I'm almost finished reading 'Midnight in Chernobyl: the untold story of the world's great nuclear disaster.' It's the 4th historical account book that I've read in 2019 and my reflection on these books is why I read them. They are pretty interesting but the thing I enjoy most is how I mull over these life-changing pressurized situations they describe and think about what I would do. If you don't know the story of Chernobyl, I'll grossly oversimplify it. A nuclear reactor exploded in Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986 and the Russian government had no idea what to do while the effects of nuclear fall out crippled an entire region. It was apocalyptic. Early in the book they take the time and try and explain the science behind nuclear physics, nuclear reactions, and nuclear meltdown. I'll give the book credit, it explained it just well enough that when I read it I thought, 'Holy crap...that would be devastating!' I could feel the magnitude of nuclear physics. The intensity of the book hinged on the reader understanding how catastrophic uncontrolled nuclear reactions are and it accomplished that objective. I read the rest of the book in a minor panic because, well, holy crap that was devastating!
There are 'nuclear' things in our lives. These are things that are complicated and nuanced and hard to understand or explain. These are things that must be handled sensitively because if they go well, life goes well, and if they do not go well your life goes into melt down. When these things start to go awry, all other things pale in comparison. The magnitude of these things must be respected.
What struck me about the disaster in Chernobyl was that it was predicated by a casual handling of something that had such awesome power. I don't even blame the workers because for days, months, and years they watched dials and charts and nothing happened. They became numb to the magnitude of nuclear reactors. Sounds a lot like the important things in our life sometimes doesn't it?
For me and my wife, raising our children to be great people was a 'nuclear' thing. The quality of their character affects the peace in our home and the hearts of us their parents. It affects the quality of their school hallways, their future marriages, places of employment, churches and ultimately society. It has serious magnitude. One of the ways I tried to treat this important area was to to make sure they heard certain things from me that would instill in them a sense of security and confidence. I've tried to tell my daughters they are beautiful every single day. I've tried to tell my son I'm proud of him every single day. Sometimes, it's a nickname I give them or a short text I send. Some days, it's much bigger and more elaborate than that. But I always pay attention to it.
I think that's how this post ends. Pay attention to the things that have massive magnitude in your life. They yield enormous power.
There are 'nuclear' things in our lives. These are things that are complicated and nuanced and hard to understand or explain. These are things that must be handled sensitively because if they go well, life goes well, and if they do not go well your life goes into melt down. When these things start to go awry, all other things pale in comparison. The magnitude of these things must be respected.
What struck me about the disaster in Chernobyl was that it was predicated by a casual handling of something that had such awesome power. I don't even blame the workers because for days, months, and years they watched dials and charts and nothing happened. They became numb to the magnitude of nuclear reactors. Sounds a lot like the important things in our life sometimes doesn't it?
For me and my wife, raising our children to be great people was a 'nuclear' thing. The quality of their character affects the peace in our home and the hearts of us their parents. It affects the quality of their school hallways, their future marriages, places of employment, churches and ultimately society. It has serious magnitude. One of the ways I tried to treat this important area was to to make sure they heard certain things from me that would instill in them a sense of security and confidence. I've tried to tell my daughters they are beautiful every single day. I've tried to tell my son I'm proud of him every single day. Sometimes, it's a nickname I give them or a short text I send. Some days, it's much bigger and more elaborate than that. But I always pay attention to it.
I think that's how this post ends. Pay attention to the things that have massive magnitude in your life. They yield enormous power.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on
being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read
about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few
degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school
sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated
most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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