Tuesday
August 26, 2014

Life on Life's Terms

Titles

"Whatcha smiling about?" my wife asked.

"Thinking about Andrew's wedding," I said.  My wife hadn't been able to attend my nephew's wedding with me.

"I'd be smiling about that wedding too if somebody had remembered to take more than two pictures," she said, poking me in the chest. "What's lighting up your memory?"

"Right before they played a hymn the minister said, "This is the favorite hymn of Andrew's beloved Pop-Pop."  Everyone turned to smile at him – his children, his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren."

"He's a sweet, sweet, man."

"He is.  But I was smiling because I thought he had earned that title, 'beloved.'  And of all the titles people chase, that may be the most meaningful."

Today I will consider what titles mean, and which ones are worth chasing.

Life on Life's Terms (c) 2014 Ken Montrose

Upcoming

Burnout: Clinical, Ethical, & Supervisory Issues
September 12, 2014 at Greenbriar-New Kensington
9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m
$30 payable in advance, at the door, or by invoice after the training

This three hour training is accredited for:

• Addiction Counselors by the Pa. Certification Board
• CRCs  by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification # 11938191652 and 11938191653 (one hour Ethics portion)
• Counselors by NAADAC #477 and NBCC #6352
• EAPs by the Employee Assistance Certification Commission
• Social Workers by the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.

Other Blogs

AArdvarks, a daily messages blog about a group of young people in recovery can be found at: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/6881717-h-a-l-t.

Smart Bears, Angry Rats

A moment of clarity  75 Years from now

As Sammy packed up his belongings, he found an old notebook.  Early in his career he had often put up two ideas side by side on the iWall.  Then he'd sit in front of the iWall with an old fashioned notebook and pencil, jotting down random thoughts about the two ideas.  More than once this strategy had given him new directions, or at least eliminated one of the ideas from further pursuit.

Sammy vaguely remembered a particular notebook entry.  The two ideas had seemed at odds.  He recalled staring at those ideas for days, knowing some insight was just beyond his grasp.  He found that page in his notebook and read his notes.  That's when he had that moment of clarity that had eluded him ten years earlier.   

"I know where the cure lies," he said to himself.  Despite the damage done to his brain by Lil' Bit, he knew he'd been given an amazing gift.  "Thank you," he said aloud to a God he wasn't sure he believed in.

Today I will be grateful for those moments of clarity, they are truly a gift.

Smart Bears, Angry Rats (c) 2014 by Ken Montrose