Jack’s Winning Words 3/3/14
“Don’t fight the problem, decide it!”  (George C. Marshall)  A song by the Everly Bros begins, “Problems, problems, problems.”  The 2nd verse, “Worries, worries, worries.”  Problems and worries seem to go together.  Geo Polya, the “Father of Problem Solving,” suggests 4 steps.  #1 Understand the problem; #2 Devise a plan; #3 Carry it out; #4 Evaluate the result.  The Everlys sing that “love” is the answer.  Any ideas?    ;-)  Jack

 FROM HONEST JOHN:  I remember my Dad saying, "Don't just stand there, do something." ====JACK:  ...or, "Don't just sit there like a bump on a log."

 FROM THE PSYCHOLOGIST:  And worriers need to remember that they are only allowed to evaluate something ONE time. Evaluate, learn, create an action plan, and then leave it behind.====JACK:  You've probably heard this response..."Yeah, that's easy for you to say!"

 FROM TARMART REV:  "Patience, patience, patience."====JACK:  Did you ever baptize someone named, Patience?  There were a couple of singers, Patience and Prudence McIntyre, who were famous for one hit song, "Tonight you belong to me."

FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  Accepting (not condoning) situations and circumstances is one of the first and last steps -- in my opinion. Quite often it leads to the recognition that the "problem" is beyond my capacity to alter. That provides for more of my attention to those that are. What is the definition of a "problem" anyway...when I am not getting my way?====JACK:  Problem, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.  What bothers you is not necessarily what bothers me.

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  First one must decide "Who's" problem it is.  Most times,  it's someone else's problem and not even yours to solve.  Identify the owner first and if it is you, then proceed.  I tell my kids all the time...."That is not your problem; you can't solve someone else's problem."====JACK:  I guess it's like I'm trying to do today...to give some help (advice) on what to do when "you" have a problem.  As the song goes..."That's what friends are for."

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  I can imagine that Geo.C. Marshall did a lot of problem solving in his day!  As it says in Proverbs 12, "An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word lifts, and cheers him up"  Mark Twain is credited with saying, "Kindness is a language that  the blind can see, and the deaf can hear."   If LOVE is the answer, can KINDNESS be far behind??!====JACK:  I wonder if Marshall's quote was from his days as a general or as the Secretary of State?  In what way do you think that love might be the solution to the current Ukrainian - Russian problem?====OAKS:  It seems that the Ukraine is irrevocably split...they are really two different countries in ideology right now.One side content to live under Russian rule, the  other definitely pro-west. If the voice of love could prevail in that situation, or Syria, I'd proclaim it a Miracle! The U.S. eventually "healed" after the Civil war, but it took years and years. I'm sure many never felt love for the North, and vice versa. Love and Politics don't seem to be compatible bedfellows!!
ARGHH!====JACK:  I wonder what Jesus meant when he talked about "loving" your enemies?  WWJD?