Features
No excuses for not finding time
EDMOND —
It’s about time for my summer diet. In fact, it’s well past that time. It’s too late for me to make the male version of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, as if I ever would make it in that publication! But dropping a few pounds will make me feel better and should improve my health. Most of the time when I go to the doctor he says brilliant things like, “Eat right, exercise and lose weight,” as if I didn’t know that was the right thing to do. Maybe you’ve heard that type of advice yourself.
Then why is it so hard for so many of us to do? I know that time is a significant factor for most of us. We spend our time on other things that have a higher priority for us than a healthy lifestyle. I work and spend time with my family, which includes three young boys. After practices, games, lessons, school, homework, fun times together and then an occasional date night with my wife (which are too infrequent, I admit) there is little time left for workouts or dieting (does it really take that much time?).
However, we in the Western world don’t put lots of emphasis on discipline in our lives. Our problems tend to be overeating, too much stress and a sedentary lifestyle. I know in my own life if I could have back all of the time I have wasted, the time I have spent watching TV or doing nothing, I probably could be an accomplished pianist, speak another language or master another field of study.
That’s why I was so impressed to read about Endo Mitsunaga. He is a Buddhist monk who has walked the equivalent of the diameter of the earth (that’s 26,000 miles!). And he’s done it in the past seven years.
Endo, as part of his spiritual pilgrimage, completes a 26-mile trek up and down a mountain every day, for 200 continuous days a year, all the while wearing sandals hand-woven from grass. He marks his daily journey with 260 prayers along the way. Endo has done all of this with a full-time job at the monastery where he lives and cares for the other monks staying there. He rises early, at 12:30 a.m., to begin his walk, finishing by 8 a.m. so that he can work until the end of his day at 8 p.m. He then gets four hours of sleep to begin the process again.
I know, we can sometimes be critical of the monastic life. Is it really that important to spend your life walking around a mountain and serving your fellow monks? Why not come down and serve others as well? But it seems to me that such a commitment shows what we could do if we put our minds to it. If we are focused and committed to our mission in life, we humans can do about anything. Our faith calls us to accomplish the impossible. It’s a matter of priority for us to begin to serve others, to reach out to those in need, to master a skill that would benefit humanity. Even spending more time with our families, building one another up would be admirable.
So before I begin to use the tired, old excuse of “my life is simply too busy to do _______ (fill in your own missing task)” I will remember Endo Mitsunaga, in his grass sandals as he walks around his mountain every day. Maybe I can make a real difference in the lives of my friends and around Edmond.
CHRIS SHOROW is senior pastor at the First Christian Church of Edmond. He may be reached at cshorow@fccedmond.org.
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Copyright not always necessary
Q: I have a small business, and periodically I send my customers a newsletter. Several of my employees contribute articles to the newsletter. Should the newsletter be copyrighted?
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What do today’s children lack?
Question of the Week: What do today’s children seriously lack that children in the 1950s and before enjoyed in abundance?
To assist the reader in figuring out the answer before it is revealed in the last sentence of this column, here are a set of clues mostly taken from the real-life childhood adventures of yours truly, a representative member of his generation. -
Feast, famine will find you
I’ve known feast and I’ve known famine, and they’ve taught me that too much is too much either way. You can glut your maw with food and your bank account with gold, but either excess will eventually be too much. I don’t have to tell you what a famine of either will do.
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Brown wins final Yard of the Week
The final Yard of the Week winner for the 2010 season goes to Melissa Brown, 829 New Bond Circle in the Kingston addition.
This colorful yard that has 56 containers of flowers that provide quick splashes of color and texture. The yard has several tall northern red oaks, bur oaks, pines, Japanese weeping red maple, carrisa hollies, nandinas and beds of red and pink wax leaf begonias. -
What if Jesus were president?
It is painful to listen to Democrats and Republicans attack each other. One hundred years ago, Helen Keller called the Democrats and Republicans Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. Today it’s more like Dumb and Dumber. They assume that we are stupid and that we only care about ourselves. The test of whether the economy is doing well is whether consumer spending is up.
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Oklahoma City University hosts Islam Day
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City University hosted its second annual Islam Day Thursday to encourage cultural understanding with various campus activities.
Islam Day at OCU falls in the midst of the holy month of Ramadan, which is celebrated this year from Aug. 11 to Sept. 9. Celebrated during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, more than 1 billion Muslims around the world fast from dawn until sunset each day. -
Edmond church plans flood relief benefit
An Edmond church is planning a second event to benefit victims of the June 14 flash flooding.
John Huss, pastor of outreach and discipleship for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 308 N.W. 164th St., said the flood is nearly three months past, but the recovery continues for those affected. They include dozens of Edmond-area families.
On Sept. 12 the church will have a community picnic event beginning at 4 p.m. There will be food, live music and games during the event at the church. -
7 imprisoned Iranian Baha’i receive harsh sentences
Once again, the American Baha’i Community including Baha’is from the Oklahoma City metro area are calling on Congress for help in the case of the seven imprisoned Baha’is of Iran.
The international Baha’i community was outraged at the news of the 20-year sentence for the seven Baha’i leaders which was just recently confirmed. The five men and two women imprisoned were arrested in May 2008 and later falsely charged with “spying for foreigners,” as well as “spreading corruption on Earth” and “cooperating with Israel.” -
30,000 expected to attend National Baptist Convention
The country’s largest African-American denomination, the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc., will hold its 130th annual meeting Sept. 6-10 at the downtown Convention Center in Kansas City, Mo.
About 30,000 delegates and visitors are expected to attend. The theme is “Solidarity With the Savior.” -
9-3 Religion: in brief
Hopewell Church nominated to This Place Matters Community Challenge
Hopewell Church in Edmond has been nominated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s This Place Matters Community Challenge. - More Features Headlines
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Copyright not always necessary
