Two books found me via recommendations from Bishop Wallace-Padgett and wife Dianne. The Bishop mentioned that a group of young clergy was reading START WITH WHY: HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE EVERYONE TO TAKE ACTION by Simon Sinek. And Dianne put me on to THE BOYS IN THE BOAT: NINE AMERICANS AND THEIR EPIC QUEST FOR GOLD AT THE 1936 BERLIN OLYMPICS by Daniel James Brown.

Bestseller BOYS IN THE BOAT chronicles the lives and lead up of the University of Washington rowing team to their improbable Olympic win. Instead of the elite, well born types often associated with rowing, these guys had hard scrabble backgrounds from farming, fishing, and logging.

Early on, Brown writes: "I realized 'the boat' was something more than just the racing shell or its crew. It encompassed but transcended both - it was something mysterious, almost beyond definition. It was a shared experience, when nine good-hearted young men pulled together as one...." (p.2)

In START WITH WHY business coach Simon Sinek depicts what he calls 'the golden circle' of the why, how, and what. Whether a business or a life, the core is 'why' we do what we do. The why comes more from the heart than the head, the limbic more than the frontal brain. We tend to over focus on what we do and how we do it - work hard, make some money, get this and that done with careers or family. As important as that is, it all becomes boring and depleting without a sense of 'why', the meaning and purpose served in what we do.

Simple but profound. Sinek finds the 'why' of his life is to inspire others to find meaning and take constructive action with their lives. Even with their own foibles, great leaders inspire - 'inspirit' - others. Sinek profiles among such as Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs. For the 'boys in the boat' it was their coach Al Ulbrickson. A kindred word for inspire is encourage, that is, to enhearten others in a world where it is so easy to lose heart. What's more, thinking about the 'boys' again, true inspiration is intertwined with perspiration, to what we are willing to give full energy - spiritual sweat.

From 'the boat' and 'the why', we move to 'star'. Matthew 2.1-12 is the Gospel lectionary reading for today. The Magoi, so-called wise men, from the east follow an improbable star - 'aster' in NT Greek. Were they astrologers or astronomers? Was it a supernova, comet, or planetary alignment? Nice what and how questions. But don't miss the core 'why'? Why were they out in the dark following a glimmer of light? And how and what difference did that make in their lives?

- The 'why' finds us when we discover how, likely in small incremental ways we can...relieve hurt; increase beauty; and/or build up people and the earth.

- I recall a physician friend who compares patients to books - each one unique, a person beyond a diagnosis. My heroes are teachers who help improbable students make the connection. I see the eyes of financially successful people light up: less about how much money they have made, and more about the difference they make with the money they give; less about beating competitors and more about mentoring young colleagues.

- For sure, there is more perspiration than inspiration most days going to work, doing the laundry, getting meals on the table, being persistently patient with the prickly people in our lives. But it is by such tiny increments of care, often not realized to much later, that their lives are enheartened and we experience our sweaty whys.

Barbara Brown Taylor suggests we ask some people in our lives...'By what light do you see God?' Or I might add, what's your 'why'...or what floats your 'boat'? I'd like to know.