Reminds me of Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Soft heart doesn’t mean weak heart—soft heart means living heart.
Excellent reflection, Chris. It's impossible to lead well when your heart hardens to protect itself from pain. Healthy boundaries aren't walls—they're doorways to more wholesome relationships. Thank you for reminding me that emotional strength begins with well-managed vulnerability.
Insightful, well-thought out piece, Chris. There's a lot of pain and suffering out there. More than I suspect most folks fully understand. It can be tempting to turn our backs on the human race at large. It's easier to assume everyone is a bad guy waiting in the wings to perpetrate something horrible. It's an act of trust to open up our weird little worlds to others. I believe the average American adult default mode is stuck on "guarded". America was supposed to be a place where most people thrived. Now, things seem so difficult for so many. We're doing something fundamentally wrong. We fail to make life easier on ourselves. You'd figure an advanced society could accomplish that easily. You'd laugh if I shared with you the coincidence that happened to me back in the Summer of 2006. I am not someone who celebrates any organized religion myself. But I'd like to think there's some force that unites humans across the world. God... The Force.... Energy.... Whatever you label it and however one recognizes it... It seems like people have forgotten they're a part of it. Evil is real. I've stood up to it in my own life. Evil is winning right now. It wants people to be afraid of one another. It wants people to think and assume the very worst. I suppose the best we can do with our remaining time on this planet is our best to bring some kind of redeemed social or economic condition to light for ourselves and others. If get to have this amazing life I have, then why don't others as well? Something is out of balance. A gear has been knocked loose in the machine. Will folks learn that nobody is coming to help? A reinvention of American life is necessary. To what? And to what end? We're failing our children right now. One day when they age, they'll look back and be upset. It's adults responsibility to inherit the future a better deal than the one they have in front of them. We're not doing that. You said you were genuinely interested in what I was writing. I'm not 100% sure why. You seem to have formed a nice community here on Substack. I wish you the best of luck with it. Everyone has an innate need to belong to something greater than themselves. That begins when we're 5 years old. Take care of yourself, Pastor.
Respectfully,
Pick :)
(A trilingual licensed high school teacher of 14 years experience who worked in upscale districts, public and private, as well as inner city, now an entrepreneur of 16 years experience, who was once invited to be an undercover narcotics detective captain and a military intelligence officer [both roles declined as I'd rather shoot stuff with words and cameras than with guns.]
Dude Pick! Love this and thank you for such a thoughtful response. I could not agree more and for me I have always wanted to make sure I don’t come off as religious because that really isn’t the point, the point is the journey of life and we all have to take it… and also as you said for what purpose… for our children and for the greater good America was supposed to be… sadly it just became an extension of the system that ensures economic slavery much like its root of the Roman Empire. My only answer I have found is personal, family, and micro environment (those I actually encounter) legacy. Appreciate you and can wait for more conversations
Appreciate this, Chris. Cheers. Looking forward to more of your stories. All we can do is find that cozy little tribe and snuggle in. I knew a Catholic priest long ago who died at age 99. Father Nick. I wrote a post about him. He said we can only help one person at a time. He was well-loved man by secular and religious folks around Boston alike. He was a friend of mine a long time ago. I miss him. He'd be beside himself by the state of affairs of the world today. Peace, dude. 🙏🏻🔥🤟🏻
Reminds me of Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Soft heart doesn’t mean weak heart—soft heart means living heart.
Yes, it is also counter cultural these days with all the tough talk… Jesus was tender yet strong
Excellent reflection, Chris. It's impossible to lead well when your heart hardens to protect itself from pain. Healthy boundaries aren't walls—they're doorways to more wholesome relationships. Thank you for reminding me that emotional strength begins with well-managed vulnerability.
Thank you my friend, great to meet you
I am keeping a close eye on my team to make sure there are no “Suzy’s” in them!
That’s the scariest concern for me but it’s also the reason I hired for morals instead of performance.
I taught them the work from scratch but since I know I can trust them, I am damn happy!
This is great,
Love it
Insightful, well-thought out piece, Chris. There's a lot of pain and suffering out there. More than I suspect most folks fully understand. It can be tempting to turn our backs on the human race at large. It's easier to assume everyone is a bad guy waiting in the wings to perpetrate something horrible. It's an act of trust to open up our weird little worlds to others. I believe the average American adult default mode is stuck on "guarded". America was supposed to be a place where most people thrived. Now, things seem so difficult for so many. We're doing something fundamentally wrong. We fail to make life easier on ourselves. You'd figure an advanced society could accomplish that easily. You'd laugh if I shared with you the coincidence that happened to me back in the Summer of 2006. I am not someone who celebrates any organized religion myself. But I'd like to think there's some force that unites humans across the world. God... The Force.... Energy.... Whatever you label it and however one recognizes it... It seems like people have forgotten they're a part of it. Evil is real. I've stood up to it in my own life. Evil is winning right now. It wants people to be afraid of one another. It wants people to think and assume the very worst. I suppose the best we can do with our remaining time on this planet is our best to bring some kind of redeemed social or economic condition to light for ourselves and others. If get to have this amazing life I have, then why don't others as well? Something is out of balance. A gear has been knocked loose in the machine. Will folks learn that nobody is coming to help? A reinvention of American life is necessary. To what? And to what end? We're failing our children right now. One day when they age, they'll look back and be upset. It's adults responsibility to inherit the future a better deal than the one they have in front of them. We're not doing that. You said you were genuinely interested in what I was writing. I'm not 100% sure why. You seem to have formed a nice community here on Substack. I wish you the best of luck with it. Everyone has an innate need to belong to something greater than themselves. That begins when we're 5 years old. Take care of yourself, Pastor.
Respectfully,
Pick :)
(A trilingual licensed high school teacher of 14 years experience who worked in upscale districts, public and private, as well as inner city, now an entrepreneur of 16 years experience, who was once invited to be an undercover narcotics detective captain and a military intelligence officer [both roles declined as I'd rather shoot stuff with words and cameras than with guns.]
Dude Pick! Love this and thank you for such a thoughtful response. I could not agree more and for me I have always wanted to make sure I don’t come off as religious because that really isn’t the point, the point is the journey of life and we all have to take it… and also as you said for what purpose… for our children and for the greater good America was supposed to be… sadly it just became an extension of the system that ensures economic slavery much like its root of the Roman Empire. My only answer I have found is personal, family, and micro environment (those I actually encounter) legacy. Appreciate you and can wait for more conversations
Appreciate this, Chris. Cheers. Looking forward to more of your stories. All we can do is find that cozy little tribe and snuggle in. I knew a Catholic priest long ago who died at age 99. Father Nick. I wrote a post about him. He said we can only help one person at a time. He was well-loved man by secular and religious folks around Boston alike. He was a friend of mine a long time ago. I miss him. He'd be beside himself by the state of affairs of the world today. Peace, dude. 🙏🏻🔥🤟🏻
can you tell I am originally from a California surf town “dude”? Father Nick… sounds like his legacy lives on… that is a rare gift
Nick was beloved by many people. He was a very talented guy.
Cali, huh?
I've been to Santa Monica twice. My brother Paul used to live there.
In and out burger is no joke!
Tubular, dude! 🤙🏄
Great article and been there done that and got the Tshirt and wore it for too many years then Jesus ripped the Tshirt up for me😎💃
Yes my tshirts are hanging I the way back of the closet lol 😂
Thank God huh? We don’t have to wear them anymore 💃
Might need to have a bonfire soon 😂
You are funny 😆 💃