PING!

Lucky for me, I never have to venture far down the technology superhighway alone. My college-age grandkids and my tech-minded friends are willing to gently Sherpa me along that (sometimes steep) path.

I depend on them to keep my computer and me on the safe side of the leading edge — that’s a whole lot better than stumbling down that slope by myself. In the process, I get a desk-side seat to their fearless view of new applications. And I marvel at it.

Lately, a lot of their explorations revolve around a catchy word that has migrated to other arenas— PING.

Standing for potential inspiration of new ground, PING means to create original solutions, promote discovery, and solve problems actively.

When you PING, you identify a known or unfamiliar object and create exciting, new ideas around it.

Edouard Benedictus PINGed by accident in 1903.

In his lab one day, this French chemist shattered a flask that had contained a liquid plastic. Instead of splintering, the glass shards stayed mostly together, held by an invisible plastic film dried on the inside of the flask.

The revelation was not immediately obvious to Benedictus. Instead, the ideas churned in his subconscious waiting to clarify in his sleep. His diary records: “Suddenly there appeared before my eyes an image of the broken flask. I leapt up, dashed to my laboratory, and concentrated on the practical possibilities of my idea.”

PING! He developed the world’s first safety glass, now commonplace lifesavers in lenses and windshields.

Engaging in this type of creative process is like glimpsing through a window onto the future world, the one that is to be. Not only do you anticipate progress, you also can see practical elements and steps for carrying them forward.

Jesus PINGed, too.

The story of Jesus’ birth invites an ancient dream: the anticipation that, somehow, the reality of God will make a way into the whole of human life.

An early writer of Isaiah said, “The Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

In ancient Hebrew, Immanuel means, “God is with us.”

In His quest to demonstrate what “God with us” truly means, the adult Jesus broke with the custom of his day by spreading love and healing from one end of His world to the other, inspiring others to do the same.

“I came,” he said, “that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

He was lighting a path of potential inspiration for new ground — PING! — in a time when life could be harsh and filled with punishment.

Here, in our own worlds, how can we do the same?

Let us consider our limited beliefs and judgments about ourselves and others, and gently release them.

Then let us ask for the wisdom to look with fresh eyes. Inspired by Jesus’ choice, let us spread love and healing from one end of our world to the other. As we find our own potential inspiration for new ground — PING! — let us acknowledge the joy and allow it to be ours.

by Reverend Mindy Lawrence
Associate Minister
Unity Church of Christianity
Houston Texas
713.782.4050
mlawrence@unityhouston.org