I was watching “The 80’s: The decade that made us” on National Geographic channel and made some interesting observations that I catapulted me into reflection:

1. How obnoxious was the “Just say no to drugs” campaign. Like really? That’s what we thought it took to address substance abuse and addiction?..just saying no? I now see that campaign represented the neoliberal “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” individualistic agenda still so pervasive in American society. A dangerous ideology that constrains change only to individual control and will power as the only components involved in decisions resulting in life outcomes. Not to deny the due significance of individual choice, but we need to be clear that saying no is meaningless and powerless when other factors have you in a strong choke hold. You should try and Say no when life has you hemmed in like that…
2. Rubik’s cube solution was touted as “LINE UP THE CORNERS and edges and the rest will become aligned and the mystery is solved.” I thought that was a powerful way to think about life. A lot of times there’s a focus on trying to get things from the center lined up and that’s a fairly reasonable approach. But what happens when your center is solid…you know what you want, you know your hopes and aspirations, you know what’s in your heart but it just doesn’t seem like the things around you are coming together to reflect that. I thought this piece of wisdom provided a different vantage point. That is to work from the edges and the periphery. Get those aligned, especially as they are sometimes the places that get neglected most in our dream building. Work to have those matched up and eventually you will see the center also align itself. So you can work from the inside or middle, out. But sometimes you need to manipulate the outter edges and corners to bring the full picture into view. This is similar to one strategy of solving puzzles. Sometimes the edges and the corners are more accessible, identifiable, and manipulable than the inner pieces. So whatever your hands find to do, then do that diligently and watch the interior or and  the inner life express itself.
3. Finally, the last thing I heard that stayed with me was what Steve Jobs said to Pepsi executive John Sculley to lure him to Apple: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?” I think every person, as I did, has to come to that decision point where they say, “I’m NOT trying to sell sugar water for the rest of my life…” That’s why I switched my life trajectory. To clarify, what I pursued and accomplished as a servant and leaer in church ministry was very meaningful and transformative, but there was a point at which I no longer could achieve the level of change, external and internal transformation and the depth of reach within the confines of the church capacity that was allocated to me. I totally get the minimal mention of Jesus at sabbath, choir rehearsal, prayer meeting, trustees meeting, bible study and missionary society meetings.  I think it’s important to pay attention to the context of Jobs’ comment to John Sculley. It’s not that selling pepsi (sugar water) was not a big deal or to deny that work served its purpose to help establish Sculley. But compared to an opportunity and thirst for broader significant reach, PEPSI became sugar water. I think its good to think about that with ever opportunity. Is this the transformation or is this sugar water! Sugar water makes people happy and perhaps gives them diabetes, but social change and transformation…that’s another kind of work. I decided no more for the opiate of the masses without true accountability and acts of sacrifice and love for vulnerable and marginalized individuals and communities. So are you panhandling sugar water when you should be offering a drink to the world that quenches an insatiable thirst.