Yesterday…
…Reading Ken Kesey’s ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. The rebellious Randle McMurphy enters a psychiatric hospital where each patient is expected to conform. A staff member says of McMurphy, ‘He who marches out of step hears another drum’.
Apparently, the original Henry Thoreau nineteenth century quote reads: ‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.’
…Out walking. We often see dogs chasing and retrieving balls… Yesterday a dog was at the top of a hill. His owner was at the bottom. Owner threw ball… dog caught ball… dog released ball… ball rolled down hill… owner retrieved ball… both hardly moved… owner threw ball… repeatedly.
It was different! Out of step? Hearing a different drum?
…‘Litter Free Lowestoft’ reported. They’d met up on Saturday on Princes Walk: ‘EIGHTEEN volunteers. Bike parts. Traffic cones. Bottles. Cans. Mystery objects. Undergrowth up to our eyeballs. A few battle wounds. And several moments of ‘HOW has that even got in there?!’’
Marching out of step with many? hearing a different drum?
…Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton. I watched the final set of the US Open final. Trophies were presented; both players made speeches.
Shelton started by thanking God. He talked about successes being a gift and failures being a gift… Out of step with many sports stars?
Zverev described his mother discovering that the four-year-old Alexander was diabetic, and being determined that her son should not be defined by his condition… Hearing a different drum?
…In church. Minister-Lou talked about Jesus talking about the ‘Spirit of Truth’ that lives in His followers. She described the ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’, listed by St Paul, that God’s Spirit produces.
Lou… St Paul… Jesus challenges us to walk in step with His drum beat… often marching out of step with the many loud drums we hear generating a very different beat.
malcolmsmusings.org 
“Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.’“
I like this quote very much. However, I wouldn’t have thought that it would fit a Christian’s philosophy too well.
And I certainly remember times in my life when I wish I’d been given this understanding.
In fact, there are still times when I would appreciate such sentiments.
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