A Fine Era… Yours… II

TUES., JULY 20, 1999, 11:27 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM

Yes, with news of problems in the earth at present, and with more to come, I’ll offer you another Teaching extolling (well, almost) this era that has been yours to “live in and contribute to.” You were a young child when the Great Depression swept the earth (about like that recurring picture of John-John saluting as his Daddy’s casket rolled by). You are left with some memories and impressions of the 1930’s, but, for you, these were almost entirely pleasant and positive.

You grew up in a small, two-child family and had close relations with your Dad’s parents, and with an aunt, uncle, and one cousin. With the exception of one ( 11:38 / 11:41 ) portion of a year you lived on the same street, in three different houses. It was a happy, fun-filled childhood, with an equally satisfying adolescence.

The Depression waned as World War II developed, and your country became a part of this conflict, on two “sides” of the earth. You were privileged to serve in that war, though not as a combatant. (This was somewhat bothersome to you, for you did sometimes envision yourself as a warrior.) This War (yours) was almost completely beneficial to and for you.

You had a good beginning on your under-graduate education, opportunities to be a collegiate athlete, commanding responsibilities (that you still can’t quite understand, in contrast to how most of your adult life has been), as well as the beginnings of service, outside of the recognized “leadership positions.”

Then your country was generous to its warriors, and you, happily, were included. You were able to complete your two graduate degrees without incurring personal debt or costing your parents anything. Appropriately, all through your adult life you have felt an appreciation for being included in this largesse and have had a desire to “give something back”. This has been one of your motivations in your long, successful teaching career, as it should have been.

You never did leave the Church, even as your spiritual life was not always evident to others of your age. As you were married and became a “family man” you returned to the Church and have been active, ever since. It is now appropriate for you to shed your leadership responsibilities, and finish your life as a happy, dedicated layman. The right opportunities may come in this last portion of your life. Awareness, no ka oe.

That incident on the “trek” to Church Camp in 1943 was, as you perceive it, the beginning of My active role in your life. I was with you as a Navy student… and didn’t agree with your mild desire to become a chaplain/minister. That wasn’t just right for you… and for Me. I also had to “arrange” for you to be part of… and come to love… Hawaiian culture, AND… to meet, court, and marry Lenore. The Punahou experience was a chance for you to be a coach (moderately successful), AND to come to love classroom teaching, AND to experience the spiritual as a part of school life (from Punahou’s missionary heritage).

Your working life has had a nice balance to it, with good experiences at Punahou and Stanford, and these leading on to this institution, the best place for you to mature and be appreciated.

You now live in an ideal setting, for you, as this era of yours winds down and the new one revs up. Your culture is still overly concerned with saving and prolonging individual lives, while also being a large factor in the deterioration of the earth’s environment, as a comfortable place for human life.

You look at the picture on the brochure for the “Sand book,” and it is nothing like what you have experienced here, this day. Yet it is worrisome when you turn on a faucet and the water pressure seems lessened. Is your source of water sufficient for your lifetime, your era? You hope so.