Distraction Can Be Deadly

I was coming home from church today and drove my usual route through our condo complex headed to our place. However, about three buildings down from where we live I saw a beautiful (at least it had been) BMW automobile smashed into some support blocks near another unit. The blocks were scattered all over the street and the front end of the car was demolished. The car would need to be towed.

As I turned around to go find out what had happened, I saw a young girl inside next to the blown airbag. She was crying and holding her hands in her head. I asked her if she was alright and she seemed to be physically fine, but her emotions were a mess.

I asked her what had happened and she simply said, "I'm so sorry, I was texting."

We've all heard and  hopefully heeded the many warnings and public service announcements about texting and driving. I'm sure this young lady wishes she had listened better. But this blog isn't about texting. It's about being distracted.

Distractions take lots of forms but they are all potentially harmful. We can get distracted from the things that really matter in life and which truly count by a lot of things: getting more stuff, complaining about life, selfishness, living in the past, accomplishments, status . . . make your own list. It can be pretty long.

And when the least important things take precedence and we get distracted by them because we've given them greater importance than they deserve people get hurt. Our families suffer, our spouses suffer and we suffer.  We miss out on special moments that we could have enjoyed. We don't progress and overcome the challenges of life. And we spend countless amounts of time and energy on things that really don't amount to much in the end.

What's distracting you these days?  Who's paying the price as a result?  You can change things, you know. Start focusing on what really matters. Put down your phone while driving, yes. But put aside those things that you need to keep your eye on in life, too. Remember, distractions can be deadly.

When Climbing Being Responsible Is Our Responsibility

I was looking at an ad the other day and somewhere in it I read, Please Eat Responsibly.  Really?  Do we need to be told that? It's like those funny, but real directions that people have used on products. Are they truly necessary?

For example, on a new iron some directions once said, Please do not iron clothes while on body. Or on a hair dryer label someone wrote: Do not use while sleeping.

There seems to be a point when it should be obvious that things like that are our responsibility to know and do or not do. While we can't control what everyone else does we can control our part.

And that's vital in climbing. Of course on a mountain or the side of a cliff, good preparation is key. You learn as much as you can about the task before you, you check the weather reports and you evaluate your team. All of that helps you determine the gear you'll need for the day.

Life climbs require similar kinds of responsible planning. When things go wrong we can't blame others if we haven't done our part.

Do you ask good questions? Do you do research? Do you talk to people who've walked your journey or climbed your mountain before you? Do you have good, honest, assertive people around you who will tell you the truth, help you evaluate the data and even walk with you part of the way?

Do you take care of yourself, rest enough, eat right and do things that fill you rather than drain you? Have you become isolated from people?

We're the ones responsible to do those things and we should remind ourselves that we do have control over those things.

Your mountain will still likely be challenging but you'll avoid unnecessary accidents and pitfalls if you'll take responsibility for the obvious things that you must do ahead of time. And whatever you do when you iron, only use an ironing board.

Fellow Climbers Are People Too

I was walking through a mall the other day and noticed that all the mannequins in the stores were faceless.  I guess I've seen that before but it struck me differently this time for some reason.

Apparently the store owners want us to focus on the clothing so the designers simply take away anything on the face that would attract our eyes there.  Makes sense if you're selling a product.

However, climbers of rock or life's challenges are people. They do have faces . . . and stories, hurts and joys. They're all different but they're all real. And they need us to look them in the eye, treat them as humans and at least try to touch their soul in some way.  And we need them too.

I've always appreciated the men and women I've met on trails and climbs.  For the most part they stop and talk, offer you a suggestion or advice and even share their supplies with you if you need them. Some are average looking while others are the unique climber-types that they are.

You see people are people and we probably know that. But sometimes we tend to think of and describe people by their mountain instead of who they are. She's the woman with cancer, he's the alcoholic, she's the lady grieving or he's the guy whose wife is splitting up with him.

When we see our fellow climbers as humans we make the mountain secondary to our relationship with them. We talk to them, we listen, we engage them about their journey but we don't allow the journey to become our only focus.

We hurt with them but we also celebrate the successes.  We speak of deeper things like faith, peace, the unknowns and our dreams. We remind each other that life is really about connection with each other and the God who made us. And when we do that we'll see faces again.