October 1 – A Word from the ARFF Conference - “M.U.S.I.C.”

I prayed the invocation at the International Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Conference yesterday.  It was quite an impressive event.  Well, at least the opening ceremonies were impressive.  The chairman of the board of the group welcomed the fire chief and me before we got started.  Very amiable guy.  He told us there were people at the conference from all over the world.  Last year a group came from Tibet.  This year Nigeria and Nepal were represented.  He shared that with us to communicate with me that there might be some Muslims or Hindus in the group.  Not that he was asking me to change what I said in any way.  In fact, he made sure to say that when he goes to another country he expects them to “fly the flag of their country.”  But when they come to our country, they need to “expect to respect the way we believe.”  His final comment was this, “All I’m saying is, there will be some folks here who don’t believe like we do.  But when your family’s plane lands in Nepal, you want the airport to have good fire fighters.”  Interesting way to make the connection back to the training conference, but I wholeheartedly agreed with him.  Of course, as I told Chief Wisko, if my family is on a plane that is landing in Nepal, something has gone seriously wrong. 

The keynote speaker was a motivational speaker who works for Southwest Airlines.  The emcee gave him a brief introduction, then a guy came up from behind a screen and proceeded to give a second, more detailed, and much more … how shall I describe it … glowing introduction.  As he finished, he pointed off stage, started down the steps in the direction of his point, then made an abrupt turn and returned to the microphone.  Yep.  He had introduced himself.  His comment?  “There’s nothing quite like having your biggest fan introduce you.”  Well, OK.  That set the tone for the rest of his talk. 

His topic was … loosely … fun.  He went on for well over an hour.  I had to leave before he finished, but he did say some really motivational things, which I guess was the whole point, right?  One of his segments involved choosing the right music to manipulate your mood.  He collects music based on an acrostic MUSIC. 

M (motivate) – music with fast tempo and lots of bass, like the Rocky theme, to get you going and excited. 

U (unwind) – music with soft volume and slow tempo to help you relax in rush hour traffic.

S (smile) – Very simply, music that makes you smile, like The Mississippi Squirrel Revival.

I (I love you) - songs that remind you of that special someone you care about (in his words, frisky songs).

C (communicate) – songs for when you want to get something across but if you just said it, they wouldn’t listen to you.  Kind of a confusing designation, but it made a lot of sense.  He said country musicians were masters at this sort of thing.  Songs like “If My Nose Was Runnin’ Money, I’d Blow It All on You” just tend to communicate the essence of an emotion.

I particularly liked his challenges.  One was that you not allow the words or actions of other people to affect you.  How can you handle it?  Remember, it’s not about what the person says or does, it’s about the story you choose to tell yourself about the situation. 

Run into an annoying person?  Don’t think that he’s out to get you personally.  Instead create a story about how he escaped from Arkham Mental Institution in Gotham City and was now an arch-nemesis of Batman.  The story can go on for as long as you can be creative.  Before you know it, you are feeling sorry for him instead of being angry and letting him steal your joy. 

Oh, and one last thing that really helps me … Always have something on your calendar that you are looking forward to.

James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Father, thank you that the joy you give is not limited by circumstances.  Amen.