Here are a few of our favorite Big Ideas + Other Cool Stuff from Week 4 of Jason Barger's 6-week course, Step Back from the Baggage Claim.
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The Context
This course is based off of the globally celebrated book Step Back from the Baggage Claim by Jason Barger. Jason spent seven straight days flying 6,458 miles to seven different cities - without leaving the airports the entire time! He studied 10,000 minutes of observations at all four corners of the U.S. and reflected on how our airport experiences can teach us about our lives TODAY.
The airport metaphor leaps to life through funny and inspiring stories that remind us how to change our daily world through compassionate action. In a busy and mobile world, Step Back from the Baggage Claim is a refreshing call for Servant-Leadership, Mission, Culture Change, Innovation, and Social Responsibility. This book has sparked a worldwide movement of people committing to travel gracefully in the world.
Here are a few of our favorite Big Ideas from Week 4 - Cast Down Your Bucket Where You Are
Big Idea #1: Security Lines
There's an interesting moment that always happens when people stand in security lines at an airport. At some point, there's a fork in the line. Everyone has to choose which way to go.
Once they choose, they pick out a person that choses another direction. And then they start comparing their progress to that person. "Are they moving faster than me? Did I make the right choice?"
We gauge our progress in this way all the time, comparing ourselves to our neighbors, friends and co-workers. "Is my house as good as theirs? My car? My children?"
We've been doing this since we were children, trying to match what the cool kids at school are wearing and doing. We even compete with ourselves, striving to embody an idealized image of who we want to be.
Finally, we waste a lot of time looking towards the past. "If only I had made a different decision, I would have been so much further along by now!"
A key practice in life is to recognize when we are standing in the security line and comparing ourselves. We can walk out of that line any time we choose.
Big Idea #2: Cast Down Your Bucket Where You Are
Instead of being trapped in the security line mentality, how can we focus our energy on what is right here, how can we dedicate ourselves to the things we've been called to make manifest in the world?
For the answer, we turn to the words of Booker T. Washington, who spent much of his life fighting for the well-being of African Americans in the 19th century. When he looked around and tried to understand how African Americans could uplift themselves from centuries of slavery, he found a powerful call to action. He challenged people to "cast down their buckets where they are."
This meant that each person in the community would have to start exactly where they were, no matter the circumstances, and give everything they had to improving each other's lives.
These people could not look towards what others had. They had to cast down their buckets where they were and start working to create a better world.
Today, the world is still far from perfect. Once again, we have to take up the challenge to cast down our buckets where we are and start working to improve it.
Big Idea #3: Fall in Love With Today
Casting down our bucket where we are means falling in love with today. If we could truly give all of our love to this day, what would that mean for our relationships? What would it mean for our lives?
Falling in love with today is about gratitude, about seeing the opportunities that life is giving you, instead of only seeing obstacles and stones that will trip you up.
We live a life of bounty and privilege. Recognizing and celebrating this will help us fall in love with each day. We are blessed with an abundance of food. The mere fact that we have spare change puts us in a better situation than 75% of the people in the world. We have a roof over our heads. And we possess many freedoms that are denied to millions of people around the world. It is a privilege to be a father, a friend, a person who is in a position to help others.
Our life is filled with privilege. Let's savor it. Let's fall in love with today.
Other Cool Stuff:
Click here to join our community site, where we've setup a group to connect with other students in Step Back from the Baggage Claim!
We hope you enjoyed and we'll see you in week 4!
-The en*theos Team
