A friend of mine, a gentle and inspiring soul named SummerLyn, maintains a blog on another site in which she records her thoughts on spirituality in everyday life along with observations of nature from her home in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  They’re short, simple, and sweet entries filled with common sense and some pearls of wisdom from her Lakota heritage and surroundings.

The other day, she posted an interesting quote that got my attention.  I would like to share it with you and get your reactions to the piece and to a few questions I’ll ask of you afterward.  Summer kindly agreed to my use of the core of her entry in my own journal. 

The Paradox of Our Age

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember to say "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

So… did you find yourself nodding your head in agreement with the writer’s sentiments?  Did you admire the writer’s salient turns of phrase?  Did you even consider saving a copy of the quote for your collection with the idea of re-reading it periodically?

Or… did you find yourself instead shaking your head at the naïve simplicity, the vaguely doctrinaire tone, and the “goody two-shoes” sappiness of the author’s message?  Did you even stop reading after the first paragraph, unable to deal with the message?

Now…

Suppose I inform you that the author of the piece was the late stand-up comic and social and political critic George Carlin.  How would that affect your perception of the piece?  Would you re-read it in a different light, hear it in a different voice, and would it change your perception of the words?  If you liked it before, how well did it sit with you on the second go-round?  If you found it trite and boring the first time, was it more appealing when you considered who the author was?

Carlin’s authorship of this piece is what we call these days an “urban myth.”  He vigorously denied having anything to do with it, and referred to “Paradox” as a “sappy load of (excrement).”  A similar rumor that it had been written by a student at Littleton, Colorado who had witnessed the Columbine High School shootings is also false.

Now…

What if I told you that “The Paradox of Our Times” was written in 1990 by Dr. Bob Moorehead?  Dr. Moorehead was the founder and pastor of a Seattle-area “megachurch”, Overlake Christian Church, a non-denominational evangelistic house of worship in Renton, Washington.  Would his religious status color your reception of this message?  If you are opposed to organized religion, would this fact just add another checkmark in the blocks as to why you didn’t care for it?

If you found that you liked the message and you respect the messenger’s vocation, how would you respond when I tell you that Bob Moorehead was arrested in 1996 while on a vacation in Daytona Beach, Florida, on charges of lewd conduct with another man in a public rest room?  What would you think if those charges were later dropped?  Dr. Moorehead claimed he was a victim of mistaken identity; the chief of police asserted they were correct, and apprehended the guilty party.  Whom would you be inclined to believe, the man of the cloth or the boys in blue?

And if you were inclined to distrust the police, what would you think when I tell you that Dr. Moorehead resigned his position a few years later on the heels of accusations by several male members of the parish that he molested them? 

Would you have a headache from all these twists and turns?

Or would the light of the words themselves shine forth regardless of the messenger and his frailties?