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Blog 549 – 02.18.2017
Reach Out And Touch

The incomparable Diana Ross had many hit songs with The Supremes and on her own. One of my favorites said:

“Reach out and touch somebody’s hand.
Make the world a better place if you can.”

Whether you believe Jesus of Nazareth was born of a Virgin,  walked on water, raised the dead  and even himself or not, hardly anyone disagrees that he touched lives and that his teachings about love and forgiveness have made this world a better place. I do not believe in institutions, but I do believe in a Person, the highest and best in everyone of us. To me, that is God made flesh and dwelling in us and among us.

Jesus had a gift for moving a crowd but he did his best work as we all do, one on one. There are many stories in the New Testament of his personal encounters with individuals. He had a personal relationship with many people that he met and knew. And yet there is something deeper than a personal relationship. I read a book several years ago that moved me and touched me on many levels. It is called The Impersonal Life by John Benner. When originally published about a hundred years ago the author was listed as Anonymous. If you read it I think you will understand why.

When you have been touched by the Impersonal and we all have been you are never the same. You cannot just go back to sleep and pretend that you are not here to do something really important. I heard an alarming statistic yesterday that life expectancy for middle aged white people has actually gone down in recent years after steadily rising for many years. And the cause has been named “Dispairing of life.” Suicide fast with a gun or overdose or slower with alcohol and drug abuse resulting in liver and various cancers is rapidly eclipsing automobile accidents and heart disease as the major cause of death for this metric – white people between the ages of forty and fifty four usually without a college education. The statement was made that many of these people were prescribed opioids for pain and then became addicted and now must substitute street heroine for prescriptions they can no longer get or afford for one of the Oxy compounds. The medical professional went on to say that one could get a cheaper high on street heroine that even alcohol today.

What is the answer to this terrible loss of an entire generational subset? Christians say Jesus, Muslims say Allah, Jews say God, Scientists say education. I say a touch of The Impersonal Life. Read the book to see if you think I might be on to something.

Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White