Are you Present?

The following anecdote is fiction but an excellent story to reflect on (apologies if you’ve heard it before) the importance of Being Present.

The town is flooding, and this man is on his roof, trying to avoid the rushing water right below him. A police boat comes by and wants to take him off the roof. He turns the offer down and says, “G-d will save me.” A few minutes later, an emergency boat comes by to pick him up. He again turns them down and yells, “G-d will save me.” The emergency crew has much work to do and continues looking for people to save.

Three more emergency boats come by, all shouting to the man to go with them. He turns them all down, screaming, “G-d will save me.” The water rises and sweeps him away to his death. He is now facing St. Peter as angry as possible, and he screams out, “I am a true believer in G-d, and I’m angry as hell. Why didn’t G-d save me?” St Peter calmly answered, “G-d sent several boats and people to save you, and you turned them all down.”

Apparently, the man drowned because he was unwilling to listen or understand that G-d did come to save him several times. Did his exercise of “free will” make those efforts unrecognizable to him? Was he expecting the almighty to make a personal appearance?

I have heard that G-d speaks in every possible way, through the sounds of wind, seas, the Mountains, forest, desert, and every existing language. And that HE/SHE speaks to mankind all the time. But we have also been given “Free Will.” And if so, all is explainable. G-d does communicate to us, but are we present? Do we hear, do we listen, do we understand? All this demands that we be present.

Are you present now? Do you hear what is spoken? It is your message.

Sy

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

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