Door Number One, Two or Three?

Do you remember the game show of the 60s and 70s called “Let’s Make a Deal” with Monty Hall as the host?  His show was also during the era of Bob Barker of the “Price is Right” for several years, which I believe is still on television in the U.S.  I remember watching the prospective contestants dressed in all kinds of costumes bringing with them all sorts of things from their homes hoping to catch the attention of Monty Hall so they could make a deal to exchange what they had, for what was behind one of those doors.  Oh man all of us were hoping it would be a car and not a cow, or a washing machine and not something ludicrous.  Oh the show was hilarious everyday, “Leeeettt’s Make a Deeeeaaaall!!”  Oh and of course don’t forget the money he would have in his pocket.  Sometimes it would truly be worth the trade and other times not.  Of course you thought you knew better than the contestants because you’re on the outside of the television looking in.  LOL!  Anyhoo, I’ve been thinking about three other doors lately because I’ve outgrown my living quarters and must search for something larger.  No I don’t plan to win a cow from Monty Hall, but I do need space, the final frontier so I can have an occasional lunch or dinner with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.  

 

I’ve had a few people visit this small place and only two including the proprietor, who happened to be male, said I had too much stuff.  All the women agreed with me that I need a larger place.  Thank God for the eyes of women which see the big and bigger picture.  :-)

Depending on the eyes in your head you may say one of two things:  1) that I’m unorganized and cluttered or 2) this place is entirely too small.  Well I’m inclined to agree with number 2 for if you stayed long enough you would see there is a method to this seemingly madness.  I learned that phrase from my Richmond sisters a few years ago “there’s a method to my madness”.  What does that mean?  It means a place for everything and everything in its place.  It means that just because you cannot see your way through my maze, and just because you don’t understand my system doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense.  I have a method, a way of doing things, a system (my English teachers in VA would not allow us to use the word we were defining within the definition of the word etc. for it did not show them that we indeed understood the meaning. :-)) for maneuvering through not only this place, but the myriad things in my life that I must accomplish on a daily basis.  And so do you.  The question is:  have you chosen door number one, number two or number three:  Are you (am I) organized, disorganized, or unorganized?  Hmmmm.  (four m’s that time)

I love playing with words, but most of all I love understanding them so I can use them correctly, especially now learning again the language of another culture makes this extra important for me.  I wonder for instance why or how they can say “pourquoi” for “why” when “pour” means “for” and  “ quoi” means “what”, thus the equivalent of our “for what?”.  Why (hmm, pun intended LOL!) can’t they find or have one word that translates “why” rather than confusing us with “for what”, for we say “for what” also?  Okay, I’ve gone around the barn for a minute and yes, Monty Hall does have a cow back there so let’s deal with this topic.

Okay we know that the word “organized” is in “disorganized” and “unorganized” and it is the positive state of the three.  To be organized means to be. . . well, organized.  LOL!!  To have things in order, whatever those things may be, to bring about a happy conclusion most, if not all of the time.  I didn’t get that from Webster’s but I think you understand it okay.  If not, send me Webster’s definition and I will add it to the end of this blog as a footnote.  Now to be disorganized doesn’t mean there’s no organization at all.  It’s more like being MISorganized:  Organized in the not-so-best way for the task or mission you’re trying to accomplish.

 

For instance, one of my favorite passages in the Bible is when Jethro (nope, not from the Beverley Hill Billies) comes to see his son-in-law Moses who has just brought the Israelites into the wilderness out of Egypt where they had been in slavery for 430 years.  One day he observed Moses at work “judging” cases like in our judicial systems we know today.  It might have been an episode of Law and Order, or Law and Order SUV?  Or is it SVU? :-)  Moses was the judge, jury, stenographer, swear-in police, the cops with the handcuffs, you get the picture.  He was organized, but not in the best way, for he could not be everything for everyone.  It was taking him forever to get the job done.  He was really dis- or mis- organized.  He needed help reorganizing his way of doing things and his father-in-law, a Midianite priest had just the wisdom he needed.  He advised Moses to set up lower courts and judges, which we know our current judicial system to now be, at least in the United States.  Wow!!  What wisdom.  What knowledge of organization.  I could use a Jethro right about now.  So Moses took his advice and reorganized his method and it wasn’t so mad anymore.

That brings us to being unorganized.  Now to be un-something means to not be something, or to no longer be something you formerly were.  It has now been Undone for instance.  To be unorganized means there’s no organization at all.  The place, the room, the business, the group lacks organization (oh my English teacher would have my grade for this.).  Order!!!  There’s the word I’m looking for.  So for instance you’re forming a new choir and the folks are all excited and have come on time with their notebooks and mini-cassettes and MP3’s and you start the rehearsal singing a simple song everyone knows, but everybody is just singing what feels good to them and what is natural and you’re getting a cacophony of. . . noise.  Ahem.  Sounds like there’s no organization for no one knows really what they should be singing.  Maybe they are good where they come from, but for YOUR group they need to be. . . organized anew, afresh to meet the mission of your group, not the ones from where they come or don’t come. 

I’ll admit, some organization is better than none, in most situations, but sometimes it’s best to start at ground zero, for where there is disorganization the challenge is to prove that the current organization is not meeting the needs of the situation and the desires of the mission statement.  (Oh, yes there needs to be a mission statement for therein lies the goal of the organization in the first place.)  Something needs to change, as Marvin sang years ago, “a change is gonna come”;  but not by osmosis, accident & not by itself.  It must be done on purpose and with a goal in mind.  Otherwise why waste the time?  Those two males who thought I have too much stuff did not offer any real suggestions or solutions.  They just felt I needed to get rid of things not realizing everything I have is for a purpose.  They brought with them no mission statement for my organization, thus what they had to say didn’t help me much.  I  just  need  space. ;-)  You see, I refuse to purchase things for no reason and I refuse to add anything to my life if I have no where to put it when I’m not using it.  That’s the beginning of clutter and hoarding, and becoming a packrat.  Nada.  Pas pour moi.

Now, if I were unorganized, they would have grounds for their perspective, but truly I’m organized.  This is just one of those topics I wanted to share for those three doors, I mean words have been on my mind for some time.  If you drive or ride in a taxi or bus in Paris, not knowing how the traffic patterns work, you will believe there is no organization whatsoever to the department of motor vehicles here, and you will wonder how in the world do they avoid having more accidents than they do.  Well, there’s a method to their madness and to an outsider it is truly mad.  But to them, it’s just right and will be for many years to come.  Door number one, two or three?  Monty, I’ll take door number. . . hmmm

Su-Doku Part II: What's the rush?

Around these parts, I guess Paris that is, some of us joke that we’re not “Russian” but American when we’re running late from one place to three others.  Well I caught myself rushing when I didn’t have to, and I was sitting down.  Let me explain (somehow you knew that I would, so just go ahead and grab your cup of coffee or Merlot, Bordeaux or hot chocolate – depending on your geographical locale and time zone, and spend a few moments with me.).  As I worked another Su-doku puzzle this morning, I became cocky and over-confident and thus made many mistakes.  I seemed to be completing it faster than usual, and then I had to consult the answer grid to get me back on track.  En plus (that’s French for “in addition to that”) I was talking on the phone, or the other person was talking and I was trying to listen and pay attention to Su-doku.  Hmmm.  You don’t have to say anything, I can hear you thinking it.  Anyhooo, we will come back to that.

The answer grid shows us what it’s supposed to look like when we’ve successfully completed the puzzle.  Hmmm.  God’s Word – written and prophetic is our answer grid to ALL of life’s situations – it’s our answer grid, even for those things not specifically addressed in black and white, or red.  Let’s just skip around a little bit to keep it interesting.  You see in school when taking a test, to consult the answers before completing the test is called cheating.  But in God’s kingdom this is not the case.  He commands (not in a controlling way but with loving indignation, like a teacher who wants you to ask questions and learn well) that we look at the answers first, so we will know how to “study” and learn.  He’s not concerned that we be perfect in everything with no mistakes, as the conditions on which our human and earthly cultures are based.  God is more concerned that we really “get it!”  Got it?  He wants us to really “learn” the “material”, for instance “love one another as I have loved you.”  He wants us to be able to apply and use in practical ways the inspirations and revelations we receive from His Word and His Heart by His Spirit, to mature us, such as “speaking the truth to each other in love” and “putting away all lying and slander and gossip and bitterness, etc.”  Hmmmm. (four m’s that time.)

First of all, it’s been a long time since I’ve royally messed up a Su-doku puzzle, for I usually take it slow, or put it down when I get stuck, but this one jerked me back to reality and warned me of several things:

First of all (again?), it’s rude to the other person who’s talking to you for you not to be fully there when they’re speaking, whether by phone, chat room, or and especially face-to-face.  My training as a psychologist and counselor has taught me this well.  So I had to be reminded that I must not multi-task when it comes to listening to people unless truly necessary, and cooking too.  LOL!!  Secondly, don’t get cocky because of past successes.  Being over confident is just as bad, maybe even worse than lack of confidence.  How can I say that?  (I just did.  Okay.  Ahem)  Well, because you can get on a roll and roll right on down the hill with Jack and Jill and before you know it all the water in your pail is spilled, your crown is broken, and voila! your insurance premiums go up!!  That’s it in a nutshell.  Anyhoo, you’re no longer in control and where you stop rolling, nobody knows!!  LOL!!

Third, or is it thirdly?  (Where are all the good English teachers of days gone by to keep us writing and speaking correctly?)  Don’t be too proud to check the answer grid every once in a while to keep errors to a minimum.  Keep short accounts with yourself, others and with God.  When you’ve not heard from a friend or loved one in a while, why not drop them an SMS (or an SOS), or an email and ask “how ya doing?”  Check your emotional, mental, and spiritual temperatures, blood pressure, weight, teeth, etc. every once in a while to see if you’re on healthy track.  Preventative maintenance can keep us from becoming high maintenance.  :-)

Finally, Su-doku humbly admonished me to slow down.  What’s the rush?  Su-doku is not necessarily a game you have to speed through (unless of course you’re competing with a friend or yourself and the clock).  For me I use it to slow down and empty my mind from all the multi-tasks I must do.  So why did I mess up?  I think I told you already, but since you asked, now you must start back at the beginning for obviously you did not get it the first time.  I messed up because of Cocky Pride in Speedos (no, not a man, just a play on words.)  LOL!!

As I live from day to day the clock continues to tick forward.  Even if I take out the battery time will not stand still for me.  So I’d rather make the most and best use of my time and other resources by doing whatever I’m doing, the right way the first time.  There’s not always enough time for back-tracking, so I must not get in a hurry to be on time when I’m already late!  “Haste makes waste.”  And if I’m on time, then there’s no need to rush, right?  Sometimes I envision falling down the stairs chasing after a train and missing it anyway, but now with a possible injury, or damaged luggage etc.  It’s just not worth it.  Thanks again Su-doku for preventing another possible disaster.  This is another lesson well-taught and well-taken, and for me, one well-learned.  Hey, if you can avoid becoming part of the cattle call running through the metro and chasing buses, etc. then do.  Pace yourself, and even schedule yourself if you must.  (No I’ve still not mastered this, but I will continue working on it until I do, because it’s so important as we get younger.  We cannot afford unnecessary accidents, etc.)  What’s all the rushin about anyway?  I’M not Russian.  I’m American.  “Head ‘em up!  Move ‘em out!  Rawhide!"