What Is Important?

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What Is Important?

FTLComm - Tisdale - Friday, November 16, 2001

human
decision
making
Perhaps this is the most difficult question of all and when you look at the lives of the people you know, those whom you hear or read about, you discover that almost every decision made is based on the determination by individuals and groups of individuals, of the ultimate importance of some activity or idea to them. Human behaviour is dependent upon human decision make, or at least that is what we would like to think. By conscious or unconscious awareness people do or do not do, the things that make up the minute by minute, or hour by hour activities, that fill their waking lives.

being themselves
I was profoundly moved by the forthright and candid responses to journalists questioning of the two American women who had been working in humanitarian aid projects in Kabul, Afghanistan when they, with six others and fifty local people were arrested for spreading Christian doctrine in that country. First and foremost it was clear that these two women were absolutely and totally guilty of that charge. Both women live their faith and have determined in some part of their lives that to them, religion is really important and they are committed to their beliefs. It is most likely that their solid belief system lead them to do humanitarian work and to live their lives as they have done. They were condemned, charged and imprisoned for being themselves. The horror of this story is that we do not know what became of the local Afghan people who were imprisoned at the same time as the eight foreigners, but it is reasonable to assume that all or some of them are no longer alive.

Victoria
Secrets
Some times the determination of what is important is not as well thought out as was seen in last night's press conference by the two released prisoners of the Taliban. Their time in prison gave them opportunity to think through what they are about and for most people little time is devoted to analysing their own behaviour. I call your attention to another event that took place on television last night and it seemed so ironic that it should be happening almost at the same time as the press conference in Pakistan. But in New York City a multi-million dollar company that depends upon the sale of women's underclothing was holding their third annual televised fashion show. Curiousity and advertising made me click on ABC leaving the CBS series CSI and the few minutes I viewed the programme were definitely more than enough.

sexuality
There is no question whatever, that human sexuality, is a very high priority in the lives of every individual. Sexuality, like survival needs like warmth, food, air and safety, is not something that we may be conscious of as it is so primal in the order of things. What struck me aside from the ridiculous appearance of those skinny women (by the way, I felt that the show was vulgar, those women would have looked much better without anything on rather than the weird stuff they were wearing) was the over all amount of time, energy and expense that would have gone into such a production. News coverage mentioned the special TV show commenting that this kind of specialty clothing would account for enormous economic activity between now and Christmas and less than 10% of the purchases would be by men.

conscious
Once again the determination of what is important may or may not be a conscious process but definitely the resulting behaviour does have consequences.

fun
About a decade ago a British pop singer, Cindy Loper, had a little hit song called "Girls Just Wanta Have Fun". The song emphasised the need for enjoyment and among all people, the need for enjoyment and pleasure is a major component. What is perhaps most disturbing is that so few of us realise just what it is in life that is fun. We are easily influenced and accept the suggestion that doing this or that is "fun". One of the best things to identify is what is "not fun" that will go a long way in helping a person enjoy one's self.

not
fun
I suppose I should not have been surprised, but I was, when I discovered among teenagers with serious alcohol dependency that so many of my clients, (I was working as a counsellor) explained to me that they had tried marijuana and would never have anything to do with it again. These individuals were people who had voluntarily come to me for personal counselling as part of their programme of rehabilitation and all were in some alcohol treatment programme. When asked why they disliked marijuana they reported individual after individual, that it frightened them and they feared "losing control". These were teenage girls who frequently suffered loss of consciousness from excessive alcohol consumption, but feared the loss of control experienced with smoking pot.

drunk
driving
Here in Saskatchewan we are grimly aware of the problems associated with people attempting to "have fun". Fun is a basic need, yet single car and alcohol related traffic accidents, kill Saskatchewan people at a rate that boggles the mind. The confusion of what is important and what is life, are blurred as individuals make conscious decisions to place their lives and others at risk and slip into a drivers seat of a vehicle when they are well aware of their reduced capacity.

you
decide
While guilty of the very thing I am condemning, the message of this editorial is to tell you to check out your priorities and get a clear grasp of "What is important." Others, like me and advertisers, preachers, parents, broadcasters, people influencers of all kinds, will try to influence you and urge you to make something specific a priority in your life. Ultimately, you and you alone have that responsibility, but do your best to make that a conscious decision. Think it through, discuss important things with people you trust and who will listen to you, for in your discussions you will hear yourself telling what you think is important. You really need to know. Understanding your motivation, the goals you have, the needs you have, will help you set up your priorities and access appropriate action and in-action.

Timothy W. Shire



`What Is Important?`

FTLComm - Tisdale - Friday, November 16, 2001

human decision making	Perhaps this is the most difficult question of all and when you look at the lives of the people you know, those whom you hear or read about, you discover that almost every decision made is based on the determination by individuals and groups of individuals, of the ultimate importance of some activity or idea to them. Human behaviour is dependent upon human decision make, or at least that is what we would like to think. By conscious or unconscious awareness people do or do not do, the things that make up the minute by minute, or hour by hour activities, that fill their waking lives.

being themselves	I was profoundly moved by the forthright and candid responses to journalists questioning of the two American women who had been working in humanitarian aid projects in Kabul, Afghanistan when they, with six others and fifty local people were arrested for spreading Christian doctrine in that country. First and foremost it was clear that these two women were absolutely and totally guilty of that charge. Both women live their faith and have determined in some part of their lives that to them, religion is really important and they are committed to their beliefs. It is most likely that their solid belief system lead them to do humanitarian work and to live their lives as they have done. They were condemned, charged and imprisoned for being themselves. The horror of this story is that we do not know what became of the local Afghan people who were imprisoned at the same time as the eight foreigners, but it is reasonable to assume that all or some of them are no longer alive.

Victoria Secrets	Some times the determination of what is important is not as well thought out as was seen in last night's press conference by the two released prisoners of the Taliban. Their time in prison gave them opportunity to think through what they are about and for most people little time is devoted to analysing their own behaviour. I call your attention to another event that took place on television last night and it seemed so ironic that it should be happening almost at the same time as the press conference in Pakistan. But in New York City a multi-million dollar company that depends upon the sale of women's underclothing was holding their third annual televised fashion show. Curiousity and advertising made me click on ABC leaving the CBS series CSI and the few minutes I viewed the programme were definitely more than enough.

sexuality	There is no question whatever, that human sexuality, is a very high priority in the lives of every individual. Sexuality, like survival needs like warmth, food, air and safety, is not something that we may be conscious of as it is so primal in the order of things. What struck me aside from the ridiculous appearance of those skinny women (by the way, I felt that the show was vulgar, those women would have looked much better without anything on rather than the weird stuff they were wearing) was the over all amount of time, energy and expense that would have gone into such a production. News coverage mentioned the special TV show commenting that this kind of specialty clothing would account for enormous economic activity between now and Christmas and less than 10% of the purchases would be by men.

conscious	`Once again the determination of what is important may or may not be a conscious process but definitely the resulting behaviour does have consequences.`

fun	About a decade ago a British pop singer, Cindy Loper, had a little hit song called "Girls Just Wanta Have Fun". The song emphasised the need for enjoyment and among all people, the need for enjoyment and pleasure is a major component. What is perhaps most disturbing is that so few of us realise just what it is in life that is fun. We are easily influenced and accept the suggestion that doing this or that is "fun". One of the best things to identify is what is "not fun" that will go a long way in helping a person enjoy one's self.

not fun	I suppose I should not have been surprised, but I was, when I discovered among teenagers with serious alcohol dependency that so many of my clients, (I was working as a counsellor) explained to me that they had tried marijuana and would never have anything to do with it again. These individuals were people who had voluntarily come to me for personal counselling as part of their programme of rehabilitation and all were in some alcohol treatment programme. When asked why they disliked marijuana they reported individual after individual, that it frightened them and they feared "losing control". These were teenage girls who frequently suffered loss of consciousness from excessive alcohol consumption, but feared the loss of control experienced with smoking pot.

drunk driving	`Here in Saskatchewan we are grimly aware of the problems associated with people attempting to "have fun". Fun is a basic need, yet single car and alcohol related traffic accidents, kill Saskatchewan people at a rate that boggles the mind. The confusion of what is important and what is life, are blurred as individuals make conscious decisions to place their lives and others at risk and slip into a drivers seat of a vehicle when they are well aware of their reduced capacity.`

you decide	While guilty of the very thing I am condemning, the message of this editorial is to tell you to check out your priorities and get a clear grasp of "What is important." Others, like me and advertisers, preachers, parents, broadcasters, people influencers of all kinds, will try to influence you and urge you to make something specific a priority in your life. Ultimately, you and you alone have that responsibility, but do your best to make that a conscious decision. Think it through, discuss important things with people you trust and who will listen to you, for in your discussions you will hear yourself telling what you think is important. You really need to know. Understanding your motivation, the goals you have, the needs you have, will help you set up your priorities and access appropriate action and in-action.

	Timothy W. Shire