Sometimes it is fun to look back. My blog has few posts from ten years ago but here is what I posted nine years ago, two days before Christmas of that year
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Promising investment
I am thinking of applying for a grant or a business loan to start a tv station. It might not work out. I am thinking of broadcasting The Nothing Channel. It will show nothing. The cooking program will offer recipes for a nothing breakfast, lunch or dinner. We will set a nice table and bring in a platter of no eggs and no bacon.
In "Oh, God!", John Denver is in hot water, on trial for defaming and damaging a hot and popular TV evangelist. We know he was doing exactly what God instructed him to do but others, including his wife, have strong or even stronger doubts. Denver is representing himself in the trial, against the repeated advice of the judge. When it is his turn to present his witnesses, he stands and says," Your Honor, I call as my witness Almighty God." There is a stir but nothing happens. Denver says that even though no one has appeared, there was a second when everyone anticipated the possibility that the Living Presence might actually appear, there in the room. He appeals to everyone to consider the possibility and states that he himself had that event happen to him.
When I bring in a platter of no eggs and no bacon, making clear that the empty platter is not eggs and not bacon, it helps for a second, doesn't it? For a second, we can all see eggs, fried or scrambled just as we like, on that platter. We can see and smell strips of bacon, extra crispy or rather limp, the way we want it to be. We can take a millisecond to consider if we really like eggs or if having them has just been a habit or a custom, maybe one it is time to change.
It helps to have no lunch for a minute or no cup of coffee. It helps to stop, pause. I like the fact that wide use of symbols, such as for start and more impressive, for pause:
for Start and
for Pause.
Imagine having having a symbol for Pause, one that is getting international recognition! Sure, many societies have trumpeted energy, initiative, take-action strategies but others have long emphasized the value of pausing. A pause button will merely suspend the action, freeze it. Re-pressing it to remove the pause will get you going again just where you left off. You won't lose your place but you will have gained perspective and refreshment.
The Nothing Channel will remind its audience of the Pause button and the value of using it. It will invite the audience to Pause an advertisement, maybe using the moment of silence to consider if the product being hawked is really one that will be likely to improve our lives and fit comfortably in with the dozens of other objects in our lives.
Watch for announcements of The Nothing Channel's Grand Opening and save your pennies to get yourself an investment in a piece of the action. It's going to be nirvana.
