A Change of Address

You may have noticed that there haven't been any postings here over the past two months. The holidays were busy for me, to be sure, but I also made the decision during that time to move my blogging from Blogspot to Wordpress. While both websites have their strengths and weaknesses, Wordpress allows me to set up more of a "website" with pages and file downloads. It also provided more templates to choose from and more ways to vary those templates. So I have set up "Growing Young" on Wordpress and posted a few times over the past few weeks. I plan to post there every weekend, at least, and sometimes during the week. Here's the address:

http://johncnewton.wordpress.com

Growing Young here on Blogspot will continue to be dormant, so be sure to check out the new site for postings. 

— John

Going Nonverbal

I just ran across this interesting Yahoo article on what body posture communicates, according to sociologists and phsychologists. When I was in broadcasting school, one of the major principles I learned about communication was the importance of the nonverbal. A television camera is designed to capture not just verbal but also nonverbal motion, so if you have bad posture, facial expressions, or head movements, the camera will call you out. I'll never forget one course I took called "Interpersonal Communication" in which we students not only learned the ins and outs of asking questions but also what to do with our faces and bodies when asking and listening to the answers.  Did you know that if you nod your head three times, the interviewee is more likely to give a longer answer to your question? Also, did you know that where you cast your eyes says something about the sincerity of the question?

Nonverbal communication is very important to being understood (and not misunderstood) and being respected. What your face, arms, legs, etc. say is many times just as important as what your mouth says. You don't have to be an actor about it, just be conscious of what your body is saying and quickly correct any possible misconception.

How is your nonverbal communication? Here's the list. Feel free to compare. Looking in a mirror always helps. Click on each picture of the woman to see that section of the story.

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Observations from Aisle 6

Scattershooting while walking down every aisle in the South Lewisville Wal-Mart... (except I'm at home now because I ain't got one of them fancy-schmancy phones to post from the road)...

— I enjoy walking around my local Wal-Mart for many reasons, one of which is the great diversity of people groups represented there. It's like a mini United Nations. There are Hindus and Muslims, Jews and Buddhists, Christians like me, and probably some agnostics, too. A couple weeks back I saw some Buddhist monks shopping in the dairy and meat sections. They were in full garb with shaved heads and everything. That was a first for me. I like being around these other cultures perhaps because deep inside I long to understand more about them and, in the process, squelch my own nature to judge them. There are many different cultures on this planet and people from every culture have made their way to America. And my local Wal-Mart. And I think that's cool. 

— Along those lines, I have little respect for those who despise immigrants in this nation, whether legal or illegal. This is specially true for those who actively seek to ruin a person's reputation because their parents (or a parent) weren't born in this country. I've found that some people are ruled by fear of the unfamiliar and they will do anything they can to rid unfamiliarity from their circle of life. Yet I find it interesting that America, including Texas, was founded by immigrants and our American culture is fully a combination of cultures brought by those immigrants. Odds are that you were most likely the child, grandchild or great-grandchild of an immigrant. Maybe we should fear ourselves! 

— That picking up two items can sometimes take forever at Wal-Mart. Especially when you walk down every aisle... 

— I'm wondering whether or not hand-holding couples notice single people the way single people notice hand-holding couples. When you're lonely, everybody seems to have a somebody. But you know this isn't true. It just seems that way. I see plenty of solo shoppers at Wal-Mart, too, and that's encouraging. 

— For some strange reason, I get a kick out of observing (without staring) couples as they shop. There are so many different dynamics on display. Couples shopping silently, couples arguing, couples just hanging on (literally, clinging to each other), couples that shop together via phone, and some couples that just look plain confused.  

— That the price of groceries keeps creeping higher, much like a weed. It doesn't grow during the day but somehow it's bigger the next morning. 

— That I'm tired after observing so much in such little time.

Good night!
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Ahhhh.... Christmas!

Well, today marks the official beginning of the Christmas season for your truly. Oh, I know that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have already passed but I just wasn't quite able to get into the Christmas spirit back then. Nope. I decided that December 6th was my start for Christmas and not only because it was the day after my church's stress-producing big Christmas concert (which was wonderful, btw) but also because it is one of three orthodox church holidays I observe every year. Today, dear friends is the day this man:

Bishop Nicholas of Myra, died. How sad, eh? Of course he died in 345AD, but it's still sad. Kinda. Sorta. When you think about it. Constantly, I suppose. Ahem... today is the Feast day of St. Nicholas. You may know him better as his modern-era superhero designation: Santa Claus. But as you might suspect the original man wasn't anything like Santa Claus. His story was one of humility and sneaking around in the darkness so as not to be seen. No flying reindeer. No big red coat and sack of presents slung over his back. None of these things. In fact, he didn't even have a white beard! Not when he became famous, anyway.

Not many know that St. Nicholas was a young 20-something when he became bishop of the western Turkey town of Myra in 290-300 AD. He happened into the office in small part to his family (his uncle was a bishop) but in large part to his character. He was a young priest with a stellar reputation who was elevated to bishop upon the death of the prior leader, despite his age. Usually, bishops weren't so young. But Nicholas impressed the other bishops of the region.

St. Nick served for decades, becoming known for his generosity for the poor (he came from a wealthy family), his humility, and for his defense of the historical and biblical truths of the faith. In fact, during the famous Council of Nicea in 325AD, an older Nicholas was among the bishops in attendance and stood with one of my other heroes, Athanasius, in defense of the truth when Arias and his followers threatened to tear it apart. Yes, Santa Claus was at Nicea. St. Nicholas defended the deity of Jesus Christ when it was questioned and stood on the side of truth.

No flying reindeer to be found. Or elves making toys. Just one humble man with the guts to stand up for what he — and the church — historically believed and taught about his Savior.

He's a hero of the faith.

He also was known for his secret giving to the poor. Many legends have emerged of things Nicholas did, and any of them could be true, I suppose, but only God knows which ones actually happened. One common thread is that Nicholas gave for years without being discovered. In a day without checks, credit cards or fingerprinting, a financial donation left on a doorstep couldn't be traced. He eventually was found out by the local townsfolk (who put two and two together, I guess) but instead of parading around, he wished for them to keep quiet about his giving. He gave for the Lord and not for man.

After his death on December 6, 345, local townsfolk decided to continue giving secret gifts to the poor (and to each other) in the name of Nicholas. Many orthodox Christians in Europe still do this. This gift giving was eventually tied in to the early church's celebration of Christ's birth, which was on January 6th and not December 25th. January 6th was called the Feast of Epiphany, and has celebrated many things through the years, including the arrival of the magi.

Our modern Christmas combines several smaller church holidays into one big extravaganza. What's kind of funny to me is that the legends of the original St. Nicholas have nothing to do with Christmas — at all! But still, his official day is in December and gift giving has become a major part of our Christmas holiday, so, for me, I consider December 6th to January 6th to be my official Christmas season. Today I'm assembling my tree (a tradition dating back 500 years) and putting up wreaths (which goes back at least to the days of St. Nick). I'll start my Christmas shopping, too, so I can give gifts in Nick's name. To honor his life. And the Savior he served who said, "It's more blessed to give than receive."

Merry Christmas!

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Looking for a Shut Down

I should be asleep. But I'm not. Why?

This is the question I've been repeatedly asking myself the past few nights. You see, I have sleeping problems. Problems getting asleep, problems staying asleep, problems waking up. Most of the time I can't seem to find my brain's shut down button. I think about the past, the present and, sometimes, the future.

Sometimes I relive past events and make up possible scenarios that could have happened but didn't. Why I do this baffles me greatly. I just do. I think about things I may not have done at work. And I think random thoughts about myself and how I'm feeling. Sometimes I just think about thinking.

In the words of philosopher and theologian Charles Brown, "Good grief."

A lot of Americans seem to have difficulty with getting a good night's sleep these days. According to The Better Sleep Counsel, 32-percent of Americans lose sleep at least one night per week. The majority of them lose sleep because of stress. The National Sleep Foundation reports that 20-percent of Americans sleep less than six hours a night and 52-percent sleep less than eight. One third of all Americans, they report, are losing sleep every week due to economic or financial concerns. That's roughly 100 million of your and my closest friends. OK, maybe your.

I read a recent report from some agency I can't recollect that attributed a loss of sleep to modern electronics, especially the artificial light coming from television, cell phone and computer screens. We spend so much time in front of our screens that our brain gets fooled into thinking it's daylight when it's really bedtime. I typically spend eight hours in front of a computer every day at my job but when I get home I have little zeal for computers. In fact, recently I've resorted to using my home computer very sparingly. My eyes can only take so much light every day. I'm starting to feel the same about TV but I'm not quite there yet. It'll keep me up a few extra hours every day.

Back in the olden days, scientists argue, when the sun went down and the candle burned out the human body usually decided it was time to sleep. So farmers and factory workers went to be early and rose with the sun. But this is a different age. And with caffeine, computers, and florescent tubes, our body clocks are all over the place. I know mine is.

It's interesting how the natural clock affects the body clock when we let it. This summer I went camping for eight nights in New Mexico. I've found that when camping — tent camping, anyway — the daily start and end are largely dictated by the natural world around you. The sun goes down each evening and then the campfire burns for a couple hours and then there's nothing left to do but go to bed. It's really different from the norm for most people. Each night I crawled into my sleeping bag shortly after 9 o'clock and woke up with the sun. Thanks to earplugs (I have active ears at night), I got more sleep on that trip, despite the lack of "luxury," than I had in any stretch the previous year. When I got home, however, it was back to my late night routine.

Each generation of the 20th Century has developed later and later daily routines. When I was 22 I went to bed at 3am. When I was 32 I went to bed at 1am. Now I go to bed at midnight. Have I tried to change my routine through the years? You betcha. Some jobs I've held required me to be on the clock at 6am. Did it stick? You betcha not. Oh, I've been going to bed earlier as I get progressively older but stress and an overactive mind usually robs me to whatever sleep there was to be had. I just can't stop thinking!

Oh well, at least I can stare at an electronic screen and write. At least I can put my computer to sleep and, barring a clumsy bump from yours truly, it'll stay that way until I choose to wake it up. As for me.... not so easy. Sigh. 

Maybe this bog will help you get some sleep. Maybe it'll help me!

Good night. And I mean it.
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