This 4th of July I couldn’t help but think of Viktor Frankl’s idea of a “State of Responsibility” on the West Coast and this daily attitude email from a few years ago.

Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better. – Albert Camus

In “Man’s Search for Meaning” Viktor Frankl has the idea that the Statue of Liberty (representing freedom) should have a twin on the West Coast – a statue of responsibility.

Freedom is not only a chance to be better, it is an offering to accept the responsibility inherent in making the most of our freedom.

Today is Veteran’s Day. A day to remember who paid for our freedoms.

I’ve read quite a few books from members of our military over the last few years.

Each time I am inspired to make the most of the freedom they have bought for me.

Even the most heroic and well-meaning soldiers from the stories seem to struggle with coming back and realizing that so many have chosen to squander their great gifts.

Our biggest tribute to the armed forces is a life well lived.

A life spent enjoying the responsibilities of the freedom so dearly bought for us.

Make the most of your chance to be better.

Embrace the responsibility of making the most of your freedom.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. – Mark Twain

This is one of life’s mysteries – sometimes in order to get what you want you have to take the first step and do the same for another.

If you wish to be loved – be loving.

In order to receive – start giving.

If you wish to learn – teach.

It’s not perfect and doesn’t work all the time. But it’s a great place to start if you are stuck.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – it’s also an area that requires discernment. We are not supposed to risk ourselves for those who would harm us.

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The return we reap from generous actions is not always evident. – Francesco Guicciardini

The law of sowing and reaping is fundamental to our experience.

The hard part about it is that the sowing and reaping don’t always happen close enough to each to be obvious.

We could spend our lives living generously and not ever see the results.

Faith is required.

Faith that it will all be worth it in the end.

Faith that will all work for the best.

Faith that ideas like love, generosity, hope, and patience will win out.

Make up your mind to be faithful in your generosity (and love, etc.).

Make it a great day.

Jake

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https://youtu.be/AKec3LTILRU?si=ugWtXEx8_NJ9zBIN

Planning to head out this afternoon for the combo White Sox game/Jordan Davis concert.

I’m really not a country music fan or even a big fan of concerts, but it’s always an interesting experience being in a big crowd like that.

The vibe really does effect everyone and so many people syncing up in that way is amazing to watch.

One of my many questions when I (God willing) get to Heaven will be some version of “how interconnected were we all?” I’m expecting the answer to be some version of “more than you realized.”

We are all in this together. We are not alone.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Education is the movement from darkness to light. – Allan Bloom

I like this word picture. Darkness to light.

We are all ignorant in some way. We are blind to the truth or the facts or the whole situation or whatever.

We can be educated though.

We can be shown the light. We can study and learn. We can build relationships with others that provide light.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Control.

It seems to me that one of the odd paradoxes of life is our ability to control nothing and everything at the same time.

We have no control over all the external things in our lives, yet we have complete control over ourselves and our attitude and this attitude is what attracts and brings about the external environment we desire.

I suppose that life is a balancing act between mastery of our own mind and letting the rest of life happen.

Below is a list of “to let go’s” that I found when searching for a topic for today. Maybe one of them will inspire you to let go of something that is holding you back.

Make it a great week.

Jake

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization that I can’t control another.

To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To let go is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to criticize, or regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can do.

To let go is to fear less, and to love more.

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A man is what he thinks about all day long. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

A difficult one to accept.

Not sure about you, but if I had to be real honest with myself I’d probably be embarrassed by the accumulation of all my thoughts for the day.

The worries, the selfishness, the stupid, petty little wishes for my own comfort and ego.

It’s easy to get confused and frustrated and let a day’s worth of thoughts get away from you.

I doubt that anybody wins the thought battle everyday.

But we can do a little better today than yesterday.

We can feed our minds good thoughts. We can think better thoughts more often. We can surround ourselves with people and content that adds to the good.

What would a better day look like for you? What can you do today to make it better than yesterday?

Make it a great day.

Jake

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

The last few weeks at church have been centered on this verse.

I’ve always liked the Bible verses that feel more direct and straight forward, so this has been one of my favorites.

It seems pretty clear to me – if you want all that good fruit you’ve got to fill yourself up with the Spirit.

I have a ways to go, but the fruit sure seems like it’s worth the work.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

The last few weeks at church have been centered on this verse.

I’ve always liked the Bible verses that feel more direct and straight forward, so this has been one of my favorites.

It seems pretty clear to me – if you want all that good fruit you’ve got to fill yourself up with the Spirit.

I have a ways to go, but the fruit sure seems like it’s worth the work.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

The last few weeks at church have been centered on this verse.

I’ve always liked the Bible verses that feel more direct and straight forward, so this has been one of my favorites.

It seems pretty clear to me – if you want all that good fruit you’ve got to fill yourself up with the Spirit.

I have a ways to go, but the fruit sure seems like it’s worth the work.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.