The Mystery that is out there (week 5)

I like a good mystery. I like trying to figure it out. I like that excitement that comes along with the challenge of sorting through observation and facts. I like seeing what is going to happen.

As a kid my parents made sure we did not have a lot of access to television. So, I read many books. The series that grabbed my attention the most was The Hardy Boys.

The Hardy Boy series is about two brothers who become detectives. They have friends who join in with them on the mystery’s. They have a boat and a cool car. Their dad, Fenton Hardy is a famous detective. It’s an interesting series. They solve crimes and mysteries. They live a life of adventure and prosperity. They get out there and do it.

I wanted that kind of life. I wanted to do some mystery solving. I wanted a convertible. I wanted a boat. I wanted to get out there and live.

When I was stationed at Walter Reed Army Hospital, working as a chaplain. One of my supervisors pointed out that I need to relax a bit. He wasn’t wrong. I had just came back from Afganistán and I was still a bit wild.

I didn’t exactly like the Army medical world but orders sent me there so I was doing all I could to be good at being there. Things were relaxed, I wasn’t. They used polite kind language, I liked the way that the Infantry folks talked. I was like a fish out of water in the Army medical world.

I can still recall the rainy morning when I realized that my supervisor was right about my need to relax. I had rode my bike into work and I was soaking wet. As I was locking the bicycle up on the veranda outside the main building of Walter-Reed, I saw an NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) walking up out of the rain using an umbrella. He was dressed in full uniform yet he was using an umbrella. I could tell by his badge that he worked in the hospital. Next thing I knew I was loudly and clearly enunciating how wrong he was. I tore into that senior NCO like a tornado goes through the forest. The Army at that time had strict rules about uniforms. One of them was no Umbrellas in uniform. I gave that Soldier the Full Metal Jacket treatment. I think I even channeled my Drill Instructor from Fort Benning.

Later, when I thought about it. I was a bit embarrassed. I tried to find that NCO and ask for forgiveness. I never did find him.

I knew that my supervisor was right and I needed to relax at least a little bit. I just didn’t know how to do it. I was flooded with questions to ponder.

How do you get to a place where you can relax? How do you change? How do you destress?

I knew that for each individual the journey is different. My journey with prayer. After prayer meditation and then I needed more.

I thought about how I liked to figure things out. I used to try and figure out how I could push my body to new boundaries. But back issues were side lining the physical workout aspect of life.

Reading mystery novels was one of the ways I relaxed as a kid. But by the time I was stationed at Walter Reed I was no longer a kid. I was reading but not for fun, pleasure, or relaxation. I read for work.

I read books about pastoral care. I read journals and articles about psychology. I immersed myself in studying Family System Theories.

One day, shortly after giving that dry, umbrella using NCO, the verbal instruction of a lifetime; I was in the library looking for a book. Instead of the book I was looking for the Hardy Boys series caught my eye. I checked out book one. I went to a quiet place, ate a snack and started to read.

I was instantly transported back to my childhood. Once again I was the tall, skinny kid who was more interested in fictional characters than the real people around him. I read the book. At first it was hard to sit down and enjoy. I mean I had a job, a wife, a doctoral thesis to write. I didn’t have time to sit and read for fun. But I forced myself to do so.

The kid I had once been revived again. I read several of The Hardy Boys books. I began to realize that I had done some cool stuff. I had lived some great adventures. And somehow, almost magically I began to relax and enjoy life again.

There was certainly a process. It was not instantaneous. Nothing happened immediately. But in time I was better.

I’m back to enjoying mystery. The mystery of the next day. The mystery of what will happen next. This is my life. I should be enjoying it. It’s gonna end soon enough and in the meantime I am committed to doing all that I am able. So, I might as well stay calm and have some fun doing it.

I suggest you do the same. The Hardy Boys books may not be your thing but something is. Don’t neglect searching for that which is your thing. And when you find it and it brings you joy then keep doing it. Don’t stop doing what is good, pure, and right.

Keep it up. Keep going. Keep yourself on track. Get out there and explore the mystery of life. Get out there and see what will happen. As Captain Ron says, “if it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen out there.”