The Greek term metanoia denotes a change of mind, a reorientation, a fundamental transformation of outlook, of man's vision of the world and of himself, and a new way of loving others and God.
I previously wrote about one of my favorite movies, "YES Man". You can change your life by answering YES but learning from those indiscriminate YES's create a path for unintended consequences.
There's the classic story of a young up and coming singer. The voice coupled with his guitar playing and Elvis type looks made him the perfect front man. The Golden Tones even cut a 45 record to sell along with their local bar tour. It was kind of a big deal back in the 50's and 60's to have a 45 record made. The golden voice of the Golden Tones was just out of high school and JFK would soon be elected president. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country", you know that guy. History and Yes's matter but time is the ultimate curator of the story. It appears that 2025 will be the year JFK's story will be revealed.
Our talented Golden Tones front man had a pretty young girl friend who also was just about out of high school. She loved following her "music man" to all his local venues. Not old enough to get into these venues, somehow being with the band averted attention to enforcement of the local ordinances.
It was probably around Valentine's Day, right after Kennedy's inauguration that the sweet young girl said Yes to her music man. That Yes was later followed by an "I DO" in May of that year. It seems that the Yes led to, at the time, an unintended consequence of pregnancy, a Lutheran Church wedding, and the creation of a family. Not to mention the pause in the "music man's", just enough to pay the bar bill, touring gig.
The up and coming "King of the Road" hit the road to start his family, find a home, and seek gainful employment to support that family. Eventually he found his way to the local U.S. Army recruiting office. No one knew it at the time but a conflict, later referenced as the Cuban Missile Crisis, was on the horizon.
King of the Road's sweetie gave birth to a healthy baby boy and after baptizing him in that Lutheran Church, followed her "music man", with the help of family, to Louisiana to start training for the next stage of the musical called, Life. Her music man's golden voice and guitar helped them make life long friends in that small Louisiana military base, and everywhere their little family went.
Many of those friends and family still called him, "King of the Road", I just called him dad.
A few years ago a famous musician explained to the world that even after taking all the necessary precautions to prevent pregnancy, an IUD and a great gynecologist, she still got pregnant. She felt her decision to obtain an abortion in 1979 was paramount to her group's continuance. Life really is about the "YES's and NO's".
I couldn't convince my dad to say No to hospice care in 2025, and try to fight the growth on his kidney. I think the four years of suffering and loneliness had taken its toll. His sweetie had passed 4 years previous. Now I get to explore my life as an orphan, husband, father, and grandfather. To contemplate the love behind the YES's and I Do's is to honor my father and mother, as they say miracles happen every day.
Thanks to cell phones I was able to record my dad at an open mic night. He's singing my mom's favorite song "Welcome to My World". My son, dad's grandson, is on drums, my son's buddy is on bass and a family friend is on steel guitar. My mom had a "word art" sign in their apartment that read, "Music is what feelings sound like". A lived metanoia life has so many divine appointments that gratitude seems like an insufficient word.
