Permeate Our Being

Evangelical Christianity in the United States is often characterized by a deep desire to have “Christianity” pervade our culture but not permeate our being.

-- Rich Villodas

3 Observations & A Question

Complexity is often self-serving. 

We are impoverished when we lack exertion in our lives.

Facts will make a comeback — intimation and histrionics only last so long (people catch on…eventually). 

Why do you think we are advised by spiritual teachers  over and over, and over again, not to BE afraid?

Prior 3 Observations & A Question….

Our Dogwood Has Spoken

A Beer Can

I saw a discarded beer can on the side of the road by a curb next to our local elementary school.

Fascinating? ...probably not.

Such a sighting is likely only one of millions across the span of our country. What was a little more interesting to me was my urge to pick it up and throw it away. My only real hesitation was there were no trash cans in sight. So, I would have to carry it, as I continued on my walk, for some distance.

I didn’t do it.

I realized, though, that I wanted to. But, why? What was prompting me?

As I continued my walk, I noticed a place where an old building had been, that had recently been taken down. It wasn’t in some far off abandoned place, but rather in the middle of a college campus. What really caught my eye was the fact that a rather large collection of glass clippings had been dumped where the building had been. It was pretty clear that the dumping was intentional. This got me thinking about the likelihood that someone was trying to use the decaying benefits to enhance the ground-soil in the area.

Somebody else was prompted by something they saw. And, they too wanted to do something about it.

I’m guessing part of the reason why I wanted to pick up the beer can was because of the unsightly nature of it and what that represented in the context of an elementary school in what is otherwise a beautiful little community. Perhaps, similar thoughts were going in the mind of the person who wanted to enhance the soil with grass clippings.

What is a community anyway? I’m sure there would be lots of different considerations in answering that question. At very least, it feels like something that a group of people desire to protect. That might be because it’s something that a group of people had previously desired to build. And when the results of that collective effort becomes something beautiful, it seems to naturally follow that it would be something a community would want to protect. It took effort. It was worth it. And the group doesn’t want to lose it.

It is Spring right now where I live and many people and organizations are cleaning and sprucing things up. Fresh mulch blankets the ground around freshly popped spring flowers. The early morning is filled with the sound of birds welcoming each other to the day. The air is cool and crisp and the eastern sky is draped in colorful hues announcing what looks to be a sunny, 70° day. Life feels alive. And, I was walking through the middle of it, taking it all in, allowing it to poke at the wonders of what it all means and where and how I fit in it.

I suspect that is the point. That I fit into something. Something larger than myself. Something beautiful. Something worth making a contribution to. Something worth preserving.

This Saturday morning, the annual farmers market and our little community will draw hundreds of people to fresh coffee, cinnamon rolls, pretzels, artwork, and fresh spring plants that many people will buy, plant, and do the best they can to remember to nurture. Some plants won’t grow because they aren't planted in a suitable spot. Some plants will be neglected, after their Spring-beauty wears off. But, some plants will also make it and will grow back the following year all by themselves; adding their contribution to the qualities of things like soil or food or visual beauty for passers-by to enjoy.

I’m still thinking about whether I should go back and get that beer can. I’m going to a T-ball game this evening. So, I’m guessing I’ll stop on my way to work and pick it up to dispose of it somewhere along the way. Nobody will likely notice. But, in its absence, just one person might say something like, "...this is a beautiful little community. I like it here".

As I finished up my walk, I passed the construction of a couple of new homes. Because of the focus on the building side of things, the grass and weeds were Spring-prolific all over the torn-up yards. Across the street, was a home that had been completed last summer. The grass in that yard was perfectly manicured and beautiful (no discarded beer cans in sight).

I’m not the only one, apparently, that wants to be a part of this community.

Remain Astonished

The chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished.

-- Kevin Kelly

LT: Values and Focus

I'm not sure there is a playbook other than staying true to your values and a maniacal focus on the things you can control.

-- Howard Schultz

Substance Within

I’ve noticed…that I have more internal substance than I often realize.  

What does that indicate…about things like narrative and awareness that operate within me?

We Are So Weary...

Instagram: Benjamin Cremer

4 Observations (from Others)

There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story. 

-- Linda Hogan

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. ​ -- Kahlil Gibran

One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken. -- Leonard Tolstoy

We don't sit in meditation to become good meditators.  We sit in meditation so that we'll be more awake in our lives.

-- Pema Chödrön

Prior 4 Observations (from Others).

No, Russia Is Not Winning This War

On The Lighter Side: Critical Toys

On the Lighter Side:

The Enablement of Health

The benefits of strength and connectedness are fundamentally enabled by health. Correspondingly, lack of health disables them (among other things).

So, what are the things that we need to be cognizant of, and disciplined in, that enable (or disable) our health?

For one thing, we have to be increasingly aware of how the economies we live in impact our ability to do this (not to mention, be healthy).

Learning is a key ingredient to our mental health — perhaps because of things it requires of us…willingness, curiosity, adaptability, humility. After all, look what happens to us when we stop being willing to learn. Not only do we lose knowledge and insight we could benefit from, but also our disposition toward everything in life changes. Spiritually speaking, I would go as far as to say that our willingness to learn IS the way we know and experience God...initially and perpetually.

Beyond our disposition to learning and awareness, health seems to require putting forth some actual effort. Simply knowing about something doesn’t do the trick. We actually have to do that something. Effort seems to reinforce what is true and makes what is true about it true. We actually have to, for example, not eat unhealthy things. Further, we also have to eat healthy things. It takes a kind of commitment to be healthy. We have to work at it (especially in our current economies).

Exercise is another example of something that is required of us beyond just knowing about it. We actually have to do things that strengthen us and we have to do them routinely.

Physical health enables mental health. Both enable emotional health. And, when we are healthy, our sense of connectedness to the world, and the people in it, is better (more healthy).

Health is actually a very broad concept. It is the womb from which all things are sustained and grow — enabling the quality of our relationship with the context that we’re in. It is important individually. It is important collectively — reaching and impacting nearly all dimensions of our existence.