Bulldozers and Different!

All of us are unique. We have a way of looking at things in life from our own perspective.  With a bulldozer at your disposal, there is no truer statement than “it is a matter of perspective.”

I have sat in countless meetings listening to attendees attempt to convince others to;

- change the way they do their job

- change the way the team or department processes information,

- change the system they are currently using

- change where they get information from

- change what information they use

- change, change, change, change, change, and change

I can list hundreds of examples, but I believe the point here has been made. Everyone has an opinion about what can be better and how their way is the better way.  You hear this at work, at sporting events, in politics, and in religion.  Interesting enough, none of us will ever have an impact on most of those things.  However, at home and at work all of us can have some level of influence on change.  A story from my childhood really brings this into perspective.

When I was younger, much younger, say pre-teen, my grandparents purchased a small farm not too far from home. Many of my weekends were spent with my grandfather clearing brush, cutting down trees, running barbed wire fence along the property lines, mowing pastures with a tractor and brush hog, building ponds, and just hanging out together.  A boy outside in nature, getting dirty, using his hands, operating big machinery.  What more could a young lad ask for?  By the way, this was before Xbox, Nintendo, PlayStation, Wii, video games, and even Atari’s Asteroids.

Anyway, for years there was not a month that went by that my grandfather didn't see a backhoe, or a front loader, or a bulldozer for sale along the road to the farm.  He was really fond of bulldozers.  And every time he saw one he would make a statement along the lines of "if I had that bulldozer, I could do this or change that or make something different".  As I said, this went on for several years.  Then one day during a family gathering, my grandfather again made mention of a bulldozer he saw for sale just up the road and what he could do with it there on the farm.  Well, my dad or my uncle chimed in on his "If I had a bulldozer" scenarios and ask him a simple question, “if you had that bulldozer, would all the things you are talking about doing make things any better?” 

Take a moment to ponder that question.  How often do we find ourselves talking about what would make thing better. Or, at the very least, we find ourselves suggesting that by doing this or that, things would be better.  Think about it for a moment.

Well, my grandfather being the calm and reserved man that he was, and still is today, pondered the question presented to him. After a timely amount of silence, he responded with some of the most profound words that I, as a young boy, had ever heard in my life.  My grandfather, with a look of professorial wisdom simply said, "I don't know if it would be any better around here, but things would sure look a whole lot different."

There is not a week that goes by that those words of wisdom my grandfather spoke many years ago do not come to mind.  They apply to so many things in my life, from home to work, from government to church, and you fill in the blanks.  I find myself extending them beyond the original setting, and applying those words with humble respect to day-to-day living, "if I were in charge, I do not know if anything would be any better, but things would sure look a whole lot different."

Mixing is some profound words from a humble clown, Red Skelton would close each of his shows with the following! "It’s a lot of fun to try and make people laugh because regardless of what your heartache might have been, while laughing for a few seconds you have forgotten about it. I personally believe that each and every one of us was put here for a purpose and that is to build and not to destroy. And if by chance someday you’re not feeling well, you should remember some silly little thing that I’ve said or done and it brings back a smile to your face and a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled."

So in the spirit of a great clown, Red Skelton, and with unending respect I have for my grandfather, if there are times that you find yourself, or hear someone else, recounting the ways that they would make things better, and you remember my grandfather's words ("I don't know if it would be any better around here, but things would sure look a whole lot different"), then the message I hoped to communicate was fulfilled.

Humbly