The snowy slope beckons you to a fifth joyful trip. You align your sled with well-worn path. 

   "Wait!" your friend shouts through the winter wind. "Let's make new tracks – be pioneers!"

   Why would your friend would offer such a silly idea? 

   The old tracks are always easier. That is why it is so difficult for most to shatter old patterns even if those patterns bring mediocre results.

   New solutions are only found on new pathways.

   Consider inventors, artists & revolutionary leaders including Jesus.

   One pattern etched into our psyche is hatred of enemies. Jesus was attacked as dangerous partly because he disdained the ancient doctrine of an "eye for an eye…" & proposed a new track to heaven, "Love one another."

   Radical loving care challenges primitive instincts. "Attack enemies," we are told. No wonder Trump is popular with some. Asked on an evangelical radio show to name his favorite Bible verse Trump bypassed Jesus' gospel in favor the simplicity of primitive instincts.

   "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth…!" Trump trumpeted. 

   Old patterns, including hatred, die hard because they seem easy. Why try Love? It is difficult, challenging & the only path worth taking. 

  -Erie Chapman      

New Yorker Cartoon by John O'Brien