what if...

warning: long post

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if you google "what if?" you'll get a variety of results...stop reading and try it here if you dare or care...

 

well, whether you did or didn't, simply put, this sometimes sentence starter is supposed to solicit speculation, induce imagination, demarcate the what isn't from the what is...you get the idea...

"what ifs" amount to nothing if there's no activity that follows it. your "what if" might as well be followed by an ellipsis, because if you never plan to do anything about it, well, who really cares what your "what if" is about. in fact, not to sound harsh, but your "what if" might as well be followed by a period.

what if...

what if.

who really cares about the "what if" that doesn't have legs, or hands, or a mouth, or vision.

there's a proverb that basically says where there is no vision, there's no life. if your "what if" isn't followed by activity, it's as good as dead. if you have a genuine "what if" dream and vision, you will divine the wherewithal to make it happen...even if you can't see it yet. note to self: it's better to die trying than to have never tried, and if it was worth dreaming, it's probably worth realizing.

what ensues are my own several "what ifs," which over time, i hope to be able to look back and see that i did something about my personal percolations and the things about me or around me that bother me...i know that for me they are a reticulation of reflections that need realized...you probably have some of your own...

feel free to comment, or add yours...

 

what if i didn't just happily--or grudgingly, depending on the day--do what's expected, but went above and beyond? sometimes, i'll admit, it becomes about just getting the job done, sometimes with a whistle, sometimes with a grumble. but my world would be a better place if i did more than the minimum. you know that's true for you, too.

what if i pushed the envelope in an area that lacks luster or the limelight, and just stepped up? honestly, we all like recognition, but sometimes i think i need to remind myself that i do my best work behind the scenes, when there's no audience, and when no one knows.


what if i was attentive and active not because i have to be accountable to someone? in other words, if i never had to answer to anyone, what kind of person would i be. how would i live my life?


what if my willingness matched my ability? in my opinion, we're skilled and talented to the enth power...but all too often, willingness falls short. while skill and talent and ability are at an all time high, willingness is at an all time low...we have the tools to get the job done effectively and efficiently, but if it's not in our job description or in our purview, we purposefully overlook it. ok, maybe mistakenly overlook sometimes, but that's no excuse. that piece of paper on the floor that you just stepped over isn't gonna pick itself up. that new person probably isn't gonna approach you for a friendly welcome. it doesn't matter if you're not the janitor, or the welcome committee, or the manager, or the operator, or the ceo. quit with the excuses. it's not beneath you. you are good enough. someone else can't do it better.


what if i remembered that in my every day life i'm on display for the world to see? think about it: "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (matt. 5:16).


what if i could see who is watching me? my life is an open book. i'm being read even when i don't know it. you might never know who's watching you, and maybe you think no one is, but you're wrong.  


what if today was my last day? first of all, if you're living like there's no tomorrow, remember that one day there won't be & then it's eternity. so, live today like eternity begins tomorrow...and if that means making things right, make 'em right today. you might not have tomorrow to make things right. secondly, let's face it...there aren't enough minutes in the day to get it all done, so make the moments count...that's what it's really all about anyway. 


what if i got what i deserve rather than what i demand? think about it. the sense of entitlement that we all fall prey to sometimes would also suggest that sometimes what i feel i'm owed is actually what i owe, and a whole lot more.


what if i remembered it's not about me? sometimes i think we just need to put self aside and look beyond. in fact, you're not even a whole person without others. forgive my academic foray here, but there's a philosopical concept called differential recognition, which essentially means that things are known by what they're not...they're called binary oppositions, where things are differentially known...eg. light/dark, right/wrong, up/down, self/other. in university i was taken by a german philosophical writer. now, there was a great deal about him that i didn't care for, particularly his thought that truth is never fixed, but i did pore over a portion of his writing in his text titled the phenomenology of spirit. the passage itself is known as "the master/slave dialectic." in it, hegel declares that authenticity, wholeness, and unification are achieved only when the self steps outside of self to approach the other who is another self, whereby “they recognize themselves as mutually recognizing one another” (631). put simply, the slave is the very thing that allows the master to exist. and you wouldn't be who you are if it wasn't for others. indeed, the self can only become the self through an encounter with the other. the self needs the other to be and become...so, it's not about me. in fact, i wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for you.

and for me, the "what if" of all "what ifs" these days...

what if we started living "just because" lives instead of "just in case" ones? we need a paradigm shift..."i get to" instead of "i have to." just think about how much could get done if this was our daily approach to life and living. send the flowers just because and not because you're trying to make up for something. give a little extra just because you've been blessed with more up to this point than some will ever have in their lives, not because you feel obligated. do good unto others, turn the other cheek, lend a helping hand even if you never stand to get anything in return.

my 2011 isn't gonna be about stalemated and deadpanned "what ifs." i challenge you to make your "what ifs" happen. be an agent of change. like martin luther king jr. like rosa parks. like tommy douglas. like thomas edison. like sir john a. macdonald. like harriet tubman. like sandford fleming. like frederick banting. like amelia earhart. be the change you want to see. if you dare or care.