Off Course Maneuvering…
photo from shutterstock
Hey Y’all,
New content today. This is partly review, partly real time and mostly future planning out loud. The purpose of this article is to publicly plant my flag in the ground so that all of you will hold me accountable. If you are reading this, then you know me. And if you know me, then you know that I am inherently lazy. I would prefer to sit on the couch and dream about changing the world rather than actually putting in the work, but here we are so here we go.
Last year, I did a year long, relatively intense, Biblically based leadership study with eight other men. Before I was asked to be in the group, I had a very strong feeling that I was stuck in that proverbial rut and while nothing was wrong, there was something more I needed to do. The study required me to read twelve books over the course of the year and we did monthly projects that aligned with the readings. The April reading was a book called “Visioneering” by some guy named Andy Stanley. Apparently, he is a big deal in the Christian world but I am not really into that world. I have enough issues to deal with so I leave the fanboy stuff to other people. I did reach out to him via email. He needs a better staff because their reply was less than encouraging or motivational. If anyone knows him, you can tell him that one day he will call me asking to join forces. I will be nice, probably, but I will really try to personally answer all my emails.
photo from Andy Stanley.
I was deep into the book, between page six and ten when a thought flooded into my mind about Haiti. I have never been to Haiti, my wife has a couple of times but she is a better person than I am. Anyway, this was more than a random passing thought. I was a complete, very detailed, overpowering vision of what Haiti could become if there was corporation and collaboration between relief efforts and groups. If I am very honest, it still freaks me out when I think about the vision. A friend described it as driving down the interstate in a hard rain. The windshield wipers can’t keep the water off the windshield and it is impossible to see anything farther than the hood of the car. And then you drive under a overpass and everything is clear as day. A second later, you are back in the rain storm but you can’t forget how great it felt to see clearly.
So what have I done with this vision? I spent a couple of months just processing it. Then I spent a couple of months investigating if there were any other organizations out there doing what my brain saw. So far, I haven’t found anything like it. I have spoken to about ten people, some I knew and others I didn’t about it and no one has ever heard of something like it. I organized a small handful of people that I totally trust and asked for their guidance and prayers and they have helped me navigate the beginning steps of starting a non-profit organization.
The next steps involve money. In the vision, i felt a overwhelming sense that this was to be totally self-funded. I started a business to help generate some extra income. It will work out in the long term but in the short term, there are some hurdles to jump getting a logo and website and starting the non-profit and things like that. But that takes time to work into the budget. You will see some communications about Sou Vyzion from me in the future. Sou Vyzion means About Vision in creole. The domain name has been secured and I will be starting a blog soon.
The other thing, I that I need to go to Haiti. I need to get my feet on the ground. I need to see what it looks like. Experience what all the other people who travel there experience. I can’t fight the feeling that if I am going to be taken seriously, then I need to have been there. I need to sweat on their soil, eat their food and share in the discomfort. When I wore a uniform, I found it hard to respect a Colonel who never deployed and openly bragged about it. I don’t know when I will go, but it probably needs to be soon before life gets busier with other things.
What could possibly go wrong? photo from yahoo.
This has been an emotional article probably because it is so personal, overwhelming, humbling, and intimating. Those are not adjectives that I work well with my persona so I will leave you with my Haiti Theme song. I think everyone needs a theme song. When we were in Iraq, my personal theme song was “Creeping Death” by Metallica.
Make no mistake, this is a war just of a different nature. Fairly soon after I had the vision, not sure when but close enough to connect the vision to the song, “Vice Grip” by the Australian metal band, Parkway Drive. played on my Spotify. I am a big fan of the band but haven’t seen them in concert. It isn’t Christian music and it isn’t totally over the top metal either. It is a video with airplanes and fire, so that is cool. The guys from Parkway Drive are not the long hair types so that is different, no babies or animals were sacrificed and it really isn’t dark and disturbing so it is safe for all ages and persuasions.
If you decide to save that four minutes for something else, the Chorus is:
Hope for the hopeless
A light in the darkness
Hope for the hopeless
You’ve got one life, one shot
Give it all you got
Together They Thrive! photo from some really brave dudes.
Until next time, keep on rockin!
robakers 