So let me ask. Does the title of this post have you scratching your head and wondering just a bit? If so, good! That is the point!
I work to stay away from political commentary. I work to post thoughts and ideas that focus on personal, professional and spiritual growth. In doing so, I know that occasionally I step across that line just a tad. Instead of posting some partisan diatribe (of which I am completely capable, believe me) I choose instead to work to present thoughts that come from somewhere in the middle. On the surface, that might seem a bit cowardly; however, I believe that it might be a position that requires a bit more thought, comtemplation and planning than leading with my sometimes faulty emotional side. I’ve gotten myself into a bit of trouble from time to time leading with those pesky emotions.
That being said, I’ve been on a bit of an experiment over the past few months. I’ve worked to craft posts that stand as squarely in the center as is humanly possible. I’ve worked to keep my personal political leanings out of my words. I’ve worked instead, to present thoughts that, if pondered or followed, might produce some pretty cool outcomes. I’ve discovered a funny reality during this process. When I do a decent job of writing in such a manner, I find that friends on both sides of the middle tend to agree and send me kudos. I almost wonder if as they read, they perceive that I am on their side. If so, perhaps I’ve not done as good a job as I might think. I will ponder that one a bit more. Anyway, I want to attempt another such statement.
Tails wagging dogs . . . Close your eyes and envision THAT one for a moment! Tails wagging dogs! That would be silly! Unnatural! Bizarre! Completely incomprehensible! A mentor of mine many years ago used that statement frequently. In fact, he used it so often that an artist type drew him a picture of a tail actually wagging a dog! I loved that picture and will always remember it! Looking at it caused me to laugh and yet it caused me to cringe at the same time. Why you ask? Well, it clearly portrayed the crazy nature of such an unthinkable event. I remember thinking the first time I saw it, “Poor dog! It can’t eat or drink or jump or run! It can’t do anything that a dog is supposed to do!
What does that have to do with now? Well, in my humble, bald-headed opinion, a great deal! We currently live in a world where many tails are wagging dogs – politically, religiously, educationally, relationally, economically, socially! Many of the systems on which we depend to lead us through the uncertainty of this world are doing so from an appendage attached to their collective butts! Doesn’t that engender a great deal of hope and confidence? Seriously? In a word . . . Nope! Come on! We are better than this! We can do and be and act better than this! And yet, every day I see more and more dogs finding themselve thrust nose first into the air, unable to regain footing and thereby relegated to seeing only what the tails want then to see. See what I mean? Hmmmm!
On to the other picture – Wing tips flying eagles. Well, I should more accurately say, wing tips either crashing eagles or grounding them indefinitely. Everyone knows that a bird (in particular, the eagle to which I refer) can only fly when the strong muscles associated with flight and intricately attached to the center of the torso, are engaged. Flight is not possible if the eagle attempts to take off by moving the tips of the wihgs – or any other place on the wing for that matter. No, it takes the muscles attached to either side of the torso to make flight possible. Once airborne, the eagle uses all the other parts of the wings (both of them mind you) including the tips, to maintain and adjust flight. Every part of each side of the wings is important, vital even, for flight to continue; however, only when the muscles attached to each side of the torso are engaged is flight possible. I believe a Native American proverb (and Imay be wrong here) says that it takes both wings for the eagle to fly and that those wings at attached to the same bird. The eagle needs both the left and right wing. One without the other renders the eagle useless. Attempting to fly from the wing tips is absolutely ludicrous!
I hope (and believe) that you see my point here. We must stop leading and allowing ourselves to be led by those who tend to allow their tails to wag them. We must stop attempting to follow the tips of the wings or anything not attached directly to the appropriate side of the torso to attempt to set us to flight. We must find a place closer to the muscles, just to the left and just to the right of the middle in order to take off and soar. Now if your place is somewhere further along the wing, perhaps the middle of the middle halfway between the torso and tip or even the very extreme tip of the wing, that’s great! We all have a place on the wings. Just know that your place is to help stablize and adjust the flight, not to make it so.
Think about it. As funny as tails wagging dogs and wing tips flying eagles might appear, the outcome of allowing and encouraging either or both only stands to reason that we will become impotent as a people.
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
