Tap Out   

A very important and self preserving option that mixed martial artists and grapplers use is called a 'tap out.'  When a fighter is caught in a lock or position that could result in major injury, unconsciousness or even death and he realizes his potential danger on the one hand and the advantage of his opponent on the other, the fighter has two options.  He can stubbornly persist in the fight and reap the imminent consequences or he can choose to tap out of the fight, in which case his opponent releases his grip and the "loser" is set free. 

People associate tapping out with defeat, yielding to the opponent, and being a loser.  However, it can be viewed from a different perspective. 

I once saw a leopard  bring down a large gazelle for dinner. Suddenly he was surrounded by a pack of hungry hyena's who also wanted his dinner.  The leopard had 2 options.  He could try to fight off the pack of hyena's and loose both his life and his dinner or he could choose to walk away - to tap out, and preserve his hunting ability, his life, and the lives of those depending on him.    

No matter who you are, life will sometimes throw some nasty opponents your way.  These could be unfair situations where you know you are innocent, where you know you have done your best and given your all, situations that hurt deeply and bring hot tears to your eyes.  It is in times like these that you, like the mixed martial artist, the grappler and the leopard must look further than the present, and no matter how difficult a pill it is to swallow, you must take stock of your options and act wisely.  You could stand up for your rights and fight to the death or you could choose to tap out, back off and walk away.

It's your call.

AAH Director

Curious... as in inquisitive or peculiar

The 'Rum Tum Tugger,'  the main character of a poem written by T.S. Elliot and made famous in the Broadway production CATS by Andrew Lloyd Webber is a curious cat constantly longing and craving for the opposite or for something other than what he already had or was offered.  This curious cat seems to be suffering from the 'greener grass on the other side of the fence' syndrome.  And as the poem explains "there isn't any call to shout it, because the curious cat will do as he do do, and there's no doing anything about it."

In so many ways the Rum Tum Tugger is good portrayal of humanity. No matter what we have, we are seldom satisfied. If we have straight hair, we curl it. If it is curly, we relax it. If we are short, we wish we were tall, the tall ones are dying to be short or shorter, and so on. We spend our lives chasing after the wind only to find that even after attaining that precious thing we so desired, it does not make good on its promised satisfaction.  Solomon, the wise preacher, warned us about this enigma.  He said: fame won't satisfy you, money won't, friends & family won't, a job won't... actually nothing will.  Yet, ironically enough, each generation again ups and repeats the same struggle.

The Rum Tum Tugger poem has posed the challenge of elusive satisfaction to us again.  So what can we do? Is this all there is to life? Not at all! There is One Who can break this 'dog [or cat] chasing its tail cycle' -- GOD!  He is the only One big enough to satisfy our every desire, our every craving and our every aspiration in life. With God, the sun will rise in our lives making us curious Rum Tum Tuggers instead of curious Rum Tum Tuggers.

AAH Director

Omnipotence

"Natural impossibilities cannot prevent the work of the Omnipotent One." -- Desire of Ages p. 535

A group of over 1 million people... Before them, the red sea, high rugged mountains to the right and left, behind them... the enemy.  Nowhere to run. End of the line. Or is it? 

A man, dead for four days, body already in the far stages of decomposition, the stench is unbearable.  End of the line.  Or is it?

The Antillean Adventist Hospital, November 1, 2010, a flood of filthy fresh and salt water combined burst through its doors causing mass destruction.  The hospital is shut down.  End of the line.  Or is it?

Enter God.

When all looks hopeless, God steps in and does His impossible thing. And when He does, He takes the least likely way out - He cuts a path, gives new life, and provides solutions straight through the impossibility.  The Omnipotent One creates a 'line' at the end of the line and laughs in the face of impossibilities.  The rest is history.  Nothing, and I reiterate, nothing can prevent the work of the Omnipotent One. You can take that to the bank.

AAH Director