Angels Among Us
There are angels among us. They show up just in time and come in various shapes, colors and sizes.
“We are, each of us angels with only one wing: and we can only fly by embracing one another.” ~ Luciano de Crescenzo
There are angels among us. They show up just in time and come in various shapes, colors and sizes. The love and support they bring allow us to endure and overcome. We also have the ability to be angels in the lives of people that we touch throughout the day. The truth is that life is wonderful and we are all challenged to carry that news to others. An unbelievable multiplication of energy occurs when this message becomes a part of our personal mission statement. Our workplaces and organizations will become angelic forces themselves. The communities that we live in are lifted up by our shared good works.
It is certain that there is an incredible amount of good that we can do as individuals. Joining with others and networking, however, allow our efforts to reach levels that we could never achieve on our own. We move from walking a solitary path to flying in formation. Light shines in the midst of the darkness through our combined interventions. Today is a good time to seek the counsel of like-minded people. It is a good time to enlarge our efforts. And right now is a perfect time to carry the message of kindness, gratefulness and good cheer. Remember... Life is wonderful. Now there is a mission statement for all of us one winged angels to carry everywhere we go.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse. In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers. His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Summers’ Last Hope
“Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad?” ~ Dodie Smith
Many of us resign ourselves that the unofficial last day of summer falls on Labor Day. Autumn isn’t really here yet of course. But schools have started, pools have closed, vacations and leisure days have drifted into memory. To me this is a time-in-between. It is a liminal experience like twilight. If we only allow ourselves to appreciate the transition, there might appear a new appreciation of the warmth and lusciousness we experienced while anticipating the brisk splendor to come.
The days are getting shorter and the nights longer. It is a kind of descending. I suppose that is why a dear friend asked the other day that I not write about the end of summer yet. He reminded me that the Autumnal Equinox was still many days away. His love of summer is well known to all of us. But with it comes a loathing of winter. He dreads what is coming almost to the degree that he sometimes misses Fall all together. Perhaps it is the darkness he fears as if it were the cliff edge of destruction. It represents the losses and grief he has experienced in his life. He has had enough of both.
I told my friend there is good reason to savor the transition time of what I call Summers’ Last Hopes. Summer will always return. And among its’ hopes is that by letting go of the adventures of this season, we will be able to celebrate the arrival of the next. By doing so we can acknowledge who we are, and embrace who we are becoming. We are not alone. God is with us every step of the way.
Be my trusted guide, Lord
and walk with me from the summer into fall,
walk me through the season's change
and the season changing in my soul.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.
In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.
His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
The Fruits of Our Labor
“I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
As we celebrate Labor Day and the ‘unofficial-last-day-of-summer’ it seems quite worthwhile to think about the work of life as described by President Lincoln. The first step in such work is to remove obstacles. Things are never as complicated as we thought after the underbrush is cleared away and the contour of the land is exposed. There are places good for growth and places where nothing much can take root. We are not using our time and energy very wisely when we hammer away at an area that is barren and dark. Backbreaking labor over the rocky ground will yield little or no future harvest. It is better to identify the fertile spots that reveal themselves, pull the weeds that might choke out our flowers and get busy planting.
Lincoln teaches us that our lives are much like the prairie he worked as a boy and young man. We have the best opportunity to flourish if we are willing to clear out the underbrush. All that is required is a deep appreciation of the great gift of life. The vision of a landscape planted and nurtured with attention to detail and recognition of fertile places mixed right along with rocky places can be magnificent to behold. We don’t have to force life to fit into our plan. It will usually reject those kinds of efforts anyway. When we concentrate on cooperation and the value of our interconnectedness with all things the result will be appreciated for generations to come. We will be remembered as people who left things better than we found them.
"Today I will celebrate the fruit of my labor and never cease working where there is a possibility of new growth."
A Change Will Do You Good
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” ~ Leo Tolstoy
What would you change in the world if you had a chance? A priest who was traveling through Grand Central Station posed this question to a woman who was slumped against a wall, homeless, friendless and ‘an empty shell’. Her answer was that she would change her mind. She was so filled with bitterness and an inability to forgive. Her only desire was to let go of hatred and that by so doing, would become free.
This is the same awakening that the physician in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous discovered in his recovery from alcoholism. He says that acceptance taught him that ‘it is not so much what needs to be changed in the world, as what needs to be changed in me’. The one thing we have the ability to change in this world requires a huge undertaking. For the one thing that can be changed is me.
"Repentance calls us to an inner healing that comes from choosing a new mindset, moving us in a new direction, and releasing all that holds our heart in bondage.” ~ Daniel Groody
I was privileged to hear the joys, pain, celebrations, and sufferings of my counseling patients for four decades. Often their emotions have been hinged on the doings of family members, employers, frustrations with the government or a variety of other external events. These all have the ability to please us or fill us with bitterness. Not much of it is in our control.
I have learned that bitterness and resentment have a sticky quality. That stickiness becomes more than a diversion and can become the kind of hatred that so overpowered the woman who met the priest in Grand Central. Freedom comes when we let go of those external distractions, take responsibility, and forgive. Then we can set a new course, follow a new star, and change our direction home. This is the essence of a really radical awakening.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.
In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.
His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Maybe I'm Amazed
"Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement, to look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” ~ Abraham Joshua Heschel
Amazing! Life is filled with abundance, magnificence, and miracles. Rabbi Abraham Heschel knew this to be true. He was one of those incredible human beings who make us stop to wonder. Such brilliant and selfless people as he ask us to notice and act upon splendor. Heschel was a spiritual teacher who was in awe of every aspect of the world and its' Source. He called for us to pay attention and then do our part to make the world a better place...in words, in personal kindness, and in works of mercy. Action was a companion to radical amazement for him. When asked why he was marching side-by-side with Dr. Martin Luther King, he responded; “I am praying with my feet.”
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein
Living in radical amazement is counterintuitive. When one of our prime objectives is to be comfortable, it is difficult to live in awe and wonder. In order to be radically amazed, we must develop a sense of responsibility for the life. And that’s not so comfortable. But when we accept our responsibility as co-creators of everything around us, we begin to treasure the splendor of the world and universe as wonderful gifts. The miracles will be revealed. We will love, appreciate, and admire our own families, friends, and communities even more deeply. This is far more important than personal comfort. Let’s become radically amazed as we look around in awe and gratitude for the indescribable magic that is everywhere and everything! When we see it is so, may we answer back with our feet.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.
In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.
His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
A Walk in the Desert
Hard times are no aberration, but the sense of abandonment and loss of God’s love is only an illusion
“The absence of God’s love makes us like a dry desert land without water, and thus we treat our neighbors harshly, fearing we have no love to spare.” ~ Guy Consolmagno
The droughts, times with little rain and scorching hot days, leave us feeling empty and anxious. Lake levels drop, plants wither and die, animals venture out in search of anything to quench their thirst. An uneasy quiet settles over the land. We endured a seven year drought in the Upstate of South Carolina not long ago. It was pretty uncomfortable. People became testy and on edge as everything outside seemed to deteriorate. At one point, the flooded river valley which has become Lake Hartwell dropped so low that old roads appeared which had been under water for decades. Recreation and tourism slowed and almost halted. Two years ago the welcomed rain began to come. Over time, everything was restored and the beauty of the area returned. We have even started to forget how desolate it was.
Emotional and spiritual droughts have strikingly similar effects on our insides. Emptiness and anxiety leave us feeling dry and forsaken. God seems to have abandoned us. When this happens, we withdraw and isolate. The love we have seems to dry up and we hoard whatever is left for fear of losing even the most essential elements of affection. Unlike the droughts of nature however, desert times of the soul and spirit are more misconception than fact. Hard times are no delusion, but the sense of abandonment and loss of God’s love is only an illusion. It is as abundant as when everything in life was going well. We are promised this without exception. We are never alone. We are never ignored. We are never without resource. There is an endless underground spring of hope that will fill our hearts in time. The healing waters will return. My friend, Bill Scott used to remind me that ‘Things come to pass…not to stay’. We can be assured of that. There will even come a time when the drought is a distant memory. Life is always wonderful…even when it seems otherwise.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.
In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.
His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Pack Your Bags
We have the privilege of being able to go to the far corners of the world unlike any generation.
“Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars." ~ Bart Howard
The Jones Boys on an adventure
A friend wrote to me saying that his vacation was over. He was back home after soaking up the sun and enjoying long idle hours. There was a sense of such happiness in his words. Just think about it…we have the privilege of being able to go to the far corners of the world unlike any generation of human beings in the history of the world. In a matter of hours and with a relatively small investment of personal resources, we can be in places people could only dream about in other times. Tropical islands, majestic mountains, jungles and rainforests, oceans, and lakes are all possible destinations for many of us. How incredible it is to have such opportunities.
My grandfather, who was born in 1875, once told me his first memory was sitting on the back of a hay wagon working for his Dad around age 8. That wagon and horse was also the means of family transportation at the time. There were certainly travel limitations. In his 98 years, Roy Jones was able to witness the coming of automobiles, airplanes and even a man on the moon. He traveled rather extensively but always returned home to Monticello, Illinois. Everything and everyone he loved most was close by.
"Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry." ~ Jack Kerouac
The thrill of finding new spaces and new people is intoxicating. They can liberate us from our small corners of the world. They can open our minds and hearts. They can offer freedom from perceived bondage. They can dispel and dismiss prejudice. The road and journey themselves might even be as important as the destinations. We need to just do it. Without a doubt, we should adventure, leave home, and explore without regret. We should also bless the earth that heard our first cry and always come home to kiss the ones who long for us.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Let's Go Fishing
The magnificent life which surrounds us waits for us to bravely step up right and jump right in
“Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish.” ~ Ovid
I remember a boy who used to sit on the dock on Lake Vermilion near our home in Danville, Illinois. He never seemed to have any fish on his line. One day I asked him how they were biting. He said he never put a hook on to catch the fish because he was afraid he would hurt them.
Very little happens when we don’t actively participate. The thing is to always contribute, always be in action, and always get in the mix. This does not mean that we are supposed to be in control of things, in charge of outcomes, or be the leader of the pack. It means we don’t sit on the sidelines. We participate by being fully engaged in whatever way our gifts can be of benefit. Sometimes we lead as a generous servant, and sometimes we follow obediently. Sometimes we welcome with open arms, and sometimes we establish safe boundaries. Sometimes we listen attentively, and sometimes we offer wisdom. Sometimes we are quiet, and sometimes we are boisterous.Always we are prayerful. Trusting fully that everything flows as it was intended. With our participation, we become co-creators with God.The magnificent life which surrounds us waits for us to bravely step up right and jump right in. There is nothing to fear. When we join in with our community to make things better, miracles start to happen. We do what we can do and do it well. We cast our hooked and baited lines into the water knowing that fish will bite. The great feast is waiting for you.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Making America Kind Again
Perhaps our greatest gift is the ability to be kind. There is not one person on earth that does not have this inherent capability.
A great friend of mine is the mother of a special needs child. A few days ago she posted a plea on Facebook for kindness. It was my intention to write about kindness for my Sunday journal, but I don’t think I can make the point better than she did.
“ALWAYS show kindness to people because you just never know what they may be going through...people only see the surface of other’s lives, when in reality, many people live with struggles that most people are unaware of and things unfathomable to the typical person or family. For us, most people see our precious family as happy, happy, happy, which we ARE and we are blessed BUT...no one knows the struggles, meltdowns, battles, etc. that often occur when trying to get to church, work, family functions, the barber or anywhere! People don’t understand the disruptive behavior that can often ruin a function, family or otherwise...people don’t understand that, as the parents of a special needs child with autism and active seizures, who will always be a child no matter his age (24), we literally live every day with our hearts half shattered with pain as we navigate this life doing the best we know how to protect, love and care for this gift of a child we’ve been blessed with. That said, there are tons of parents in this world living through worse situations than we are, tons of people with unspoken struggles that they keep private...KINDNESS is free and can make a huge difference in someone’s day, hour and life!”
Perhaps our greatest gift is the ability to be kind. There is not one person on earth without this inherent capability. How then do we tap into it at times when we are angry, disappointed, dismissed or rejected? It is the matter of a conscious decision to reach into our hearts and offer it. We can do this. Everyone is fighting difficulties and suffers in their own way despite what might be seen in their demeanor. Those we touch with tender kindness will be restored and renewed. We will be remembered for the beauty that we leave behind and our actions will be the talk of generations to come.
“Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.” ~ George Sand
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Spiritual Awakening; From Pain to Wisdom
When we accept that there is always pain in life, the wisdom gained through even the most difficult experiences becomes attainable.
“You embrace the pain that comes from knowledge and laugh at the bliss born out of ignorance. You accept that pain is a side effect of doing what you love, knowing that pain is merely the hard center of love that must be embraced, softened and transformed into wisdom.” ~ G. W. McGee
One of the signs of a spiritual awakening as defined by G. W. McGee, a former Navy Intelligence Specialist turned philosopher, asserts that we find ourselves preferring to ‘be slapped with the truth than kissed with a lie’. There develops a real appreciation for truth that trumps any amount of pain or suffering that’s necessary to achieve it. People in AA are well aware of this fact. Regardless of consequences, they face the reality that addictions have caused great pain to themselves and others. They follow the 12 Steps and engage in a new responsibility to truth and begin to practice it in all of their affairs.
As William Goldman tells us through Westley (Dread Pirate Roberts) in The Princess Bride, “Life is pain, Highness. Anybody who tells you otherwise is selling something.”
When we accept that there is always pain in life, the wisdom gained through even the most difficult experiences becomes attainable. Regrets begin to slip away when we awaken to the certainty that God is with us through every suffering and heartache. We face the truth and embrace the existence of unconditional love. This is spiritual awakening.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
What Makes You Unique; Creating Six-Word Memoirs
Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response was this; “For Sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.”
Back in November 2006, SMITH Magazine asked readers to send in their own Six-Word Memoirs. They were meant to be short life stories which would be shared in the publication. So many people responded that the Six-Word Memoir project formed and grew wings. Stories have ranged from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).The Six-Word Memoir project has become a global phenomenon and a bestselling book series. Six-Word Memoirs have been featured in hundreds of media outlets from NPR to The New Yorker and covered on tens of thousands of blogs. Hundreds of thousands of people have shared their own short life story as well as in classrooms, churches, and at live Six-Word “slams” across the world.
I have used the Six-Word Memoir project in counseling groups and as an interactive presentation for over a decade. Initially, I used it as an icebreaker but soon it became a powerful tool to inspire and encourage conversations which get to the bottom of how kids (and adults for that matter) are experiencing their lives. They disclose in six words what might have been impossible otherwise.Larry Smith recently published a book called Things Don’t Have to be Complicated: Illustrated Six-Word Memoirs by Students Making Sense of the World, published with TED Books, a division of the TED Conference. It would be a great resource for any School Resource Officer who will be making presentations to student groups (both small and large).
Kind of Group: Experiential
Group Size: 4 to Classroom Size
Purpose of Group: Team building; Community building; Relationship building; Developing individual insight;This is how it works:
Write your own Six-Word Memoir or story on the black board or white board.
When the kids have settled in, read the words to them and ask what they might think the story means.
Ask the group this question; “Can you tell your life story in six words?” Provide examples of memoirs. Some people ask the kids to add drawings to illustrate them.
Other examples are:
Not quite what I was planning
My life made my therapist laugh
The psychic said I’d be richer
Bad brakes discovered at high speeds
My happily ever after is now
Ask the kids to create their own Six-Word Memoir. Allow about ten minutes. They can sign their names or leave the work anonymous. Some folks have kids make a Six-Word YouTube video.
Your Life. Six Words.
Six Word Memoirs written by my seventh grade students at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Middle School during my student teaching experience.
Steps to writing a Six-Word Memoir (Student Directions)
Instruct the kids saying: “To narrow down your memoir to six words…start with many”
Start with a list. Take three minutes to write as many words as you can about yourself. List things you like, things you think and things you feel. Don’t worry about spelling. Don’t erase or cross out. Go for quantity. Just write. (examples; friend, happy, silly, hip-hop, sleepy, bored, band nerd, jock, secrets, girls, girls, girls, dinosaurs…)
Now circle two or three words that stand out for you. The ones you could say more about. (example from the list; silly, bored, girls)
Pick one of the three and freewrite about it. In other words, just start writing about it…Whatever comes to your mind. Don’t stop writing for about two minutes. (an example of freewrite; “I love to get silly and make people laugh. Sometimes I do it in class and get in trouble but I don’t care. One time I fell out of my seat when I tipped it backward and hit my head on Gina’s desk. Everyone went hysterical. I could be a comedian. It makes people like me”.
Simplify and synthesize the Freewrite. (example from above; My topic is “silly”. My idea is “Being silly makes me happy and popular no matter what the consequences are”).
Develop my Six-Word Memoir: “Silliness is crazy. Love me yet?”
Now ask if anyone wants to share their memoir.
Process and seek feedback from the group on any of the shared memoirs with their permission
Congratulate the kids on their work and collect the papers completed by students. Then pick three or more of the collected memoirs and read them. If they have been signed ask the student for permission to read before doing so. Process as in step 6.
Close the group by offering to meet with anyone who wants to talk about their memoir. Lighten the mood with a Six-Word Closing like;
This was cool. See ya later
Be a star. You already shine
There is a lot that can be done with the memoirs you will collect. By all means keep them. One thing is certain. Everyone will have been uplifted and will have gained some insight.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
More on Judging and Being Judged
Can you imagine what it might be like to stop judging? Can you imagine what it might be like to not be judged?
"Christian, Jew, Muslim, shaman, Zoroastrian, stone, ground, mountain, river, each has a secret way of being with the mystery, unique and not to be judged." ~ Rumi
I often write about judging. But right now it seems so important. The finger of judgment points in every direction nowadays. With it comes feelings of superiority and inferiority. Neither is good. So I try to revisit the subject in my prayers and mindfulness meditation daily in hopes of being spared the burden of judging.You know how terrible it feels to be judged. I think we all have felt the sting of judgment at one time or another. Many of us are all too familiar. A description of how it feels to be judged was shared with me during a counseling session. This wounded young fellow told me; “It feels like I am being awakened in the middle of the night and dragged naked in front of everyone to be teased and ridiculed.”
Perhaps the saddest part of his story is that he had been living in a therapeutic community in which he should have been receiving compassion and encouragement. Instead, he felt rejection, pain, and malice. As our time together that day progressed, he began to launch into a rant which described the failings of the people in the group that was wounding him. He labored with character assassinations and perceived shortcomings as he verbally railed against one and all. When he was finished he started to sob. I told him that he was loved and not to put so much stock in what others thought of him or about their feedback. He replied; “I know you’re right. I’m crying because I just did to them what they have been doing to me.”
“Who are you to judge the life I live? I know I'm not perfect and I don't live to be. But before you start pointing fingers make sure your hands are clean.” ~ Jimi Hendrix
Can you imagine what it might be like to stop judging? Can you imagine what it might be like to not be judged? How wonderful it would be to believe that we were not under scrutiny and that nobody was looking down on us. Think how great it would feel to accept those who are not behaving as we might want them to with understanding and patience. There is much harm done when we have been judged. And there is no good that can come from our judgment of others.
Today I will live without judgment. I will not accept it nor will I indulge in it.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Inclusion; Let It Begin With Me
We cannot know ourselves fully until we begin to recognize and accept those who are different and those who challenge us.
"We can either emphasize those aspects of our traditions, religious or secular, that speak of hatred, exclusion, and suspicion or work with those that stress the interdependence and equality of all human beings. The choice is yours.” ~ Karen Armstrong
Building bridges to connect us with our better selves and with one another is a spiritual imperative. We cannot serve a higher purpose or walk in concert with God if we accept people in our lives and hearts only under certain conditions and with great caution.If we allow only those who are like us, reflect our values, or affirm our principles, we are restricting our growth and denying possibilities. In a sense, we have made ourselves into an exclusive little Country Club. An invisible sign hangs around our soul that reads ‘Members Only’. Spiritual and emotional well being depends upon universal inclusion.
We cannot know ourselves fully until we begin to recognize and accept those who are different and those who challenge us. We cannot fully Love God or ourselves unless we Love our neighbor. My dear friend, Steve Magin, began teaching me this lesson at an early age. He made things hard at times. I was more interested in exploring the woods just the two of us.But he was forever thinking about bringing other kids on our adventures. There was always some boy that he thought we should include. When we were choosing up sides for baseball he would pick the ones who normally would be last in the first round. He encouraged rather than teased. Those same kids remain close friends with him today. His life-long message is one of inclusion. Peace can be achieved when we reach out to others. I am the one to build the bridges and make the connections.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Sail on Sailor
This (blessing) enables us to deliver sacred cargo and to become beacons for others
“May you always sail with fair winds and a following sea." ~ Traditional Navy Blessing
I was listening to Jimmy Buffett sing “Sail on Sailor” when the old nautical blessing came to mind. Fair winds and following seas has been used by the Navy in commissioning ceremonies, command change, and at the time of retirement for people and for ships as well. It is a blessing filled with hope for faring well, safe travel, and good fortune. It is not naïve. Sailors are well aware of the power and might of an often unforgiving sea. They have often been the victim of its wrath. But they sail on, often delivering life-saving and sustaining cargo. They carry, bring, and then become the blessing.
One of the incredible benefits in the practice of carrying the blessing like good sailors is that we are given the gift of recognizing the image of God everywhere. This enables us to deliver sacred cargo and to become beacons for others. It is no longer possible to harbor resentments, lick wounds or long-suffer our injuries when we supply messages of joy, love, and good news. Fair winds and following seas have been granted.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
An Irresistible Banquet
Our very lives are reason enough to rejoice
“Life is a moveable feast” – Ernest Hemingway
Years ago, it was trendy and popular to participate in progressive dinner parties with a group of good friends. A progressive meal is one in which guests travel from home to home, eating one course at each. Five families volunteer to be hosts and it would be their homes that people would travel to and from. Usually, some kind of theme was used (for example a detective who-done-it, football, a foreign country’s cuisine, pioneer days, the 1950s, and so on).
The invitation was designed as if it were a restaurant menu, listing each course and where it would be served. At the first home, appetizers and drinks would be served…at the second home, soup and salad….at the third home would be the main course…at the fourth home, dessert and coffee. Finally, at the fifth home, some kind of party games would be played. These feasts were terrific and always very entertaining.
Hemingway tells us the feast is everywhere because it is easy to forget that life is a banquet. We become so focused on our troubles, our busyness, and our duties, that we fail to celebrate. We move from day to day as if everything was such a terribly serious matter. We are here today. Our very lives are reason enough to rejoice. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to make today different by joining in on the feast?
How can I enjoy my life today by participating in its miracles and happiness?
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Going Down to the Crossroads
We must let go and take a few faltering steps with faith and trust that God is in charge of the outcome.
“You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make.” ~ Anthony Robbins
Here we are…at another Crossroad. Which way to go? It is not that one way seems less traveled by than the other. It would almost be easier to be in a woods like Robert Frost and follow an untrodden, strangely dangerous, and unconventional path.But this is one of those crossroads so often found in the rural Midwest, laid out in neat sections of corn and bean patchwork. Standing on flat ground with an endless horizon, it seems the choice of direction is almost mundane. We know it's important to make a choice but indecision has frozen us in place.There is no use in procrastinating…no need for ‘sinking down’ or giving up. Because we are not alone in our Crossroad decisions when we trust ‘that which is unknown by us is fully known by God and the universe’. Here is what has to happen. We must let go and take a few faltering steps with faith and trust that God is in charge of the outcome. We will discover or rediscover that we are...and always have been...in good hands.
Today I will experience life fully at the Crossroad by stepping out with faith, and trust.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Bring Us Some Good News
“The good news, which the World Redeemer brings and which so many have been glad to hear, zealous to preach, but reluctant, apparently, to demonstrate, is that God is love, the He can be, and is to be, loved, and that all without exception are his children.” ~ Joseph Campbell
Sometimes it's hard to sort through the many messages we receive to find something positive. Lots of warnings, tragic tales, and major concerns present themselves. So when someone comes along with a happy story, a light spirit, a smile and good news, they are met with joy and relief. What a terrific gift it is to carry good words.
The prophet Isaiah writes with enthusiasm as he describes ‘how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news’. Each of us has the ability to be such a messenger. All we have to do is make a little shift in our perspective and presentation. We can begin to share the good things going on in our lives and in the world with as much emphasis as we have shared the difficulty and woes surrounding us.
Bringing good news to everyone we meet will change the way things go for us and for those we encounter. I went into a local business not long ago and was greeted personally by the owner. Steve engaged me in conversation and shared stories of his grandchild and love for his wife as he helped me with my purchases.My mood lifted dramatically. His good news created a spirit of thanksgiving within me. I thought about my own wonderful marriage, delightful wife, children, and grandchildren. It does not take much to make a difference. It does create a genuine atmosphere of joy.Pope Francis met with a group of atheists not long ago and proclaimed the good news that salvation was just as much a reality for them as for the religious. The revelation of grace for one and for all is changing the entire notion of inclusion. Good news is everywhere. Take the grand opportunity to be a messenger of it today.
Today I will make a shift in the emphasis of my message. I will bring good news to hungry hearts.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Being Present to the Present
Living in the moment is a key to emotional and spiritual well-being.
“If we refuse to think of anything except what we are doing or the person that we are with, we develop the habit of being present to the present moment. In a way, the present moment becomes as sacred as being in church.” ~ Thomas Keating
Living in the moment is a key to emotional and spiritual well-being. But this kind of mindfulness is not always easy. The dark recesses of our yesterdays with their brokenness, wounds, resentments, and regrets drag us backward.
Fear and worry about tomorrows try to tug us forward, whispering that there is so much to do, so many mountains to climb, and so many perils ahead. All of these distractions blur the importance of here and now. We miss the chance to listen deeply. Our ability to be compassionate escapes and the moment is lost. We have missed a sacred opportunity.
How often do we succumb to the lure of money, security, fame, power, approval, or control? How often do we sacrifice today on the altar of tomorrow? How often do we throw caution to the wind, behaving in ways we know we might regret? The best fix for this is to welcome the moment right in front of us by being ‘present to the present’. We can fill ourselves with the possibilities of here and now by being mindful. Slow down. Look around. Be still. Listen. God will take care of the rest.
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.
In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.
His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
The Healing Heart of Compassion
True compassion brings with it the gift of healing only because of the mutual experience of our own wounds, our own suffering, and our own healing.
“When we experience the healing presence of another person, we can discover our own gifts of healing. Then our wounds allow us to enter into a deep solidarity with our wounded brothers and sisters.” ~ Henri Nouwen
Compassion is the ability to suffer-with those who are wounded. True compassion brings with it the gift of healing only because of the mutual experience of our own wounds, our own suffering, and our own healing. It is a sharing of our own brokenness in solidarity with those who are struggling, grieving and floundering. It is about making ourselves vulnerable in order to provide a source of comfort.Giving advice is a lot easier than offering compassion. Helping to find solutions for the problems of others requires little effort. It is even easier to find a cure. When the person we are trying to help doesn’t follow our advice or chooses another solution we can shake the dust off, shrug our shoulders and walk away. Our inner voice says; ‘Well, at least I tried!’Those who offer compassion know how to show up. They do not come with superpowers but with shared brokenness. They show up with an understanding heart free from judgment. They do not hide their scars for they are visible proof that wounds heal. Hand in hand, we shall overcome. Heart to heart, we can save each other…and by so doing will, as Michael Jackson sang, Heal the World. We will be doing God’s work.
"Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity." ~ Pema Chödrön
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast
Overcoming Adversity
We can allow ourselves to be strengthened by our personal faith followed by dogged determination and hard work. We have choices when presented with adversity.
“It is not adversity that kills, but the impatience with which we bear the adversity.”
Father James Keller was visiting the Tower of London when he found the inscription above. It was written almost four hundred years ago by a condemned prisoner who carved the words on the wall of his cell to keep up his spirits during a long imprisonment. Keller was moved by the hope and courage that was embodied in the message. Adversity will come for each of us during our travel through life. How we deal with these difficulties makes all of the difference.None of us need to be paralyzed by the adversity that comes our way. We have the opportunity to rise above it. We can allow ourselves to be strengthened by our personal faith followed by dogged determination and hard work.
We have choices when presented with adversity. Despite the fact that we might feel trapped or cornered with only one way to go, we can choose our attitude and practice patience. We can choose to be models of inspiration through the courage and poise with which we meet the hardship.We can embrace the situation with a spirit of acceptance. There is nothing more powerful than the example of grace under pressure. It is what Ernest Hemingway called ‘guts’.We can prevail over almost anything as long as we are willing to keep making the best choices. They won’t always be right but we just keep trying and ultimately the good things will overcome the bad.
“Life’s about adversity. The whole key to it, when adversity comes, you either get bitter or you get better.” ~ Dabo Swinney
Robert Kenneth Jones is an innovator in the treatment of addiction and childhood abuse.In a career spanning over four decades, his work helping people recover from childhood abuse and addiction has earned him the respect of his peers.His blog, An Elephant for Breakfast, testifies to the power of the human spirit to overcome the worst of life’s difficulties. We encourage you to visit and share this rich source of healing, inspiration and meditation.
Contact Bob Jones on Linkedin
Bob Jones’ blog An Elephant for Breakfast