The Tribune

By Canon S Sebastian Campbell

THE most appalling issues of our generation are stress and burnout. The wave of domestic violence is shocking. Men kill their lovers and claim they cannot recall when, how or why it happened. They trip; drugs and alcohol are primary culprits that are blamed.

It is true that persons who ought to love us the most are willing to take it even unto cruel senseless death. By extension we can take this argument into child abuse, sexual offences and so on. Most of us Bahamians are committed to some grouping, primarily the church and endless others like Kiwanis, Rotary, political parties, etc.

In which of the groups do we experience personality disorder?

So many Bahamians seem to have some axe to grind. They don’t care who they hurt in the process or the institution they wreck. So many are guilty of destroying institutions they love simply to settle a personal score. Many Bahamians cannot deal with authority; this is at all levels. They support only their cliques, and only function if their local clan leader is in charge of a given project.

An author once wrote: “Half of all beds in our hospitals are reserved for patients with nervous and mental troubles, patients who had collapsed under the crushing burden of accumulated yesterdays and fearful tomorrows. Yet a vast majority of these people could have avoided those hospitals – could have led happy, useful lives – if they had only heeded the words of Jesus: ‘Have no anxiety about the morrow’.”

Many try to live in two worlds. At any given time we stand at the meeting place of two worlds: the past and the future. The meeting place is called present. We cannot possibly live in either of these worlds in the present. But by trying to do so, we can wreck both our bodies and our minds. Herein lies the problem to many wretched minds.

In the late 1980s, I developed ulcers. What an unwelcome guest! It wakes you up every morning to say, “Hi, I’m your thorn in the flesh” Such a guest, we learn, does not just show up making a surprise appearance. We call it up; we lay the red carpet for its procession into our lives. When we fail to find happiness at the meeting place of past and future, destructive demons will be our constant companions.

How often are we at the wishing well? We try to wish into existence that which must be worked into existence or accepted simply as not being God’s will for us.

What are some of those penetrating wishes? Some single women wish for husbands. So many Bahamians wish to get rich quickly. Some lazy persons wish to pass exams for which they are not prepared to study. Some wish for ideal children while giving the ones they have no Christian upbringing. All wish to go to heaven, but patiently wait for a deathbed to do preparation.

One thing so tragic about human nature is that we tend to put off loving. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our homes today.

Why are we so foolish? Stephen Leacock appropriately wrote: “How strange it is, our little procession of life. The child says, ‘When I am a big boy…’ But what is that? The big boy says, ‘When I grow up.’ And then, grown up, he says, ‘When I get married.’ But to be married, what is that after all? The thought changes to ‘When I’m able to retire’. And then, when retirement comes, he looks back over the landscape traversed; a cold wind seems to sweep over it; happiness is in the living, in the tissue of every day and hour.”

The following nuggets are inspiring:

• The rule is jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today. Most of us are like that, stewing about yesterday’s jam and worrying about tomorrow’s jam, instead of spreading today’s jam thick on our bread right now.

• French philosopher Michel de Montaigne said, “My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened.”

• Another writer said, “This day will never dawn again. Life is slipping away with incredible speed. We are racing through space at the rate of 19 miles every second. Today is our most precious possession. It is our only sure possession.”

• One more: This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

In conclusion ask, “Do I sometimes embitter the present by regretting things that happened in the past that are over and done with? Or do I get up every morning determined to seize the day; to get the most out of the day. It’s the present, that is why we can more appropriately refer to it as a present.”