VITAL INGREDIENTS (Part 2 of 4) DEVOTION de⋅vo⋅tion n.
1.
profound dedication; consecration.
2.
earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc.
3.
an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009. de·vo·tion
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. ==================================================== Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent (*bold emphasis added). The slogan, "Press on," has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race(*when he who presses on does so with the right motives and right goals). Calvin Coolidge (& *D. R. Staton) ================================================================ "Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." ... Last week we covered discipline... 1. DISCIPLINE - LEARNING BY CAREFUL EXAMINATION AND OBSERVATION, ADHERING TO A STANDARD. This week we cover devotion 2. DEVOTION - SETTING YOURSELF, SINGLE MINDED, SINGLE GOAL ORIENTED, NO DETERRENCE ALLOWED. Discipline and devotion are the same things as persistence and determination... Devotion is the quality of a Peace Keeper that allows for single mindedness when on the field... No distractions are allowed... Private life is laid aside during the time of duty... Thoughts are disciplined to stay on track with no wandering... Interruptions are quickly put aside... Attention is focused... The head and eyes become as a radar scanner, constantly sweeping the areas all around. They see what others usually do not see... The senses are keen and sharpened... They hear things not heard by others... And by their experience and their education, they know so much more than others think they know... To one who has learned discipline and devotion, details stand out... Anything out of place is seen and noted... If in a crowd or group, there is still the ability to conduct self and all senses as though literally alone... Things that are not in keeping with peace and safety are quickly noted... Movement to handle the problem is deftly achieved... If the Peace Keeper is part of a pair or team, all members of the team keep themselves constantly aware of the position and condition of their team members... If one moves, they move as a unit even if separated by space and/or people... Problems are quickly and efficiently resolved and often so quickly that crowd members or others present have little time to react to intervene or hinder the actions... These two... Discipline and Devotion. working together, are two of the four major tools for success of mission and life... And survival if survival is possible. I grew up in backwoods poverty. Assigned tasks were done to expectation or they had to be done over again. If not completed there would be no food, no water, no heat, no comfort... Discipline was handed out if assigned tasks were not completed satisfactorily or if forgotten... Rewards were granted for faithfulness in completing assigned tasks. Discipline self... Or be disciplined!!! Early learned skills were shooting long guns (later I took up archery), hunting and fishing. Squirrels are very intelligent, sharp hearing, sharp sighted creatures. You get no fried squirrel if they see you before you see them. They are adept at use of camouflage and deception. If you lose sight of him, he seldom re-appears where you think he will be... And unless you are a very good shot, they are hard to kill. I began hunting them at the age of ten. Mountain Trout are my favorite fish. They love fast moving mountain streams, bubbly water and sometimes deep pools and dark overhangs. You must learn their likes in order to get them to go for the bait. You must learn how to sneak up on them and you must learn what might attract their attention. Hatchery raised and stocked trout are not too smart when first put into the stream but if they survive the first days of the season they begin to learn and they have to be enticed. The fisherman must also learn to be quiet and stealthy approaching a quiet stream and not to splash water anytime. When one learns how to fish for the smart ones then the fisherman is blessed with the beautiful pink, tastiest meat you can imagine in a fried fish... And he definitely has to be dipped in egg, rolled in corn meal or cracker crumbs and fried just so. I found that miniature white marshmallows and grains of yellow canned corn were often my most successful baits in the fast moving waters where I fished for these Trout if my earthworms were not enticing to them. These two adversaries taught me to be careful, quiet, patient and attentive in order to take them home as my prize and my meal. Successful hunting and fishing of these types takes discipline and devotion to develop skill and gain success. It is the same when one hunts the law breaker or the enemy on a battlefield. Discipline and devotion gain the advantage when learned and practiced. Discipline and devotion when achieved give the greatest chance for success. The hunter of animals, fish and humans must be disciplined and devoted to his intended duty. Success can only be achieved through their controlling, guiding skills. The infantry soldier knows this... The sniper knows this... The successful patrol officer knows this... The adept investigator knows this... These first two ingredients must be connected with and practiced with yet two more ingredients... They will be discussed in the next two messages. Peace Keeper, I have considered you often in these days just passed... I have thought on you and prayed for you and all of your loved ones. The future of this world and this nation is vitally dependent upon you, your skills and your actions. My Commander-In-Chief and I are eternally grateful and appreciative of who you are and for what you do. You are the cement, mortar, bricks and blocks that make up the foundation upon which we have built and will continue to build. We cannot keep what we have nor continue to build if you are not in your place of duty doing that which you have committed yourselves to do and been trained to do. We salute you Peace Keepers, and all of those in your support systems... And we love all of you and all of those whom you love... There is much to do today in this world... But it would all be for nothing if you were not there providing and protecting the foundation upon which we are built. Many of us were created for this service of peace keeping and when we find that we fit in peace keeping, we are never happy doing anything else for very long. It is even hard for us to be off from duty and away from the job for very long... It is heart-breaking when we finally reach that point where the powers that be tell us we can no longer serve actively in the function of keeping and restoring the peace. "BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!" ALWAYS be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary. Take the very best care of you as you care for and about others. See to the strength and well being of your spirit as well as all the rest of you. Your spirit must be strong for you to be successful. Call or write if I may be of any service... Or if you just want to encourage me... Feedback encourages all who write... It helps to know we are reaching someone who reads the message. Donna is doing much better with the wounds. Both small wounds are now closed and healed. The area where the graft skin was taken from is closed and has a small scab. The graft in it's new location is taking and looks good. I am tending it daily and it is progressing well as of tonight (Friday). She is still learning about adjusting time of being up so as to not push it too far and cause the legs and feet to swell. That is frustrating to her but she is learning. Thanks for all of the prayers and encouragement. As it has always been... So it still is!!! "VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST... AND THEN GO TO WAR, WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST... AND THEN SEEK TO WIN." Sun tzu Training and practice are everything! Without them, the best results are not obtained! ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!! THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY! We have peace and freedom today only because those before us had the guts to fight for it and defend it... Are we cast from that same mold??? WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT... BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)... BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE... [My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace... it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics... it means that if the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process. That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all the things and people that we hold dear.] I represent, write for... and give the credit to: God the Father (my Commander-in-Chief), Jesus Christ the Son (the Eternal Captain of my life) and the Holy Spirit of God (my Eternal Teacher, Keeper and Guide). In Christ I live... with Him and for you I serve... And I rejoice that you are there whether you are Christian or not... For God, Country and the Peace Keeper... D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers, Surviving Peace Keeper, Virginia State Police Alumni, RETIRED Police Officer Virginia Beach Police Dept., Senior Chaplain and Administrative Chaplain VBPD, DCJS Certified Police Instructor, Community Service Officer (Traffic Safety) VBPD Blackwater Alumni 757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net 3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452 =============================================================== All rights reserved. May not be duplicated without permission, except to be forwarded with all source information for any quotation intact.
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