Not My Problem

 Garrison Keillor almost always makes me laugh. I love the way he tells the funniest stories with his deadpan, bored face. I can’t do that. If I come up with something funny, I start laughing way before the punchline. That’s not how it’s supposed to be done. I’d never make the grade as a standup comedian.

Keillor recently came up with a new book, Serenity at 70, Gaiety at 80: Why you should keep on getting older (2021). Needless to say, it’s funny.

In the Preface, he introduces the idea of “It’s Not My Problem.” Each morning he wakes up when he wakes up and ambles down to the kitchen, no longer “on a tight schedule or under close supervision…. I look at the front page of the paper and think, ‘Not My Problem.’” He considers the conflict between those who insist on vaccinations and those who vehemently resist, and smiles. Not My Problem. Freighters detained on the docks, straining the supply of goods to the populace. NMP. Climate change, immigrants sneaking across the border, protest marches, problems at his former place of employment, squabbles among his adult offspring. To all of the above (including a few additions to his list), Keillor says, “Goody goody gumdrops, though it is NMP.”

I suspect (hope) that most of this is tongue-in-cheek, for the sake of a laugh. Or for us to figure out that his real stance is hiding behind the clever words.

For us retired people, maybe “Not My Problem” is the right idea. When we were young and ambitious, wanting to change the world (or get rich), multi-tasking was the way to do it, stress and pinched nerves often a by-product. Everything was Our Problem. But that has passed away, presumably. This is the time to rest, write our memoirs, and go on cruises.

Maybe.

With my own adult children or grandchildren, there’s no way I’m able to say “Not My Problem.” When one of them suffers, I wake up in the middle of the night and try to pray away my anguish. It’s often best to stand back, pretend it’s NMP, and let them work it out themselves as independent adults. Except if they come to me for advice, which is happening less and less.

On a global scale, many of my friends say they no longer watch the news on TV. It’s all too negative, violent, and biased. There’s no way to know the truth what with all the infamous “fake news.” Hal and I disagree and nightly watch a news program we feel is relatively objective, “relatively” being the key term here. We take seriously our responsibility to be informed and pray over the world. But, truth be told, we wonder if there’s anything we can actually do about the different crises. Anything that would make a difference.

I know. Prayer is the most important thing I can do, and I think I believe that. But still I battle this restlessness, a sense of need to do something more to relieve the situation.

Take the ongoing war in the Ukraine. The images of bombed out towns, Ukrainian refugees trying to find shelter, Russian citizens protesting in the streets and being arrested, all of it is horrific. I feel so protected here in this comfortable retirement community, isolated from the world.

Take Russia’s threat of a nuclear response. With an unpredictable and immoral person like Putin in control, no one can take this threat lightly. No one, wherever they live and whatever their age, should say “Not My Problem.” It could become a problem with serious consequences for the world.

Again the question, what can we do? Hal and I are exploring the options, asking God for wisdom. One important action is honest discussion of this and other points of crisis, discussion right here in our community. It would be helpful to explore the what-to-do question together.

St. Paul admonishes Christians to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). That’s often hard for me to do, but I consider it the way of wisdom. I also think that this does not indorse a “Not My Problem” stance, even among the retired. It does not obliterate our responsibility as children of the Kingdom of God to cooperate in God’s mission to be peacemakers and stewards over creation. It does not erase our need to keep asking, “What can we do?”

I need more insight and discernment. Maybe you do, too. When is “Not My Problem” the correct way to think as we rest into these latter years? And when do we stretch ourselves, ask for strength, and join forces with others to bless and heal our world?

  

Note to all you who read this blog as an email through “follow.it”: If you want to comment or enter a discussion with me and others, you need to go directly to the blog site. You can do this by entering https://nancyjanethomas.blogspot.com