On Worry And Concern

Today's post is indirectly posted as a result of recent events.  Not so much about the events themselves, but from the ramification of said events.

Perhaps said differently, about worry and concern and "The End Of The World as we know it".

Over the course of my life, I have been concerned about a great many things.  Some of them were significant world shaking events.  Some of them were constrained to my small circle of the world.  Some of them just involved me and my own issues.

In almost every case, the worry and concern that I had never manifested itself into anything that amounted to anything.

Well, not precisely true.  I did get myself worked up a great deal and spent a great deal of emotional energy on things that ended up either not impacting my life at all or having minimal impact.

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One of the great realizations of adulthood is how little influence we have on most things.

We cannot influence the weather no matter how badly we would like it to cooperate with our planned activity.  We cannot directly influence the policies of governments or companies if they have decided to take particular actions (yes, we can vote, express our opinion, vote with our wallet, etc. - but if an organization of any kind has set its mind to a course, it conveniently forgets to listen).  We cannot influence events of world shaking impact from our homes on Sunday (as I write this), staring a cup of lukewarm coffee.

We can worry about them.  We can shout to the sky about them and (nowadays) post on Social Media about our anger or concern or worry or "This is it!" We can even react to the situation by taking actions which are not very helpful or even sensible but somehow make us feel like we are doing something (like, for example, suddenly stockpiling toilet paper).

We can do a great many things which have no impact, but make us sick with worry and fear and concern.

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We can pray of course - and well we should, for we are commanded to.  But even in those prayers we are asking for God to act on our behalf in accordance with His will, not our own.  And God's plans are certainly not our own; I myself have spent a great deal of my life learning just how far my plans are misaligned from His.

Strangely enough, His plans very often have little to do with my own concerns and anxieties of current things.

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Beyond that, what can I do?

Well, be aware of course in general.  But not aware to be fearful, but aware to take actions as they can be taken.  But not out of fear or anxiety, out of measured concern.

Carry on, as the British said in World War II.  Events may very well overtake us all.  On the other hand, I could die in a car crash coming home this week (a perhaps far more likely scenario) or one of the many local volcanos could erupt.  I cannot control those events.  Neither can I control any of these.

But not worry. Or be completely dominated by any concern or hang breathlessly on the latest news report or social media outburst.  After all, it is often not the event itself which can cause harm, but the unthought through and panicked responses that can create the most damage. 

Being lost happens:  wandering off and getting lost or setting fire that burns down the forest hardly helps us get found all the quicker.

A Year Of Kindness (IX): David And Mephibosheth

Of all the stories of kindness that may exist in the Old Testament, the one that comes most clearly to my own mind is the story of David and Mephibosheth.

The story itself is in 2 Samuel 9.  We find David at the height of his kingship.  The kingdom of Israel has been unified after a civil war.  His enemies abroad have been defeated.  God has made a covenant with him that man of his lineage will sit on the throne of Israel forever. This is prior to his series of sins that results in adultery, murder, civil war, and the death of some of his children.  He was, as the saying goes, at the top of his game.

At this moment, he calls for a former servant of Saul, a man named Ziba.  "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?"

It is likely (although not recorded) that at this moment David is remembering his friend Jonathan, the son of King Saul, who at great personal risk to himself supported David against his father.  He likely remembers Jonathan telling him during the time when King Saul was pursuing him to kill him "You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you.  Even my father Saul knows that." (1st Samuel 23:17).  David is now king over Israel but Jonathan is long gone, killed by the Philistines and his bones buried.

One wonders if Ziba hesitated for a moment - after all, ancient dynasties were not kind to potential heirs or even those that sheltered him.  Perhaps with a trace of nervousness in his voice, he replies "Well, there is one.  He is lame in his feet though." - as if to suggest that he represented no threat into the king.

The king asks further "Where is he?"  Again, perhaps a bit of nervousness in his voice as Ziba replies gives him a location (in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel).  In Lo Debar, which literally translates as "nowhere".  

David commands him to be brought.

One can only imagine what was going through the mind of Mephibosheth as he slowly walked his way in the presence of the king.  A crippled son of a defeated dynasty, it was likely drummed into his head from his early youth that he was to hide everything about his heritage.  He would have known the fate of defeated dynasties (everyone did).  It is likely that he lived in some level of fear of discovery, hoping that he could simply disappear in the location of Nowhere.

And now, the king calls him.

One can imagine the scene:  King David on his throne, his guards and advisors around him, appearing every inch the chosen of the Lord.  A slow cadence of clicks from a cane or walking stick comes through as Mephibosheth enters the hall with Ziba.  Mephibosheth slowly gets down (he is lame, after all), prostrates himself in front of David, and waits.

"Mephibosheth" says the king.

"Here is your servant" replies Mephibosheth.

What was going through David's mind at this moment?  How much of his friend Jonathan does he see in his friend?  Does he remember the good times in Saul's court, Jonathan saving his life, Jonathan seeking him out in his distress and reassuring him?

The next words out of David's mouth were likely not at all anticipated by Mephibosheth - or any one else.

"Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually." (2 Samuel 9:7)  Later on, David re-emphasizes the fact:  "As for Mephibosheth,", said the king, "he shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons". (2 Samuel 9:11b).

This was not the response anyone expected.  No-one in their right mind kept defeated dynasties alive as the chances were that they still had supporters.  At best, Mephibosheth might have expected exile from Israel. Instead, he is offered wealth and privilege and recognition and a home in the capital of the kingdom.

And so it was that Mephibosheth, the lame son of a defeated dynasty, came to eat at the king's table like any other of his sons while the estates of his grandfather Saul were farmed in his name (that part did not last of course; David was a pretty bad judge of character overall and took the false word of Ziba in his retreat from Jerusalem.  Mephibosheth remained faithful though, not eating or caring for himself until David was restored to power.  See 2 Samuel 16: 1-4 and 19:  24-29 for more details).  

Every day, effectively for the rest of his life, Mephibosheth was a living example of the kindness of David to everyone who sat at that table.

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The lessons are, I trust, not too hard to glean from this.  Replace the name of David with "God" and the name of Mephibosheth with "Your Name Here", and this becomes reflective of the grace that God grants to all of the saved every day:  we, the failed children of rebels, marred by sin and scars often of our own making, living in our own version of Lo Debar (Nowhere), are invited to eat at the table of the King along with His own Son.

An extreme kindness, one might think.  

Grace.  Rather amazing.

February 2026 Grab Bag

 It is genuinely hard for me to believe that it is already the end of February.  The year is 1/6th past already, and I feel I that I have both seen profound change and nothing has happened at all.  It strikes me both as odd and completely normal.

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Our lease has come up for renewal at New Home 2.0.  There are more options now:  Month to Month, 9 Month, 12 Month, 15 Month.  Our rates have not gone up in two years, which surprises me a bit to be honest, given that one hears so often about the housing market being impacted even here.  We have gone ahead and elected to extend for another 15 months, which puts out past midyear 2027 if for no other reason than to lock in the rate; at this point there is no indication that we would move before then unless something significant happened (it always might, of course), and I would rather run the risk of that than have my rent go up, especially in these rather inflationary times.

Besides, even with The Ranch likely closing, we are still no closer to a permanent landing point than we were before.  And, the thought of moving again is not attractive at this time.

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There is no word on contingencies falling off The Ranch yet.  The process of notification is underway regardless - one way or the other, we need to be ready.

Beyond that, the things I need to plan are getting a storage locker and finding a mover to get the last stuff out of the barn.

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In what appears to be a reversal of the last 6 years, my travel agenda largely falls off after June (with a single flight in August for my hike).  I have effectively dropped from at least one flight somewhere a month to no flights currently on calendar (see exception above) until possibly the Christmas holiday.

I do not know that I mind that, but I know that at some point it will be a definitive change.

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It is shocking to me that I only returned from Japan three weeks ago.  Like normal, it feels like a lifetime ago.

Odd how time works.  In some ways - other than the pictures, obviously - it feels as if I never went.  How quickly ordinary life takes back over.

An Extra Nickel And A Parking Lot Penny

 Some weeks ago I found myself at a local store procuring a needed item.  I was using cash as in this case, the timing of the purchase along with the event would make it highly suspect as to what I had done and when I had done it if I had used a credit card (a fancy way of saying perhaps I failed to plan). The item, when rung up, came up to X dollars and 99 cents.  I put in my appropriate amount of cash.

Instead of getting a penny back, as I have for my entire life, I got a nickel back.  The screen read "Total tendered:  $X.05".

Welcome, I realized, to the world of the life without the penny.

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This was not the first time I had seen this, of course.  "Exact change is appreciated" comes up more and more at stores that accept cash.  I had at least one cashier dig out of the previously known as "penny jar" to make up the difference.  I had another cashier do as I had seen here, effectively enter an overpayment as "received" so they could give me a nickel.

I wonder how long until "the penny jar" becomes an archaic phrase, to be trotted out in movies about previous eras where the young of that day will look and marvel.

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Japan, interestingly is still very much a cash society. Like us, they have small change:  1, 5, 10, 50, 100 Yen coins (also 500 Yen coins, but those are not nearly as common).  Like us, Japan has tax on everything.

Japan takes their small change very unseriously in one sense: the 1 yen coin, for example, is made of aluminum and is considered virtually useless.  For a traveler, they collect like pocket lint if you spend enough time in a combi-ni (convenience store).

For better or worse, they seem to have come up with a unique solution.  1 Yen and 5 Yen coins are apparently the most desirable to place in offering boxes at Shinto Shrines and Buddhist temples.  

It certainly helps clean out the pockets at the end of a trip.

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This past week as I was crossing a parking lot, I stumbled across a beat up penny in the parking lot.

The penny was scarred and had some kind of gunk on parts of it - but still clearly a penny, so I picked it up and popped in the cup holder of my car to allow it to dry.

While pennies may be disappearing, a penny saved is still truly a penny earned.

A Year Of Haiku (VIII): Confusion

"Winter or Springtime?"

the daffodils ask, bathed in 

snow and sun and blooms.

2026 Japan: Tokyo At Large

 Because we spent most of our time training, I do not have a lot of "tourist" pictures to show of Tokyo proper.

The view from our hotel room.  The building in the center sits squarely in front of Mt. Fuji:

At night:

A street not too far from our hotel:

The trees are light up, I think, to replicate cherry blossoms:

Tokyo Tower from Asakusa:

We have been to Asakusa, including Sensoji, several times (here, here, and here) so I did not take many pictures there (we went on our annual shopping expedition for tabi, obi, sword supplies, and souvenirs):

However, the nearby Shino Shrine was preparing for Setsubun, the last day of the Lunar Winter.  There were several stalls selling food.  

We tried amazake, which is a sweet fermented drink from rice which is non-alcoholic.  It was delicious!

(As a note, it was lucky we went when we did.  The next day on Sestsubun there were 15,000-20,000 people here!)

The temple lit up.  We suspected the lanterns were sponsored by local businesses:

Lanterns with The Great Wave off Kanegawa, painted by Hokusai:

Leave it to me to find the rabbit:

2026 Japan: Dinners (III)

 A third set of Japanese dinners.

A restaurant near our hotel.  I do not know that it had a particular speciality.

Starters:  Pickles and fish:

Also a starter:

This was billed as a "Korean Salad".  I was very excited, as this was the first "salad" I had in a week:

Maguro (Tuna):

Miso Karaage:  Japanese fried chicken.  In this case, the batter included miso.  It was unbelievably good:

It was in fact so good that we went there for our closing dinner!

This time I had Oden, a one pot dish consisting of broth and various boiled ingredients.  It included fish cake, boiled egg, chicken, potato, and lotus root:

More maguro... 

...and more karaage.

Our dessert this night was a strawberry cake to celebrate a birthday:

For our last night, The Ravishing Mrs. TB and I went to...Italian food.

Pasta with smoked salmon, lemon, and clams:

And a soft caramel ice cream dessert!