The Storm

As I sit here, the world is in a pandemic. A storm has come in the name of COVID-19. This storm, at least here in Nashville was preceded by a devastating tornado that caused major damage and loss of life. Two weeks later the US and the world are being griped by COVID-19. Whole countries are on lockdown, states are going on lockdown, cities are going on lockdown, mass layoffs are happening in the hospitality industry as businesses are shutting down to help flatten the curve. Social distancing, shelter-in-place, quarantine, epidemic, pandemic, shortages, essential movement, and so many other words have become top in daily conversations.

We are living in a time that many things are being exposed from businesses that truly used their Corporate Social Responsibility as a smoke screen, our selfishness, our depravity, our loneliness, our facades. All have come crumbling down. What is coming back is a realignment of who we are as individuals, nations, businesses, leaders, friends, spouses, family members, parents, grandparents, and children. We are working to protect the most vulnerable. Human decency is coming back. The facade that organizations that we thought were there to protect are incapable of protecting due to red tape. Now don’t get me wrong I believe during this time a more leaner government may come about that can react faster and more decisive during a time like this. Organizations will redevelop CSR principles to make sure that their number one assets are protected (their people).

This storm called COVID-19 will have major impact on everyday life for the foreseeable future. On top of this other natural disasters are happening; earthquakes, locusts, natural disasters, and so much more. During this time many that are sheltering-in-place are thinking of ways to improve life, create new content, chefs creating new foods, bartenders/mixologist creating new libations, distillers creating new alcohols, brewers creating new booze, new ways to create a more sustainable energy supply, playwrights creating new live theater experiences, musicians creating new music, authors creating new stories, and the list can go on and on and on. We are seeing a reset and I will cover that in another post this coming week.

Right now we are in a storm and the other day, once the fog of all that has transpired in March for me personally, an image came to mind and story. As you know I am a man of faith and a follower of the Way. I believe right now we are in a storm and we are panicking and afraid, yet I see the world on a boat in the midst of a major storm and we are afraid of what is going on. In the back of the boat peacefully asleep is a man unfazed by all that is going on. He is awoken by the noise of not the storm but those cry out in fear and pain. He stands up and goes to the front of the boat; passing all those that are busy doing work to calm their fears in great dismay. Each person, country, nation, language, ethnic group He passes a peace comes over them. As He approaches the front of the boat He turns to all the nations and says “I am Greater than this storm. I am Greater than your fears, I am Greater than any nation, leader, and I am working with the healers for I am the Great Healer, the Great Physician. I am the Lord of lords, King of kings, and the Prince of Peace. I am Adonai, I am YHWH.” He turns to the storm and rebukes the storm and a great calm comes across the ocean and a peace permeates over the world.

If this vision I had reminds you of anything then you would be right. It is similar to the story in Scriptures of Jesus and the disciples. If you want to look it up here is the story is found in Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; and Luke 8:22-25.

I know many that will read this post do not have faith in God or anything else; however, I do and I am just sharing what I have felt in the past few weeks. So those that don’t believe I ask you two things, one allow people that do have faith to have their faith; and two in what you do believe good vibes or what not send them out. This is an all out effort by all humanity.

There is hope during this storm. There is peace during this storm. “Fear not for I am with you always” Isaiah 41:10. “Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23.4.

As I mentioned there is hope. There are millions around the world working to control this pandemic. They are scientist, doctors, nurses, pharmaceutical companies, other medical staff. I have seen videos from Switzerland that at nine pm they all open their windows and begin to applaud and cheer on these exhausted healthcare workers. I have seen videos of those in Italy singing to help lift the spirits. Here in the US musicians are doing live shows from their living rooms and broadcasting across the globe. There is hope. We will survive.

During this time remember, those that are on the frontlines of this pandemic. Pray for them daily. Send good vibes their way. Be gracious to others. Love others. If you see one on your necessary run’s to the stores tell them from six feet away thank you. If you have the means pay for what they are buying. Help the first responders get food as their transportation cannot make it through the drive-thru. Prepare masks for the medical staffs. Help those impacted due to the shutdowns monetarily, with food, necessities or whatever you can. Reach out to people you care about. Care for each other from a distance. Love each other. We will get through this. We will overcome. We will come out stronger. We will love harder. We will be more balanced. We will be okay.

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT ARE FIGHTING THIS PANDEMIC AND THOSE THAT WORKING FOR A VACCINE! THANK YOU TO THE DOCTORS AND NURSES, CNA’S, MA’s, HOSPICE, NURSING HOME, FIRST RESPONDERS! YOU GOT THIS AND WE GOT YOU!

BE BOLD! BE COURAGEOUS! BE FEARLESS!

Joel

PS: As my source of income has been affected during the tornado and COVID-19 and you would like to help to make sure this blog stays up and help with the launch of a podcast and vlogging. Please email me at joel@pathofone.com and I will give you ways to help. I am not a 501(c) or a for profit organization. I am an individual just trying to bring hope and share what I have learned. Thank you.

O Holy Night

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

This post has taken me a while to write, in fact, over a month. Not because of writers block; however, due to fear of what others may think and it is not traditional to life and leadership. I say this; however, faith is an integral part of all of our lives no matter if you are a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, and the list goes on. I will write more on faith in a different post and how it is integral in who we are as individuals and the impact it has in our lives and in our leading. The fear came in and the hustle and bustle of the position I work until I am able to support myself off of this idea of Path of One. Then I remembered my tag line Be Bold! Be Courageous! Be Fearless! Regardless of what you believe or think about what this post is about and this season, my prayer is that your heart and mind will be open and that you will find some hope, peace, joy, and love.

For those that don’t know me personally, I am a follower of the Way. You might ask yourself, what or who is a follower of the Way. A follower of the Way in modern terms is a Christian. If you like to know more about why I say this feel free to message me and I would be happy to discuss. So here we go!

Christmas has always been a favorite time of year for me. Growing up in Texas, we didn’t get much snow or cold weather, in fact, often times we could wear shorts and t-shirts. I would watch A Christmas Carol adaptions multiple times and would sing O, Holy Night whenever I could. In fact, I probably have a least 100 different renditions of O, Holy Night on my iTunes account and constantly look to find more versions every year. There is something so serene, powerful, peaceful, and hopeful that comes through these lyrics. For those that don’t know the song, I am adding the first verse so you can at least know what I am speaking of.

O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night, O Holy night, O night divine!

To me Christmas is more than just about giving and receiving gifts. It is about the gift of the Creator taking human form and being born into our world. You can read the Christmas narrative from the New Testament in Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2. I will attest that the day we celebrate Christmas now, Dec. 25th, is not the actual date of his birth; however, the date was decided and we celebrate and remember this gift.

Some may say, well, I won’t believe a word you say because you believe in Jesus Christ, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit. To those that say this that is perfectly okay with me; however, I can chose to believe and have faith and I respect your belief to disagree with me. Yet I digress.

Christmas is about hope and peace. It is about joy and love. It is about sacrifice. It is about so much more than what we know of it today. I was having some conversations with fellow associates the other day about how it really hasn’t felt like Christmas or the holiday’s this year. As I drove home that night I pondered why. So much has been thrown around in the media, social media, and life in general that the miracle of Christmas is getting drowned out.

We get so busy from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve finishing the work year off strong. Finishing up projects, meeting deadlines, goal casting for next year, shopping for all those that you need to shop for, holiday parties, end of a semester, finals, and so much more. We get so busy we forget that this time is to celebrate and enjoy life. Be merry. We are so worried and wrapped up with ourselves, our dreams, our goals, what will happen in the future that we miss the biggest aspects of our lives. That is being present in the lives of those we love as we are not promised a tomorrow.

In our society today, we are so scattered brained, exhausted, depleted mind, soul, and body, that we just go through the motions of life. We have no hope, no joy, no love, no nothing. We are empty and depleted and have nothing to give and just hoping that we can make it until the end of the year. This time of year should not be about ]getting a huge to-do list done, getting busy doing whatever it is you have to get done. But to enjoy the gift of friendship, love, and family. There is hope, there is peace, and there is joy in this season. We all just have to pause and remember that. As for me I pause and remember what Christmas Eve and Day is about. I remember the hope, peace, joy, and love that it brings. If you don’t align with me that is your choice and I respect your choice. Just know that despite our differences in beliefs here, just remember that it’s not about gifts it is about time to celebrate with others.

May His peace be with you. May His light shine upon you and in you. May His love radiate around you and through you. May His joy fill you.

I wish you a Merry Christmas! To our Jewish friends Happy Hanukkah! To everyone else Happy Holidays!

Be Bold! Be Courageous! Be Fearless!

Joel