Skip to main content

Fear and Change

When Brezhnev was elected to the party secretariat he brought his mother to the Kremlin for the big celebration.  There he gave her champagne and caviar.  Waiting to hear her remarks, she said nothing.  So Brezhnev then took her to the party headquarters and there had the best cocktails and caviar surrounded in a bright, modern room.  Still she said nothing.  Then Brezhnev whisked hr off to his hunting lodge with all mahogany paneling, his own private chef and stock of vodka.  Still his mother did not say a word.  Finally Brezhnev exclaimed, “Why don’t you say anything about this?”
“Well,” she said, “Just be careful that the communists don’t come back to power.”

As days pass and we grow old it becomes more difficult to face change and remain unfearful of the past.  When the past still haunts us we cannot fully live in the present.  This is our challenge in the days ahead, to move past our past.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Contact

“Between 1305 and the early 1800’s. the House of Taxis ran a form of pony express service all over Europe….   Its couriers clad in blue and silver uniforms, crisscrossed the continent carrying messages between princes and generals, merchants and money lenders.” –Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave We may think we are the first generation consumed by rapid communication but we are not.   Throughout our history it has been a priority. Of course, now in the 21 st century we must ask: are we better or worse for it?

Speech

  “To say the right thing at the right time, keep still most of the time.”     John W. Roper Those who get in trouble most often are those cannot seem to keep still, remain silent.  Life teaches many lessons.  Among the best lessons of life is one my father taught me at an early age was, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.” The contributions we make to life via our mouth are many and varied.  Most of the time, I reckon, they are not contributions at all, but things that diminish the richness of life.    

The Price of Misjudgment

“If a man does not judge himself, all things judge him, and all things become messengers of God.” – Nachman of Bratslav ”If I do not accept responsibility for the evil I do, the very earth will rise up to judge and condemn me. The stars, the trees in the wind will provide sentence…”   -Julius Lester