The topic of "focus" brought some interesting thoughts to my mind, largely about possessing a magnanimous spirit of generosity and charity toward those with whom we disagree.
   
  My "real" work is that of Presbyterian pastor, though some may argue if working an hour a week on Sunday morning constitutes "work."  I keep around 100 hives and they provide a welcome respite and diversion from the "joys" of ministry.
   
  I did my doctoral work at a Catholic institution in St. Louis where I was treated more like an errant, Protestant, prodigal, step-child than a colleague.  Yet one of the gifts of this institution was the notion of "collective wisdom."  When a topic of discussion was brought to the table, it was discussed with the idea of learning from the group process rather than an attempt to prove which perspective was right.  Everyone had their right to add their 2 cents to the topic.  
   
  Contemplation replaced the need to have the last word.  Many topics were left unresolved "for further review."  And yet many times I fought that urge to drive the topic to some point of resolution.  
   
  And resolution in my mind was proving my point of being "right."  After all, opinions are like children:  Our own are always the best.  Learning to respect a different opinion was a challenge for me.  It still is today.  And yet I've come to the realization that two people can see the same thing and draw different conclusions, both being right (or both wrong).  I had to constantly remind myself that our discussion was a process.
   
  I've posted a few times on various sites, but mostly I lurk.  I like to think of my posts as contributing to the ongoing process of learning from one another, an apicultural collective wisdom, yet there are those who feel they need to settle the discussion and prove they are right.  
   
  And if they are right, guess what?  You're wrong!  If you aren't with them, you're agaisnt them!  I empathize with those who get fed up with the heated corrections and leave, though I think their departure is unwarranted.
   
  Which reminds me of something my father used to say in jest, "Those of you who THINK you know it all offend those of us who DO."
   
  There's another site, unmoderated, where making corrections and getting the last word seems to be the purpose of the list.  Until some members left, haughtiness and huffiness were regular features.  I bore the label of being "irresponsible" when I found a better way to do something that was not part of the conventional platform..
   
  And yet even in the ignorance and arrogance of some of these posts, there is the potential to learn, to see a different perspective, to examine what we do and why we do it (or not do it).  But it takes a different spirit to stop striving and driving our points toward resolution and listen to what someone else may have to say.
   
  It would be my hope that these "discussion" boards could be mroe conversational, as if a couple of good friends sat down over a cup of coffee to share what works for them.  The ABF Convention in Louisville had some presentations under the headline of HIDI, or "How I Do It."  No one stomped out of the room in disagreement.  No one shouted down the speaker with what was right in their eyes.  It was all very respectful.  Though many of us keep bees differently, generosity and charity were evident.  It was a wonderful convention.
   
  My father gave me a valuable piece of marital advice on my wedding day.  He said, "Son, in your marriage, you can be happy or you can be right."
   
  It seems like there are a lot of unhappy members on these lists who feel a greater need to be right.  I choose to be happy.
   
  That's my 2 cents, for what it's worth.
   
  Grant
  Jackson, MO
   
   
   

		
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