Another tough word given the time we are living in. I now realize this is not an easy word. Not at all. First off, true encouragement does not come from a cheerleader on the sidelines. It also should never come in the form of false hope. False hope is after all just false hope.

Encouragement is not a pat on the back or a simple nudge to take the next step. I’m thinking that encouragement is more like making an investment in someone. It is not telling someone “things will get better soon” or “it’s not as bad as it seems.”

There is a certain amount of energy that transfers in the act of encouragement. It is this energy that concerns me at this moment. Encouragement is energy. To be honest I feel that level of energy right now inside myself is running low which means I need encouragement as much as others do. And if we all are running low on this energy as I suspect many of us are then where are we going to find it in ourselves to encourage others? How do we encourage each other when we all are running on empty? And if we are running close to empty now how are we going to make it in a crisis that may last for a very long time?

Here is what I’ve come up with, encouragement starts with belief. Belief is the spark that gets the motor running and once the motor is running the energy starts to flow. It is my belief in myself, my belief in you and your belief in me.

Note – In this time of the virus we are all wrestling with the spiritual, physical, mental and the emotional parts of life. We are all at different places in our respective journeys and all of us will look at these words from a different perspective. These are words all have relevance in the spiritual, physical, mental and the emotional.

”Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” – This quote is attributed to General Patton and Vince Lombardi. It doesn’t really matter who it came from. In one of our more thoughtful moments I passed this on to Paul to encourage him to get the rest that he needed and so that he might recognize the source of some of his fears while he faced treatment and uncertainty. You might need to sort through the logic for yourself.

The point is, fatigue can amplify problems, make them seem worse than they are and it can heighten fears. In no way should it ever be suggested that the problems are not there. To understand the role fatigue plays in how we perceive the here and now is important.

Understanding fatigue also can give us permission to rest, even in the middle of the day when we think we should be doing something. When we are rested better decisions will result and we are less likely to be frozen by fear.

One final note, there are individuals out there today who cannot get the rest they need. I’m thinking of all of those on the front lines of getting ahead of the virus. All we can do is encourage them as they run the race and in a small way it might offset the effects of fatigue for them.

Why post about learning when there is already a post here about education? I suppose there is some subtle overlap yet when you drill down it’s helpful to think about how one might go about learning. One definition is this, “to gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught.”

Two things jump out at me. The first is that when you learn you can acquire knowledge and/or skill. Knowledge and skills are different. If you want to do something you must not only have knowledge, you need the skills to do it. It is perfectly fine to gain knowledge about something without ever aspiring to have skills in something. This is worth understanding. The important point is, if you want to have skills in something you need to learn it and do it.

Secondly, in the definition is how someone learns. We learn by study, experience or by being taught. If someone truly wants to learn something all three methods need to be employed, especially if the end goal is to learn a skill.

Here are a few things to consider when you set out to learn something. Are you learning for knowledge only or are you also looking to acquire a skill. When you have it set in your head what you want the end result to be then you will want to determine how you are going to study, who is going to teach you and where you can get the experience.

Once you learn a skill then you will be just at the start of your journey in the pursuit of the perfection of that skill or at least to the level you set for yourself in your original goal.

This is a tough word and originally it was not on my list of words to ponder, a list now grown to more than thirty and a list that will surely grow. We are all being forced to make decisions that are way more important than what we typically encounter. It seems like we have them in a pile in front of us and it is a bit overwhelming.

We can put off these decisions because that will only make things worse. Here are a few thoughts.

• We are not alone, everyone in the world right now is having to make decisions.
• We can’t make all of the decisions all at the same time.
• Identify the most important decisions you have to make and put them in a category by themselves.
• If you are stuck make one easy decision to get you going.
• If you have to assign a number to each important decision and then randomly pick one.
• Make your decision and act on it. You will know soon enough if it was the right thing to do. Taking action has some therapeutic value in itself.

In the book “The One Thing” a book I gave to Paul and he used it with the staff at Northwest Covenant Church, there is one central question in the book. This might help you in making decisions.

Remember, everyone is in the same boat right now. We are all making decisions. This is where I feel a ton of empathy for so many people right now, knowing that they are faced with some very tough decisions. We will be stronger when we start making them.

March 23, 2020 – Right about now most of the people in the world are looking for answers. At a time when we desperately need answers there are almost none to our most pressing questions. We are looking for answers so we can make decisions and plan for today and tomorrow. The problem with looking for answers right now is we might be forced to wait for a long time. If we are waiting to make decisions until we get the answers we seek then we will be standing still in one place for far too long.

If we cannot get answers then what should we be thinking about? We should be seeking INSIGHT into what is going on in the world.

Definition of insight from Miriam-Webster

1: the power or act of seeing into a situation

2: the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively

Don’t seek answers, seek insight. It is from insight that answers are formed.

No matter what, everyone of us is going to change over the days, weeks, months and possibly years that see us through to the other side of this current crisis. It is imperative we embrace the change that will happen and to let go of our old way of life. Resisting change only delays the inevitable and adds more risk.

Being willing to expect and embrace change will better equip us for the new world we will be living in after the human race sees an end to the Coronavirus pandemic. The world will different and we will need to be different as well.

What do we need to change?

• How we define success
• How we relate to family
• How we relate to others
• How we learn
• Our flexibility
• Our goals
• Habits
• Our relationship to our community
• Our vision
• Our plans

This is not an exhaustive list. The point here is that if we are the same after all of this, if we do not change we cannot grow, we will not thrive and will cease to be relevant. Our families, communities and the world need people who are unstuck.

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Mahatma Gandhi. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” The disruption in our lives created by the uncertainty of the virus gives many of us more time to do something. This is a chance to learn, to expand our education, to change how we think.

When all of the turmoil subsides or at least stabilizes we all need to be prepared to contribute more to heal our country, our world. Whenever that is, if we still have the same way of thinking then we have failed. Get educated during this time. If you need to learn new skills, learn them. If you need to have a better understanding about economics, learn it.

At that time that life starts feeling like life again make sure you are different so you can make a difference.

This is, at least to me the most difficult words in the English language. Too often it is confused with “sympathy” and they aren’t even close. Empathy is a constant challenge and it takes work. Rather than trying to explain something myself and screw it up you will be better served watching this short Brené Brown video on Empathy.

Empathy requires engagement, not just flowers and it is Empathy that fuels connection. But Empathy can hurt, it can cause pain. It is hard looking people in the eye as they are losing their business, losing their retirement dreams, losing family members and their faith.

Right now the world can benefit from Empathy more than anything else. If you have Empathy you have a better chance of knowing what someone needs at the right time. There is joy in Empathy too. Paul Thompson had true joy for someone else’s good fortune even if it did not include him at that moment. It is one of his traits that influences my thinking and focus.

The purest form of Empathy is when you encounter someone who is 180 degrees opposed to how you think, how you believe. Can we have Empathy for people so different from us? I am not sure because I cannot sort it out in my head. Take some time and explore this subject. This world needs Empathy as much as it ever has at any time in history. The goal is to come out the other side of this better than we are now. I do not believe this is possible if we do not grapple with this most difficult word. In many ways Empathy is the equivalent to the Apostle Paul’s assertion about love in I Corinthians 13.