage assault on its western flank. But a vast majority of Japanese-Americans soldiered on. They used the interruption as an invitation. One internment youth later served in the Korean War. Now in his 80‘s, a young student asked the man, “Considering how you were treated, why did you later serve?” According to the writer, apparently, the man did not hesitate. “It was my country. It was my time.”

A hyperactive brain dump on a long flight to Europe leads to this: Folks, our nation is underachieving. There are societal warning sirens blaring. American ideals have been interrupted. It’s an invitation. When it comes to utilizing talents and experiences to serve and lessen societal stress, where might it be our nation? Our time? Look around your community. Opportunity is knocking!