TNR Happenings, December 12, 2022
Christmas on the Reservation 2022
The smiles on the kids’ faces say it all. I don’t know who has more fun, the kids or us! We all had lots of laughs! It is so important for TNR members to experience the power of Love Has No Color in action; there is nothing quite like it on the planet. The stories told by teachers, parents, and former students about years past truly warm the heart. A simple act of kindness at the right time in life can change the trajectory of a kid’s life. The quality and quantity of toys speak volumes about all the elves, volunteers, and people behind the scenes. This was so good for the spirit. I am always amazed, even after all these years, about what a handful of Navy Seals can accomplish in a few days in 100-degree or minus-10-degree weather. Nothing gets in the way of the job getting done.
There Is Someone Taller!
TNR member and giant, Trent Daniel found himself dwarfed by a 7 foot 2 inch, 450 pounds Native American. Trent is 6 foot 5 inches and 270 pounds.
Kenny Smoker Speaks
It’s getting rarer and rarer to hear Kenny Smoker address our group each year. This year he called a special closed-door meeting with our group that featured Kenny speaking from his heart as he always does. Nearly everyone in the room was choked back with tears in their eyes with his message. This message is so important for each and every one of us individually as well as collectively. Quietly doing what is right is a message that is lost on consensus, social media, or best-seller lists. It is hard to describe the aura in the room. It was sacred, like sitting around a crackling fire and listening to an elder speak of great wisdom. Like receiving a Nobel Peace Prize, the message concerns the few, not the many.
Watching Our Group In Action
Listening and watching our group in action is a treat in itself. I loved watching the way they addressed townspeople, shopkeepers, people in restaurants, old friends, and, of course, the kids and teachers. From public speaking to entertaining kids and solving problems (MANY!), our elves never have a ‘can’t be done’ attitude. Instead, we find a way. If something needed to be done, it was done without having to ask permission and with a ruthless intolerance for any resistance or stalling. Action, action, action, no hands in the pockets. You will go far in life with this mantra of “find a way”.
From the Mind of Miyagi
A site to see was watching a member with her healthy, smart, and active 2-year-old. Her caring, kindness, warmth, and nurturing that were on display on the Reservation is what the world needs more of. She was a mother first, a fierce advocate, a best friend, a teacher, and the social director. She included him in everything and made it fun. She was not trying to get a break so she could entertain herself on mindless social media. She didn’t complain of her aching feet, her tiredness, etc. She was in the moment. He was less needy and less clingy than many adult members and guests from past years. He was front and center in the action and loved it. He fit right in with our group. Everyone pitched in to welcome him to the Reservation and the action. Present-time consciousness was the order of the day. This kid and his sister have indeed won the lottery with parents that get how important rearing kids are. It sets the tone for the rest of your life.
If this foundation is not laid in childhood, the overcompensations, compensations, and survival strategies become the struggles and suffering of your life. When you meet a person with cold or uncaring parents, there always appears to be something missing in them. Sometimes you can’t see it and other times, it’s painfully obvious. In our group, these members attend a training event or 2 and do some homework and reading, but the results are far from satisfying. They always keep others at arm's length. Academic or economic accomplishment will not heal this wound. They have a hollow, open wound or void that just smothers happiness and joy from their life. They aim for purpose and meaning and instead they seek but do not find. Look in their eyes and you see the absence of a caring mother.
No wonder so many practice members, friends, and lovers are so heavy and difficult to be around. You just can’t rely on them. They do not stand before you in truth. They will not go the extra mile. They have never been initiated into the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity. Practice members not showing up and not calling, complaining about raising kids, and reneging on giving their word are just a few examples of this all too common phenomenon. They use covid as an excuse not to deliver their best results whether they are shipping a product or delivering an adjustment. Have you noticed how many businesses still use the covid supply chain as excuses for not doing their best? Doing just enough has been elevated to a national pastime much like blankly staring at one’s phone or computer all day long. What if you are in love with a person who just wasn’t wanted or nurtured? You will find out the hard way that they will not hang in there for the long haul. They are off for the next BSO of love, pleasure, social media, or addiction. Or they will just quit on life with passive suicide or why bother attitude? Nothing seems to do it for them.
Go the extra mile. Override your reactions from your past history. Instead, live life via responses that override the paralyzing emotions that keep people from being open-minded and open-hearted. Like a rescue dog, it matters not if the kindness is reciprocated; do it anyway.
DCME Confidential
Question 1: My Level 2 wants paperwork to submit for reimbursement from their insurance company. What should I do?
Answer: Learn from this case. Go over the ground rules for each and every Level 2/DCME case. They will pretend they didn’t hear you and will ask for paperwork anyway. After a while, these cases all fall in line: people that actually want help and the pretenders.
Question 2: I just hooked a tuna and got a nasty paper cut when I ran their card because there were so many zeros: I have never seen so many!
Answer: Enjoy your battle scars and the badge of courage. You just got a glimpse of your future. It will feel foreign initially and then hook another and another after that. It will become your new normal.
