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Choosing Peace

August 9, 2017 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Yes, I was young, and not totally aware of the implications at hand; still I recall my parents’ fear and anxiety as they sat transfixed, watching President Kennedy on our grainy black and white television. Images of empty grocery shelves come to my mind; whether I actually saw them first hand, or am remembering from documentaries I’ve seen over the years, I admit I can’t be sure. That of which I am positive is remembering the collective sense of relief as the emergency subsided.

As then-secretary of state, Dean Rusk said, “We’re eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked.”

In most locations, this column shows up on or near the weekend. However, I obviously write it earlier in the week. At the time I’m writing this, the current news cycle has many saying we are as close to the precipice of nuclear war as we have been at any time since those terrifying days in October 1962. We are hoping someone blinks as I don’t think any of us have the desire (nor the need), to be poised at the cliff’s edge once again 55 years later.

Nonetheless, here we stand.

I have a dilemma. My beliefs say that the more we focus on something, the more likely we are to make it real. I’ve seen it happen repeatedly in my own life. Does that infer that my fear of a military exchange is made more probable by my thoughts? Am I contributing to the problem? Obviously, it’s not a choice for which I wish, but with the level of trepidation as high as it is, it’s impossible to banish the notion completely.

To that end, maybe it would be of value to picture a softer outcome.

[Read more…]

Avoiding the Seduction of Negative Thinking

June 7, 2017 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Each week, I find it more and more difficult to prevent the current news cycle from wrenching the reins of this column and hijacking it into the topic of current events.

If you have read my writing for a while – or I have had the pleasure of getting to know you in person – you know that I have very strong political views and believe that I can effectively argue for my causes, while still remaining respectful of those who respectfully disagree. So, it’s not that I think I should shy away from such discussions or that those topics don’t matter. Rather, there’s a place and time for them, and these 600-word missives are neither.

Having laid all that on the table, the state of the nation and world seeps into our collective consciousness; we cannot avoid it, even if we tried. There is no shield; nor is it wise to blind ourselves from what is happening around us. Yet, at times, I feel like I am marinating in a stagnant, slime-covered, putrid swamp and emerge as quickly as possible, begging to be purified.

The result to this onslaught of negativity and name calling is to wipe one’s hands of the whole repulsive situation, thinking,

“I’m done! Count me out! It’s never going to get any better. I can’t do anything about it. Why even bother to care?”

That attitude — even more than the events which triggered it — is the true, more pressing danger. We cannot allow ourselves the luxury of negative thinking. Sure, the negativity is enticing. It’s a simulated siren’s call, offering peace and quiet, cooing seductively, “Come here; forget your woes. Let me take care of you. You don’t need to think about it.”

“How is negative thinking a luxury?” you might ask.

[Read more…]

Where do WE go Now That the 2016 Elections Are Over?

November 14, 2016 by Scott "Q" Marcus

I rarely wade into the political arena for a variety of reasons:

That’s not what my Monday Memo is about
It brings the trolls out in droves
I’m “conflict resistant” and don’t like arguing
As important as political discourse is, lately it seem like it’s just plain “icky”

Having said that, elections have consequences and here we sit, almost one week out, with a new president-elect.

Half of the country is optimistic, the other half is despondent. One half feels that we have found our way back, while their counterparts fear for the future. No matter how you cut it, the country is laid raw, exposed, split half and half. (I will not state who I voted for so don’t ask – and that’s not what today’s comments are about anyway.)

The question is, “What do WE do NOW?”

Some on the victorious side of the election shout, “We won! Get over it!” while many on the opposite side are protesting with chants such as “Not my president.” Although it might not seem like it at first glance, but these are the opening of lines of communication. Granted, it’s not a warm and fuzzy channel, but both sides are speaking – and while not necessarily trying to speak with each other, they’re being heard.

The way I see it, there are some realities that need to be addressed:

Barring some sort of seismic political earthquake, love it or hate it, Mr. Trump will be the 45th President of the United States come January 20, 2017
No matter what happens, there will continue to be detractors and supporters of his presidency
Neither side will “vanish” nor be silenced
Both sides will continue to work for their agendas
Neither side will simply “give up”

Accepting those, as we begin this new era, the first question we must all ask of ourselves is “What is MY intention for the future as we move forward?”

Without intention, we are rudderless, adrift.

For example, if the intention is “Let’s block everything that President Trump does,” the resultant communication – and its actions – will lead us down one path. If our intention is, “Show the ‘losers’ whose in charge now,” that will also have repercussions. However, if the intention is, “Let’s find a way to agree on what we can while politically fighting that where we don’t,” other options will make themselves known.

It’s certainly not a guarantee of success; but lack of intention is surely a guarantee for more conflict for decades to come.

We’re all (hopefully) going to be here for quite some time. Neither side will eradicate the other. Aiming to push, shove, or bully those with whom we might disagree will only prolong this chasm we see between us. Worse yet, there are real-life implications: millions and millions or our fellow human beings (both within and outside of the U.S.) will be hurt, further expanding the divide, making it yet harder to heal (which I assume is a goal of most).

I believe in “compassion first.”

Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean “give in,” but it does mean that first and foremost, I will treat each and every person neither as my superior nor inferior. I will strive in all my communication with those with whom I disagree, to lay a bedrock of respect, seeking first to understand the motives without judgment. I’m not fooling myself (I hope) I know it won’t always be easy, but – to me – it’s the only path forward.

I hope you’ll join me.

How The Shootings Have Affected Us: Finding the Best in Each Other

June 16, 2016 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

There were a dozen of us scattered about the tables in the coffee shop.

Some were working on computers, others having quiet conversations; personally, I was preparing for a class later that day. Of course, there were a handful of baristas behind the counter.

No one — including myself — paid much mind when he opened the door to enter.

He looked “relatively normal;” forty-something, about five and half feet in height. His clothes and dark brown hair were slightly disheveled and somewhat dirty; both of those could have been attributed to him being a workingman ending a long day. What was not “relatively normal” was as he stood at the entrance, blocking others from coming or going, he raised his voice and started shouting at us, making direct eye contact across the room with me.

At first I wasn’t sure what he was saying; caught off guard by what is certainly not expected or standard behavior.

The gist of his tirade was we “had better change teams immediately” or we were all “going to pay.” His screaming was steeped with fury and rage and punctuated with a string of expletives culminating in a warning about how he was going to “f” us all up. Stunned, we sat; gawking and puzzled, until he lifted something from near his worn shoes, slammed shut the door, turned on his heels, and disappeared into the foot traffic flowing along the thoroughfare.

We – the patrons and employees – glanced at each other. One of the servers, about to leave for her break, commented, “I think I’ll wait a few minutes.” Several moments passed; heart rates returned to normal. Our behaviors returned to what they were prior the rude interruption.

I have to be honest; when he bent down, I flinched.

[Read more…]

Trusting the Universe

March 16, 2016 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Stars of a planet and galaxy in a free space

First point: Albert Einstein – no shrinking Violet in the field of deep thought – said, “I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’”

He put forth three alternatives:

Option One: the Universe is unfriendly. In that case, we use our technology, science and resources to be safe by creating bigger walls to keep out the unfriendliness and bigger weapons to destroy all that which is unfriendly. He went on to add, “We are getting to a place where technology is powerful enough that we may either completely isolate or destroy ourselves as well in this process.”

The second alternative is that the Universe is neither friendly nor unfriendly and that God is essentially “playing dice with the universe.” Should this be accurate, we are simply victims to the random toss of the dice and our lives have no real purpose or meaning.

That leaves one other choice: The Universe is a friendly place. In this instance, we will use our technology, science, and resources to create tools and models to understand it “because power and safety will come through understanding its workings and its motives.”

He made no final call except to say, “God does not play dice with the universe.”

Point two: Our current political dialog resembles more an elementary school playground fight than a contest for the most powerful office in land. There’s a gag-worthy political stench wafting through the discourse.

No one likes it (well, no one that’s rational at least). To change it, some respond by shouting, “We need to fight. It’s time to get angry.”

Don’t get me wrong; I am angry too. However, I’m inviting other to share in my campaign: “Compassion first. I’d rather be happy than right.”

It doesn’t mean I’m rolling over; this is not an “either-or” thing.

[Read more…]

« Previous Page

Choosing Peace

I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Nonetheless, here we stand.

To that end, maybe it would be of value to picture a softer outcome.

Avoiding the Seduction of Negative Thinking

Each week, I find it more and more difficult to prevent the current news cycle from wrenching the reins of this column and hijacking it into the topic of current events.

“How is negative thinking a luxury?” you might ask.

Where do WE go Now That the 2016 Elections Are Over?

I rarely wade into the political arena for a variety of reasons:

Having said that, elections have consequences and here we sit, almost one week out, with a new president-elect.

The question is, “What do WE do NOW?”

The way I see it, there are some realities that need to be addressed:

Accepting those, as we begin this new era, the first question we must all ask of ourselves is “What is MY intention for the future as we move forward?”

It’s certainly not a guarantee of success; but lack of intention is surely a guarantee for more conflict for decades to come.

I believe in “compassion first.”

How The Shootings Have Affected Us: Finding the Best in Each Other

There were a dozen of us scattered about the tables in the coffee shop.

No one — including myself — paid much mind when he opened the door to enter.

At first I wasn’t sure what he was saying; caught off guard by what is certainly not expected or standard behavior.

I have to be honest; when he bent down, I flinched.

Trusting the Universe

First point: Albert Einstein – no shrinking Violet in the field of deep thought – said, “I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’”

He made no final call except to say, “God does not play dice with the universe.”

It doesn’t mean I’m rolling over; this is not an “either-or” thing.

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