Sharing your history

Tonight, between dinner and bedtime, the weeWeir and I had a bit of fun.

Some flying, some drawing and listening to music.

Or to use Beth's words: "fwai", "draaaa" & listening to "mook".

Too cute.

It was fun to have the sounds I recorded on a demo EP playing, sharing them with her.

You can hear a few of the demos on here.

I also realised that there's a few bits and pieces I'd written before really getting into blogging. Off to give them a wee read and see what I was saying!

Suited & Booted

I have two suits. I have a kilt. I can enjoy wearing smart clothes.

However, in a recent conversation with a colleague, it was stated (not by me) that photos of team members provided to our customers would've looked better if all the guys had been wearing a suit.

"They would have looked more professional".

Oh really?

I disagreed. Why? Well, I think you can wear the suit, but be the least professional person in the room.

It might mean you look the part, but that's not enough.

In an age when conversation & relationships are what matter in customer service, I think authenticity and relevance are the true measure of professionalism. I think they fly in the face of (or at least challenge the insistance of) the "stiff upper lip".

I put this out on Twitter & Facebook yesterday:

"does being suited & booted for an existing customer make you look more *professional* but less personable?"

A few people responded:

"You can look professional and still BE personable. :-)" Theresa Seeber

True, but the suit doesn't mean you are either.

"Personable is in the character not the clothes" Colin Hilditch

Oh yeah!

Maybe it's just me, but I think a suit can be a veil that is hidden behind.

A crutch that is leaned on.

Sure, the first time you meet someone, you want to create a good impression, but perhaps the way we meet someone for the first time has changed - we look each other up on a search engine or check out a social network profile. That makes things different - and it all the more important for those involved in meeting customers to be aware of what can be found online.

I'd rather have a trusted supplier who I got to know to a deeper level than just the guy with the suit & tie from X Company.

Maybe this change is still happening and the old way is still the norm?

I wonder if the soon, when we call an engineer or plumber if the supplier will send you a link to the engineers profile before they arrive - so you know what they're like (and look like!).

What's your view?

Wash my motives clean

"Why?"

It's a question that's often fun to answer. While the weeWeir is not yet at the inquisitive, asking "why?" to everything stage yet, I've been thinking a bit about motivation.

Why do we do things? Is it for respect, recognition or reward? How about to show compassion, capability or some sense of achievement?

Do I tell you a certain story as a way of controlling? Do I use circumstances to manipulate others into doing what I want?

Does it matter?

Too right it does.

You see, in the teachings of Jesus, the heart (or motives) are crucial. The intent is vital. But so it the approach.

It's Easter Sunday. Did Jesus intend to die? Yes. Why? "Not my will, but yours be done".

Did He do it in some grand show of bravado? Some demonstration of self-deprecation - or ultimate folly?

Nope. It was the ultimate sacrifice. The blameless took my shame.

Why? So that God would be glorified - and people would be drawn to Him.

My hope is that people see Jesus through how I live. That Jesus would show them the love of the Father, the Creator. And that through faith we can live in grace & peace, full of love and a hope that doesn't disappoint.

Motives are hard to judge from the outside, so I can't really speak for anyone else, but this Easter, I hope you meet with the living Jesus who loves us more than we'll ever know.

My hope is that people don't see me as someone who has it all together, who has it all figured out.

PS - the title is a line from a Sue Rinaldi song "Change this world". I remember a gig with IndigoEcho when Sue was *headlining*. That was an odd gig, lots of fun, but still odd. We played to about 20 people in a 300-capacity tent in Ayrshire. The line "come and wash our motives clean" has stayed with me for over 10 years as I think about why I do things.

Temporary Interruption

...normal service is on it's way.

I've not written as much this past 8 days as I'd hoped. Sorry about that. I don't like to let me reader down.

There's loads of ideas rolling around, just not got them into any kind of shape yet. It's coming though. Normal Service.

but what is *normal* anyway.

Juxtaposed Lives

I guess we all live juxtaposed lives to some extent. Today I found things more than a little out of kilter.

Working for a Financial Services company, and helping create communication material, I work as part of a team to share targets & ambtions for our part of the business. That can run into millions of pounds. To some people that means I work for "the man".

That's all well and good, but I've never been in the game to make money or feed the system. I'm really interested in people, connectivity, culture & technology.

And my faith is in Jesus, not in anything else.

So today brought an increased tension between all these numbers that get talked about and the horrific realities of poverty and suffering.

Following a meeting at work about how we might tell our story in a particular way, to try and win a lot of business, I was reading this article about what's going on in parts of Haiti. Go on. Read it.

Children the same age as the weeWeir.

For sale.

For a tenth of the price of the much vaunted iPad. A CHILD. While this article brought this smack in front of my face, it's sadly not that this is the first time things like this happen. A quick look at Stop the Traffik's content says that between two and four MILLION people at bought and sold every year. Some for as little as £16 (US$20). WHAT? That's a ticket to Avatar in 3D, a hotdog and a drink. FOR A PERSON?

I was ashamed. I wanted to cry, but couldn't.

I wondered if I should listen to the thought of getting up, lifting my bag, getting on a plane and going to help in Haiti. I knew nothing about disaster relief, but surely another pair of hands is going to help, right?

But I didn't.

Clearly, my first responsibility is to Jenny & Beth.

I see the juxtaposition. And I'm horrified. So what can I do? I'll continue to give finance. Which I'll only earn by having a job. But is that all we can do? As a follower of Jesus, I'll continue to pray. I can also continue to remember.

What else can we do from here? It might be time to run 10k and get you guys to sponsor me to do it. Or it might be time to do more.

What can we do?

it's no' here

Just a week ago, there was still a few inches of snow in our garden, on the way to work yesterday, I noticed a few tiny islands of grubby ice.

Like many things in life, how quickly we forget...

Or at least how quickly I forget. Those moments of wonder as the snow kept falling. Moments of joy as the sun lit up the world, reflecting off the whitened ground. And those moments of skiting down a slope on a piece of plastic.

It's completely right to live here. Now. As asbojesus said:

However, it's good to remember and be grateful. It's good to remember and learn. It's good to remember, lest we forget the grace we live. It's also good to dream, to think about possibilities.

What are you remembering today?

What are your dreams?

Easy like...?

When taking a trip with the family at the weekend, I saw a van for the company "EasiTyre".

It was white, with orange livery. The typefaces used were *very* similar to a certain group of companies using the word Easy in their moniker.

That got me thinking. Did they use that name & style to create associations with that brand, and make potential customers more comfortable with trying them out? Or because they aspired to deliver that kind of no-nonsense, straight-forward service?

So, in this age of there being lots of people competing for attention (be it online, on TV, billboards), do we want to become successful (however that is defined) by imitating, or by being innovative. By copying or by being unique?

My view? Be true to who you are, play to your strengths and bring your flavour to the table. Sure, you might want to provide a no-frills tyre service that's inspired by another no-frills service, or help people who phone a large company looking for help, but you will do it differently, with passion and commitment. And that can be a very good thing. Especially when you are sure you want to do it.

There's no-one else who can be you, who can do what you can do. It might not seem like it now, but it's gotta be worth finding out who you are meant to be.

What do you think?

activated

Let's be clear; I'm not the perfect activist, nor am I the answer to the problems people face.

But here's the thing. From some of the influences on my more formative years, I have developed a passion for Justice & Mercy. Two massive topics that are much beyond what I can cover in a few pixels on here.

Justice is key to the teachings of Jesus Christ, who lived in the tension between this and Mercy. Mercy, for me is typified by the story in John 8:1-11. Have a read for yourself to get the full Bhuna, but the question Jesus asks "where are your accusers?" leads to a clear demonstration of God's Mercy.

What's this got to do with a wannabe activist? Well, as a follower of Jesus, I believe I am to live a transformed life of Love, where Mercy & Justice do their thing alongside the most extravagant gift of all; Grace. If I am living Justly then I will be honest, fair, meeting people's needs where I can and speaking up/standing up/demonstrating support for those who are not being treated Justly.

I'm not deluded that in Western society (where I live), we're not-as-hard-done-to as many other people on the planet (see "the bottom billion"), however we are surrounded by injustice.

We are also surrounded by the opposite of Mercy; Cruelty.

So what do we do about it? Fold our hands and bemoan the state of the nation? Err, nope. Pray, asking and believing God will intervene? Yes - but that's not enough. We are called to demonstrate our involvement. I'm not necessarily talking about placards & t-shirts, or throwing eggs, but being active in Love & Merciful deed. It's not an exhaustive list of things you might try;

• Contact your MP, MSP, Welsh Assembly member, Local Councillor etc about what matters to you.
• Interact with those in need (I'm sure there's plenty organisations near you who would welcome a humble, willing helper)
• Support organisations who meet people's needs
• Oh yeah, and maybe support people you share life with - at work, study, family. Y'know, those right next to you!

I definitely could get better at all of this stuff, so pleased don't think I'm standing aloof. Just sharing my view of the landscape!

Where has all this come from? Last week, I received a BRILLIANT mailshot from Kingscare (I'll be asking them to send things electronically in the future to save some trees). George Dowdell has written an excellently thought-provoking article on his story that really encouraged me to make a noise without it being about stirring up guilt, fear or shame. But hope. Hope in Justice, Mercy and that Love beats all-comers. End of story.

What I also LOVED was that the leaflet wasn't a sales pitch for Kingscare, so no plea for cash. Just an encouragement to action in whatever way you can respond. This is part of my response.

Have a read of the leaflet. You can print it, if you need to, or pass the link on. Sure we'd love a facebook app to connect it to our networks, but we don't need that to create some word-of-mouth, do we?

Let me (and more importantly, let Kingcare) know what you think.

As a good friend says; "Get Involved"