New digs!

Long story, but I recently started a new website called saltwaterdesign.net, and will be hosting my blog on that site going forward.   See soultalk.saltwaterdesign.net.

Wayne

Of Idols and Old Vines

Like most people, I've known my own share of griefs and pains. Most in the past, a few more recently. One painful area of my life is something many parents out there will be able to relate to: a child who has made difficult choices in life and has gone astray. I never knew a parent's heart could be so tied up in the well-being of their child, or that I could feel such strong emotion, but at times I do.

I have known for years that my family can be an "idol" for me and I knew that was part of the problem. Our pastor, Crawford Loritz, defined an idol as anything which provides us more satisfaction, peace, or fulfillment than God. But with so much pain from suffering losses over the past 12 years, I never could trace that understanding back to freedom or healing. Then on Friday morning I was thinking about it again, and on a whim, drew an idol on paper, not unlike what you might see in an ancient, foreign temple. It was an bizarre figure, with the head of an elephant, body of a man, and snake-like hands. It struck me as repugnant to look at, but I expect would fit right in for a conventional idol worshiper. I thought back to how many millions must have bowed down to such idols over the centuries whenever their farms suffered in a famine, enemies drew near, or a loved one was ill, and it struck me that much the same passions drove those people that drive us today. Tying my thoughts of my struggles to that, it started to become more "real". So I wrote "My daughter idol" under the image. It wasn't that I worshiped my daughter (or this crude little image), but in reality, with my anguish and emotional turmoil, I had decided deep down inside that I could only have peace, contentment and fulfillment if my daughter was safe at home and living a healthy/productive life. Yes, of course it is fine and good to want the best for one's children and we should pray daily for them. But I realized that I had turned my "wants" into "demands": "Unless I get X, Y, and Z, I will not...CAN not be happy, content or at peace."  (I know, it sounds like a kid having a tantrum when I put it so bluntly…) God had answered "No" to that prayer (for now at least), but that just made my prayers became more emotional and pained. In my heart, I could see how the idol had taken on a life of their own, and become intertwined with "needs". But looking at that image I had drawn on paper, I felt a repulsion at what I was doing (expecting that something other than God could provide peace and contentment) and started to separate the idol from the need. I thought of my daughter, and the pain I feel given some circumstances she is in. Yes, I do love her and will work to help her in whatever way is possible and appropriate… but I do not need for her to be safe and at home. I only need God and what He provides. And so on…

Looking at the image on paper, and focusing on the concept of separating the idol from the truth, I was able to tear out the emotional pain and angst. I was reminded of tearing old vines off of trees, the kind that have grown so large, thick and bark-like that they seem to become one with the tree. But when you pull them off (separation), you see them as they are: parasites trying to take over the tree. So it was with my idols. Drawing them on paper made it clear to me what I was doing: turning to something other than God. And when I stopped placing these demands on God, or looking elsewhere for my peace and satisfaction, I was able to see Jesus, my risen savior, more clearly, and worship Him more freely.

And then it came...that "peace that passes all understanding". By letting go of what I most wanted, I obtained what I most needed.

It was a powerful revelation for me, but I'm old enough to know that true healing/growth is a process, and this will have to be worked out over time. Since then I have drawn a few more gnarly looking idols, each one as repugnant as the first, as I recognized more things that had placed demands on my heart. And with each one, I again work through the exercise of separating the want/demand from the truth, and as I cast down the idol, I found new freedom to worship God.


So that is what God is showing me right now. The battles have not gone away, and none of the "facts on the ground" have changed, but I feel much more hopeful and peaceful than I have felt in a long time.

"Remember these things...for you are my servant...I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you.  I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."  Isaiah 44:21-22

 

Green Smoothies (or "You're eating what???")

Blame it on my cross country coach, Coach Woodward.  The guy was a madman who (we believed) ate dog food for breakfast and bullets for lunch.  He never seemed happy or satisfied, always on the edge of anger,  and more than a little on the crazy side.  In other words, he was the perfect cross-country coach.   He pushed us with an insatiable drive to go farther and faster, doing what we previously thought was impossible.   I'll forever hear his words echoing in my mind:  "Don't be a sissy!", "Don't be a whippin' post!"
Believe it or not, we all survived, and I think we all learned something about pushing ourselves beyond what we thought was possible.  That's a valuable lesson: to look at your limit, and be willing to see what lies beyond it.  And although I don't think we should be driven by fear or intimidation, there is some value in having that little voice echoing in your head, "Don't be a sissy!".   Long before any psychologists came up with the term "dialectic", Coach Woodward taught us the concept of "I've done the best I can, AND I must do better."  I credit the insanity of my old cross country coach for several things in my life which I may not have thought possible, and which others questioned how I could do them.  Even the words "cancer care-giver" seem so light and easy to say, but for anyone who's been there, they know there are some HUGE mountains that get crossed.   Far bigger than a measly six mile run in the rain.  Hah - sissy stuff!
I was confronted by that brute force intimidation recently when reading, of all things, a nutrition book on smoothies. I've been a fan of smoothies for years now, enjoying how easy they make it for anybody to get in your fruits.  But vegetables... that's a different story.   The conventional wisdom is that you "blend fruits, but have to juice or cook vegetables".   I learned that early on from some bad experiments I tried, and reading one of my favorite health gurus who admitted, "Green smoothies are nearly impossible to get down."  Ever look over the menu at Smoothie King?   You'll see about every fruit available, but hardly a single veggie.   And yet there is so much talk about the nutritional value of raw vegetables.  Sure, we can make salads, salads, and more salads, but that gets old.  And when I looked at my Vitamix, I felt constrained by that wall:  fruits only.  Well, carrots, and possibly even the occasional tomato.  But that's it.  "Green Smoothies" was an alien concept...
Until this past week.  I came across the book "The Green Smoothies Diet", and once again, I heard my old cross country coach slamming me with "Don't be a sissy!  Don't be a whippin' post!"   Only this time I heard that voice coming through this book on green smoothies.  And perhaps this time, a bit softer and more encouraging.  This author seemed confident that green smoothies, done right, were entirely possible and enjoyable.  So, we made a trip to the grocery store, collected what we needed, and brought it home for the grand experiment.  I whipped it all together, took a sip, and to my amazement, thought -- "This is ENTIRELY doable.  I can DO this!"   And within five minutes had downed my first green smoothie, containing about 15 servings of veggies.
Now for anyone scoffing at the need for such nutritional obsession, I'll forego the tons of arguments, other than to say, you just need to view your body as a machine.  Would you buy a porsche, bring it home and pour ketchup in the fuel tank?   I don't think so.  But for those already sold on the need for better health & nutrition, I heartily recommend this book: Green Smoothies Diet by Robyn Openshaw.
In it, the author gives several great ideas & tips for overcoming obstacles, and making this entirely doable.  I've never read it so clearly, and am excited about where this can go.  And once again, I'm that scrawny 15-year old, bent over in the rain and gasping for air at the end of a six-mile run, and looking up at my crazy Coach Woodward, hearing him say those priceless words, "See - I knew you could do it."

Hitting 40

I’m just weeks from hitting the big 40, and like clockwork, I am feeling anxiety about my life knocking on my door.   Questions about what I’ve accomplished, how much time I have left, and what is yet to be accomplished…

Unlike your stereotypical MLC (mid-life-crisis) victim, I feel no need to go out and buy a sports car.   What haunts me is TIME…that one chance to go back to school, forestalled by parenting responsibilities that seem to only increase as one crisis follows another.  Watching the years fly by so fast, as the window of opportunity grows smaller and smaller…

Arts & Crafts

My bride at work on the front porch, one early spring morning.

Love seeing her in my old jacket…

 

(This is actually a test of Windows Live Writer)

A Price Too High to Pay

I went to the gym to work out today, and as I got on the treadmill, I got quite a shock. I started out at a slow speed and glanced at the TV monitor which was playing a commercial with a woman lying in what appeared to be a hospital bed. She was not saying anything, but had this deep, sad expression that words just could not describe. The camera then went to a man sitting next to her bed (both of them looked to be in their 40's). He also did not say anything, but had this grieved look of helplessness on his face. The camera then faded to black, with these words:

"Losing everything because you don't have healthcare is a price too high to pay."

That hit me like a brick wall and I just about lost it right there. I immediately looked away with a tight grimace and forced myself to think of something else before I broke down.

Meanwhile, just out of earshot, I'm sure one trainer leaned to the other and said something like, "Wow – that guy must really be out of shape. He's just warming up and he's already about to puke."

Avoiding the Weak

"Research released this week in the American Journal of Public Health estimates that 45,000 deaths per year in the United States are associated with the lack of health insurance."

Be strong. Be brave. Don't let that number, 45000, get to you, because it does not apply to you. You have insurance, you are covered, so you have nothing to worry about. Your mother is insured, your children are insured, and those 45,000 people are...well, OTHER people. Not US. We have to be strong, to remain unmoved by such numbers. Focus on what is important: your out of pocket expenses, and how they would SURELY go up if we brought the millions of uninsured under the safe umbrella of coverage. Think about yourself having to wait in lines. You hate waiting, right? Remember that. And be strong. Throughout history, it was the strong who survived, those with assets, who knew how to hang onto them. When the Titanic went down, most of the lifeboats were only half occupied. Those inside were too cold, scared, and traumatized to risk their safety to pull any others into their boats. More people would have meant more risk to the survivors, so they braced themselves and were strong. They ignored the cries of those left in the frigid waters until those cries faded away. And they survived until the morning, when the Carpathia arrived. They survived because they were strong, and they focused on themselves, instead of those weak people in the water. Now is your chance to also be strong, and just focus on yourself. 1,517 people died that night (much less than the 45,000 that die each year due to being uninsured), but the strong survived. And you will survive too, because you are a survivor.

Right?

Matthew 25:36

Our Milgram Experiment

We like to think we are good people. Relatively speaking, we certainly are. There's always someone we can point to who is worse than us.

But then someone like Stanley Milgram comes along, and says things that upset us. You probably heard about this in your freshman psychology class: Stanley Milgram was the Yale psychologist who did a famous/infamous experiment in the early '60s, showing that we're not quite as good as we like to think we are. In the experiment, a student was instructed to push buttons delivering various levels of pain to another student, out of sight in another room, based on how they answered questions. It was supposed to be a "learning" experiment, but the truth was that it was testing whether a student was willing to torture another person. In reality, no-one was actually getting hurt, that was really an actor in another room. But the student did not know that. He just knew that he was told to push button #3, he did so, and a cry of pain came through the intercom.

Invariably, the student would proceed to push those buttons when instructed to do so. The whole test was to see how easily the human conscience could be "turned off", when we hand over the responsibility for our actions, whether they be right and wrong, to someone in authority over us.

Don't be so shocked - we're all susceptible to gradual compromise of our morals. It becomes easy when someone in authority over us is pushing us to compromise. And the bottom falls out when our community around us is pressuring us to do so.

I think of the church in Germany between 1935-1942. Where were they? What were they doing? What about the church in the American south during the slavery years? Where were they? What were they thinking?

It's all about gradual compromise. You've heard the analogy: if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, he will immediately jump out. But if you drop him into a pot of lukewarm water, then gradually turn up the heat, degree by degree, he will end up boiling to death, because he never realizes a drastic difference. He slowly adjusts to the warmer and warmer temperature, until he dies.

Could that happen to us?

What if you found out the government had been spying on you for the past 6 months, not because of anything you've done, but because of the church you go to. What if they had been recording your phone calls, with no search warrant. What if they snatched you out of your car one night, and flew you off to another country, where you were tortured. Yes, tortured. With no arrest warrant, no proof of evidence, not trial by peers, no conviction, and no release? Shocking? It has all happened under American authority.

That's what we've come to. The frog is floating belly-up in the pot of boiling water, victim of a gradual errosion of rights, all in the name of the "war on terror".

But you say that would never happen to us! That is only done to terror suspects. The really bad guys who deserve it. Right?

And it's all OK, because...it's...them...not us...them. You know, "them". As in, the muslims. Or the poles. Or the jews. In fact, why don't we just make this simpler and put stars on them, so they are easier to identify.

I speak as a "conservative Christian", a member of the evangelistic church movement. There were, of course, many who did recognize the warning signs, and protested loudly (my sister being one). But many of us in the church sat back, trusting in the president as a wise man of faith and convictions, saying we should let him do his work with our full trust. That was me. I was there.

And you know what the scary thing is? Not just that it happened, but that we let it happen. We didn't question it. We aquiesced, accepted the reasons. Since when is there a just reason for suspending constitutional rights? Since when can we justify dropping constitutional protection from people? Since when are there people who don't qualify for those protections? Isn't that how the germans justified their treatment of the jews? "They're not part of us. It doesn't matter what happens to them."

We let this happen. Even though many of us disagreed with it, what did we do to stop it? I even found myself at times afraid to open my mouth, stir up argument, for fear of being labeled or ridiculed. We're afraid to think for ourselves, recognize when the government has gone too far, and to speak out.

And as my children study history, seeing the shameful mistakes of our past, I'm not so sure we can say it is all behind us. If we so casually accepted the notion of torture being done by Americans, what else are we capable of? As President Obama rolls back many of the compromises made over the past several years, we realize just how far we've come. For a moment, we find ourselves as that college student in the experiment...who just pushed the button. Now we have a taste of what we are capable of, so what will we do?

Living Out the True Meaning of Our Creed

I'll admit, I didn't vote for Obama, as I don't see him standing on the right side of the abortion issue. But there is one thing that does bring joy to my heart this week. Having grown up in the south, much of that time in racially divided towns, I grew up with my own minor demons to deal with. To this day, I have to work hard to not see people through the lens of race.
But as I look at this milestone in our nations history, I feel a joyful contentment. Our children will grow up in a land where truly anyone (any man at least) can become president. Amazing. I grew up knowing that THAT top rung of the ladder was always there; not that I ever expected to climb that high myself, but I always knew there was no ceiling imposed on my ambitions. And yet all my childhood, I also knew that the other half of the population, those who didn't have my skin color, did not have such an opportunity. Sure, technically, legally, anyone could become president, but the facts on the ground spoke something different. And now, for the first time, the playing field has become level.
That makes such a huge difference for young men growing up - to know that anything is truly possible. Although Obama is a flawed man, like the rest of us, this milestone brings a change for everyone. Our nation will not be the same, and I believe we will be a better people for this.

Wish List

Well the holidays are upon us, and everyone enjoys that. Probably the only part of the holidays that everyone dislikes is to see them go, and I'm no exception. Seeing the holidays pass is a bit depressing, as it's a reminder of time, and life, passing before my eyes. How many more Thanksgivings will I have? Even if I have 50 more, will that final one arrive in the blink of an eye, to find myself in a nursing home, wondering where the years have gone? Aging scares me, growing old scares me. I want to live a full life, and I fear missing out on life. So to confront that fear head on, I've made my own "bucket list" - the top things I want to accomplish during my time on this earth. I don't know if I'll accomplish all these things, but I believe that knowing I was actively pursuing them should give me some contentment. I believe we were all created for a purpose, and so far as I can tell, my own ministry is investing in the lives of young men, to point them on the straight & narrow path (my own "calling", if you will). But beyond that are several smaller things, little points that tease my heart. They are (in no particular order):

• Join a band (whether orchestral, church, jam, whatever)
  
• Sing in a choir
  
• Travel (Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, Israel)
  
• Become a *good* cook
  
• Write one book for my kids


• Volunteer for hospice


• Dance, and become good at it.


• Go backpacking in the mountains


• Live near the water

I'm sure I'll think of more later, but right now, that's what I'm looking at.

Two Feet of Topsoil

I recently heard someone describing "the blues" as a funny twist of sad lyrics with an upbeat tune, such that you start with the sad story, but you can't help but walk away feeling better.

I was reminded of that while listening to Brad Paisley's "Two Feet of Topsoil". To start off with, yep, it's a breakup song; his girl done left him. But everything else about it is so FUN. It's definitely country, with a fast-paced twang, but it also seems to meet the definition of "blues". Just read these lyrics:

Two Feet of Topsoil by Brad Paisley

Yesterday I thought that I was low as I could get
I had hit rock bottom
ever since you up and left
But this morning when I saw with somebody else,
well needless to say
That's when I started sinkin' even lower
And as far as where I'm at today

Well, There's two feet of topsoil
A little bit of bedrock, limestone in between
A fossilized dinosaur
A little patch of crude oil
A thousand feet of granite underneath
Then there's me

I was kinda hopin' I could dig my way back out
A couple dozen roses maybe get you back somehow
But the love in your eyes as you talked to him today
was plain to see
So I ain't gonna get involved, but should you
change your mind
Well you know right where I'll be

Well, There's two feet of topsoil
A little bit of bedrock, limestone in between
A fossilized dinosaur
A little patch of crude oil
A thousand feet of granite underneath
Then there's me

Embrace

"A fool bailed out never learns..."

Why is our country in this financial mess? You could point to lots of fat-cats at the top, but beneath all of that is a host of foolish credit decisions at the grass-roots level. People buying more than they can afford, and banks trying to get rich off of them.

Do we have the money to resolve this mess? Of course not. The country does not have $700 billion sitting in some account.

So how are we trying to get out of this mess? The same way we fund the war in Iraq, resolve social security, and deal with a host of other issues: we hand the bill over to our children (in the form of national debt), and proclaim victory. We are handing them a truly massive load of debt that they will be no more able to pay than we are. What kind of victory is that?

A bailout (READ: borrow debt our children will have to repay) is not the answer. The answer is we need to do the right thing for once: acknowledge the truth, that we are in this mess because of poor financial decisions, start taking responsibility, tighten our belts, and endure the pain. Let poorly run companies fail. The economy may suffer, but the market will eventually correct itself. Just as it always has. And it's the natural "fires" that burn away the waste, leaving a stronger, healthier system in their place.

The scariest part of all of this is the denial of responsibility on the national level. If we can not recognize our responsibility for getting into this mess, then how can we hope to resolve it?
We must deal with the mess, instead of just footing the bills onto our children. They already have far more of a mess headed their way than they can afford.

Todd Agnew

The more I hear of Todd Agnew's music, the more I like it. This guy is amazingly real, and his lyrics are so nitty-gritty, you'll find yourself stopping and asking, "Did he really just say that?" And then there's that deep, penetrating voice. As one reviewer described it, "This guy is not background music. You just can't ignore his singing."


If You Wanted Me

I'll admit I'm glad we're not disciples
Out on a lake paralyzed with fright
Cause I'm afraid I might have laughed at Peter
Until he stepped into that stormy night
If You wanted me to walk on water
Why'd You make the solid ground seem so right?

And I'll admit I'm glad I'm not King David
Ruling over everything I see
Cause I think I've fallen for more than Bathsheba
Your creation's a temptation for me
And if You wanted me to love You only
Why'd you make the moonlight sparkle in her eyes?

I'll admit I'm glad I'm not John the Baptist
In a jail cell waiting for my day to die
Cause at least down here I know what we're chasing
And it's hard to trust Your dreams are so much better than mine
But if You wanted me to die to myself
Why'd You make me fall so deeply in love with life?

If You wanted me to surrender
Why'd You make these hands able to hold on so tight?
So tight?
And if You wanted me to be like You
Why'd You make me like me?

One Hungry Nation

For any fans of Clark Howard out there, he made a great point in today's radio program: our country is focused on government and big business as the cause (and fix) for our country's financial problems. But it's really about us, individually. We are a country of people that are always hungry for more, more clothes, better cars, and bigger houses. We got into this mess simply because we spend more than we earn. And the only way we'll get out of this mess is if we, individually, turn that around and only spend what we earn.

Hey - maybe my old car can make it another year.

"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get." anon

Fireproof

Parenting Lesson #584 (Roach Trap)

Call me a slow learner, but after 16 years of parenting, I am still figuring things out. For instance, take today's lesson (#584): "Never, ever, ever make a bet with your child, unless you want to lose money." It seems that most children see proving a parent wrong as the most lofty pursuit of their time...

Here's the setup: We had a roach problem on our back deck. Too much cat food left out too many nights had led up to a bit of a problem with the nasty little beasties. I had been wondering what to do about them, hoping there might be a more safe & friendly solution than the traditional poison route. So, without thinking much of it, I told the kids that I would offer a reward for whoever came up with a roach trap. The reward was simple: Leave the trap out overnight, and you get $1 for every roach trapped by morning. I didn't know what they would come up with, but I was thinking, oh, maybe one or two roaches, if they are lucky.

DD/10 came to me the next morning, quite excited at her accomplishment. What she did was quite simple: Just set out an empty peanut butter container with cat food in it, and leave the lid just cracked across the top. It worked. Boy, did it work. When she had finally killed (gassed) and counted her quarry, the total was...66.

That little girl just cost me $66! I don't know what shocked me more: that her simplistic trap was so phenomenally successful, or that she had so easily conned me out of so much money.

(sigh)

So, take it from me folks: never, ever bet your child with money, even if it's for a noble cause, like achieving some goal or raising their grades. They will bilk you out of your last penny, without the least bit of guilt. After all, they have no loftier pursuit of their time.

Technical note: For those curious as to how it worked, I have to assume that they could easily climb up the side of the glass with the label, but once inside, the combination of smooth glass and the curve of the upper lip made it too difficult to get out. On the other hand, DD/10 believes they were just too happy with that catfood to even bother trying to leave.

Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington

Listen to the democrats this week, and you'll hear moaning about Sarah Palin as the folksy "hockey mom" who just doesn't have the credentials for high office.

I agree, she certainly doesn't have the resume that, say, a Joe Biden may have. But is that so bad? Imagine...a true outsider suddenly thrown into the white house (and just one heartbeat from the Big Seat, no less!). What would that look like?

Perhaps a little like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington?

Remember, this is a government "of the people, by the people, for the people",
not "of the lawyers, by the politicians, for the lobbyists". Regardless of her politics, I think our government would do well to get an infusion of truly fresh new blood, someone who really is just, what, 18 months? from a small town. Yes, I'm liking this.

Tough Math

Georgia high schools are implementing a new math curriculum this year, which is causing a bit of a stir. Unlike the prior approach of teachers spending all their time in front of the class-room, they are starting to do more "collaborative learning", which involves students breaking into groups and working through problems together. The teacher does still spend time teaching at the front of the room, and most of the grade is based on individual work, but the collaborative part of it is new for most students and parents. And many were not happy. Last night the school held a meeting for parents of freshmen to discuss these changes, and the parents were not very happy. There seemed to be an the endless stream of complaints from disgruntled parents about how difficult the new approach was for their children.

Now I'm no education expert so I am not in a position to say which is the best approach to teaching, but I do believe a good challenge is sometimes just what we need. I don't think it's a coincidence that it was the generation that took the beaches of Normandy that also put a man on the moon.

As I think about these youth, I realize THIS is the generation which will establish a permanent colony on the moon. They will be the ones to make a manned mission to Mars possible, and, God-willing, they will be the first ones to finally celebrate a cure for cancer.

Either our children will stretch themselves to meet challenges such as those presented by this new curriculum, or they will sit back and watch CNN as Taiwan and India claim those prizes. I, for one, am willing to struggle with my daughter as we calculate how much fencing Claire needs for her oddly-shaped garden. It's worth it.

"I don't believe in the no-win scenario."

The scene was pretty grim – Captain Kirk, well, actually Admiral Kirk, now, and the rest of the landing party were trapped in a cave beneath the surface of a barren planet. The Enterprise was long gone, and it looked like all hope was lost. One of the members of the party, a young lieutenant, Saavik, who had just graduated from Starfleet Academy, took this time to ask the old admiral something that had been bugging her. It was about the “Kobayashi Maru”, a special test they gave in the academy for which there was no good solution to the problem. The test was graded on how well you lost.

Saavik: "Sir, may I ask you a question?"
Kirk: "What's on your mind, Lieutenant?"
Saavik: "The Kobayashi Maru, sir."
Kirk: "Are you asking me if we're playing out that scenario now?"
Saavik: "On the test, sir. Will you tell me what you did? I would really like to know."
McCoy: "Lieutenant, you are looking at the only Starfleet cadet who ever beat the no-win scenario."
Saavik: "How?"
Kirk: "I reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to rescue the ship."
Saavik: "What?"
David: "He cheated."
Kirk: "I changed the conditions of the test. Got a commendation for original thinking. I don't like to lose."
Saavik: Then you never faced that situation. Faced death.
Kirk: I don't believe in the no-win scenario.

At that moment, Kirk’s communicator beeped, and Spock’s familiar voice came through: “We’re ready to pick you up , sir.” The look of shock was evident on everyone’s face, as it became clear that Kirk had a rescue plan worked out all along. As they dissolved into the transporter beam, Kirk looked at Saavik and repeated, “I don’t like to lose.”

Wow. That was a fantastic scene, the kind that made Star Trek fans want to jump out of their seats and start cheering. The year was 1982 and the movie was “Star Trek II: The Wrath of the Khan”.

So, why do I bring this up? Well, fast forward 25 years to 2007. Dr. Randy Pausch, A university professor at Carnegie Mellon, is faced with his own Kobayashi Maru test, having been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Shortly after learning that treatment was futile, he was asked to give a “Last Lecture”. It a common practice for professors to give a special lecture to students which would sum up their life experience and all that they had to share, as if he was about to die and this was his last chance to share what was most important to him. The fact that Dr. Pausch actually did have terminal cancer was just a coincidence, yet it made all the difference. On Sept 18, 2007, he stepped onto the lecture stage for the last time, and gave an unforgettable speech. It was recorded, and you can still see it on the web (below). The speech was incredible and was soon watched by millions across the web (the current YouTube count is 6,662,280).

One of the people touched by his talk was William Shatner, the actor who played Kirk in Star Trek. He was so moved by Dr. Pausch’s stand that he sent him an autographed photo, with that classic quote from the movie “The Wrath of Khan”:
“I don’t believe in the no-win scenario.”

That was a beautiful quote to read, especially in the context of someone fighting cancer. At the core of the cancer experience is the word "Hope": Hope for healing, hope for recovery, hope for survival, hope for a reason, a purpose, for something good to come out of the dark valley. Dr. Pausch did not recover from his cancer, but in the way he dealt with death, and life, he taught the world a great deal. William Shatner's sentiment expressed that beautifully.

For those of you who have not yet seen Dr. Pausch's famous "Last Lecture", just click below to see the video. It's well worth your time.