I was a little frustrated last week. I had multiple ideas for my blog, but one stood out to me. Could I remember it at the time of writing? No. Why? Because my brilliancy always comes during walks and runs. But amazingly enough, Friday morning through conversation, one term hit me like a ton of bricks bringing it back to life. So, here we are... About to speak of stew.
When I was in college in the introductory education class, the professor stuck out to me. He was insanely passionate about the educational world. So passionate, in fact, that he would come to tears without shame. That leaves an impression. This was a man that made a point of learning each student's name in the first week, go to sporting events and music events that his students were involved in, and just be seen in campus life. During this class, he decided to teach a valuable lesson. He reminded us that so many have said that America is a melting pot. But he argued against it. He believed that a melting pot didn't do us any good. In a melting pot something solid turns to liquid and blends with whatever else is to make something new. However, he said we are not a melting pot, but a stew. In a stew, the potatoes are put in and they stay as potatoes. The meat is still meat. The broth is, well, you get it. So why was I thinking about this recently? Well, like I said, good ideas come during walks and runs. I was walking through my neighborhood one afternoon and looking around. Some things that bother me, would not bother others. Some things that would bother others, would not bother me. I took this walk just days after being kept awake by the pounding bass of a neighbor's get together. That bass, bothered me. It bothered me that at 11:00 at night, I could not sleep because they wanted to boogy. I thought about yelling outside - Hey! People are trying to sleep! - but I'm sure the only people that would have heard it were the ones also trying to sleep. I thought about walking over and speaking to them, but I didn't know what good it would bring. I thought about calling the cops. Eventually it died down and I was allowed rest. I laid in bed wondering if someone else had gone over or called the cops. Did it only bother me?? In my neighborhood, there are over 600 houses. If the average house has 2.5 residents, that's 1500 people. In a community like that, there are bound to be issues. I have friends that have had the cops called for noise ordinances multiple times. Some would say, "Chill out. Have fun." Others would say, "It's rude. People are trying to sleep. People with young kids." I won't say where I land because there were times they needed to turn it down and times where it was fine. So I guess I'm in the middle. But it seems we have a pot of stew in our community. We have meat, potatoes, carrots, broth, and a whole bunch of spices. There's a thing about stew, though, that most chefs would know. Stews need to simmer and sit at a low heat for a long time. The flavors need to mix and become cohesive. But there are certain people that believe they aren't a part of this stew. They believe they are the chefs. They sit back and watch. Sometimes they turn the heat up and try to boil it, but that never ends up going well for anyone. And though stew needs a good stir every so often, we have many back behind the stove that believe it needs to be stirred quickly, and stirred often. These two "chefs" didn't put in the ingredients. They don't even know that it's stew on the stove. These two found aprons lying around and decided to made a mess. We know too many "chefs". These people believe they are helping in some way typically. But usually, they are trying to make things harder for others. At some point these people have felt the heat from the stove and decided they get the right to adjust the controls and stir the stew. Pot stirrers and boilers are looking to upset the stew. Maybe they have a chemical imbalance that makes them believe they have the right. Maybe they are just nasty people. But I bet right now you could name five people that have stirred the pot you're simmering in. Here's the greatest part. They are not the chefs. God is the chef that has put the stew together. And these sous chef wannabe's are trying to play God. They try to orchestrate elaborate schemes. They worry about answers and play out the scenarios in their mind's eye just hoping to get the reaction they want. They add some spices. They take out meat. They stir and stir with the heat on high. When you're in the pot, it can get a little crazy. But if you're like me, you sit back and wait for the Chef to arrive. He drives out those impostors and settles everything once again. While the pot stirrers are in the kitchen, we have a choice to make. We can attempt to be a higher chef, or just sit back until the real Chef comes in to take over. Too often pot stirrers and boilers continue to raise the heat and stir the pot because it worked at some point. If it worked that one time, it usually works a second. Then it simply becomes second nature. It's a part of them; an addiction they need to feed. When they don't get the reaction they are hoping for, they usually back down. If it happens continually, they will eventually stop. After all, standing over a hot pot stirring over and over again gets awfully tiring. We in this country, or even our own little communities, need to stop and realize that each one of us is just a simple ingredient being made into something bigger than ourselves. We just have to let the Chef work his way.
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May 2023
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