Highlights of A Special Father’s Day 2014
What a memorable and a special Father’s Day 2014 it was!
First and foremost, we had two new additions to our family… a new Harley “Hog” and a future son-in-law. It is yet to be proven which will be more exhilarating over the long haul.
My son Wesley, a father of two, gave himself a new 2014 Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron 883. This “scooter” is a fine addition to the Carlson Family’s motorcycle stable. It is a good “starter” bike and is ideal to cruise around town and the back roads. I have included a pic of it below.
Also, my daughter MacKenzie got engaged to be married! Even though her engagement and pending marriage to Kaden was inevitable, it has been in the planning stages for months. Their engagement was made official today with a ring and a set date. They plan to marry in the Salt Lake Temple on December 30th of this year. I’m not looking forward to this day about as much as MacKenzie is looking forward to it. I will miss her not being around the house and it will customarily make Jill and I “empty-nesters!” Also, a pic of Kaden and MacKenzie, with her engagement ring, is posted below.
Insights
Also, to the many thoughtful gifts, I received for Father’s Day, the most insightful and much-appreciated gift given me by a close and true friend. The message was present on a plaque and is as follows:
Blaise Pascal cautioned, “The highest order of mind is accused of folly, as well as the lowest. Nothing is thoroughly approved but mediocrity. The majority has established this, and it fixes its fangs on whatever gets beyond it either way.”
The card that accompanied the gift, in part, warmly suggested: “You may want to consider Pascal’s admonition in your daily practice of serving others with love and kindness… just a thought.”
This sentiment is timely and well taken. To be honest, I have recently been pondering over this quandary. How to balance the exercise of love and kindness when serving or relating to others without getting in their space and making them feel uncomfortable or uneasy? Or even worse, to come off as being patronizing or condescending which may provoke the other person to resentment as I have recently experienced.
Zero Apologies
However, there comes a time in life when one realizes all that’s left to work with is just the raw truth of things. When one comes to this realization, as Srini contends in his writings, “… you just have to put your heart on the stage… it’s a bust your ass to shine, honest to a fault, no bullshit, zero apologies for your life’s performance. It’s the kind of performance where your heart and soul bleed… it’s who you are.”
But, then again, I excogitate the practice of love, kindness, and service to others, without expectations of what might be in it for oneself. It is a lot like when one first seeks and receives a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ… you just want to share it with everyone. However, you soon realize–through sad experience–that the most efficient way to share this new-found knowledge of truth is by example… so as not to offend others who are not ready for or interested in it at that time.
The Wife
As my wife has recently tried to teach me with much patience. When practicing love and kindness for others, you will find that the journey is often a lonely and painful one; while experiencing both joy and pain. So my thought process then is “What’s the point…?”
Although I feel somewhat indifferent about “advice given,” I have decided to follow their subtle suggestions and “rein-in” my heart for the time being. After all, they are obviously wiser and more experienced in the “business of the heart” than I am.
All in all, Father’s Day 2014 was the most fulfilling and satisfying Father’s Day in recent memory!
