In my area of northern California, spiders are plentiful. Frequently I step outside to find magnificent webs spanning the landscaping.
Sometimes, I don't see them until I have had that unsettling experience of walking through them.
Recently, a friend had a strong reaction to an off-handed comic observation that I made about a company that changed its customer service procedures to a less user-friendly protocol. Her response seemed to me to be stronger than was called for by the comment, and I felt judged, demeaned and censored as a result.
Perhaps we walked through each other's webs.
I have no great moral adage with which to end this post, only a renewed appreciation for how delicate we all are, and a reminder to keep that in my awareness.
Blessings!
David
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
"Indifferent to the Problem"
I was grabbing some leftovers for lunch, and I decided to take a break and watch a bit of TV while I ate. I turned on PBS, and the show "A Place of Our Own" was on. A panel was discussing ways to interest young children in science.
Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," was a member of the panel and as the discussion closed, he remarked about how he loved to watch bees when he was child. He said they were amazing, "they fly straight up, they fly backwards, indifferent to the problem."
"Indifferent to the problem." What a phrase!
Too often when faced with a challenge, we believe we can't solve it because we are too involved with the problem, either emotionally or as a participant in its formulation, or both.
Albert Einstein's said, "You can't solve a problem at the level of the problem," and I think Bill Nye has offered a keen insight into the solution process. Become indifferent to the problem. Then, you can think through solutions logically, explore options, be creative. You are no longer tied to one side of the = sign.
Blessings,
David
Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," was a member of the panel and as the discussion closed, he remarked about how he loved to watch bees when he was child. He said they were amazing, "they fly straight up, they fly backwards, indifferent to the problem."
"Indifferent to the problem." What a phrase!
Too often when faced with a challenge, we believe we can't solve it because we are too involved with the problem, either emotionally or as a participant in its formulation, or both.
Albert Einstein's said, "You can't solve a problem at the level of the problem," and I think Bill Nye has offered a keen insight into the solution process. Become indifferent to the problem. Then, you can think through solutions logically, explore options, be creative. You are no longer tied to one side of the = sign.
Blessings,
David
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Am I God's facebook friend?
"Devotion is neither private nor public prayer, but prayers whether private or public are particular parts or instances of devotion. Devotion signifies a life given or devoted to God."
These words open Anglican priest William Law's 1729 book "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life." It may be awhile before I get to Paragraph 2!
I respect writers like Fr. Henri Nouwen or Fr. Law who can stop me with a few words and send me into a universe of contemplation.
Fr. Law describes a life given to God, not just parts of it. A life. In George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy, the wise character Yoda says to his pupil Luke Skywalker the famous line, "No 'try.' Only 'Do.'" Similarly, Fr. Law is saying, "No 'part.' Only 'Life.'"
Do I trust God sufficiently to offer all of my life, every second, including every juicy mistake and selfish action? Am I that devoted?
Is it a matter of devotion or a matter of trust?
What happens when God sees who I truly am, which of course is the case although my ego believes otherwise?
Do I really offer to God the unpolished parts? Do I really offer to God the secrets, the shame, the failure, the addiction, the longing, the confusion? Will God be shocked, offended, disappointed, unable to cope, unwilling to love?
This then becomes how I determine if I am a devotee or a follower, a disciple or a fan, God's facebook friend or God's true servant: am I willing to devote every moment to God, reserving nothing, entirely as-is.
If I am, then God gets free reign to use me any moment, every moment. I give God all-area access to my life to influence, repair, heal and nurture it with pure love.
If not, then I am a part-timer.
Which is always an option.
But is different from being devoted.
Blessings,
David
These words open Anglican priest William Law's 1729 book "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life." It may be awhile before I get to Paragraph 2!
I respect writers like Fr. Henri Nouwen or Fr. Law who can stop me with a few words and send me into a universe of contemplation.
Fr. Law describes a life given to God, not just parts of it. A life. In George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy, the wise character Yoda says to his pupil Luke Skywalker the famous line, "No 'try.' Only 'Do.'" Similarly, Fr. Law is saying, "No 'part.' Only 'Life.'"
Do I trust God sufficiently to offer all of my life, every second, including every juicy mistake and selfish action? Am I that devoted?
Is it a matter of devotion or a matter of trust?
What happens when God sees who I truly am, which of course is the case although my ego believes otherwise?
Do I really offer to God the unpolished parts? Do I really offer to God the secrets, the shame, the failure, the addiction, the longing, the confusion? Will God be shocked, offended, disappointed, unable to cope, unwilling to love?
This then becomes how I determine if I am a devotee or a follower, a disciple or a fan, God's facebook friend or God's true servant: am I willing to devote every moment to God, reserving nothing, entirely as-is.
If I am, then God gets free reign to use me any moment, every moment. I give God all-area access to my life to influence, repair, heal and nurture it with pure love.
If not, then I am a part-timer.
Which is always an option.
But is different from being devoted.
Blessings,
David
Monday, September 12, 2011
Foundational Scriptures
I just added a feature to this blog - a listing of the scriptures that are close to my heart and that have consistently spoken to me over the years, always with emerging newness as I revisit them. There are some other passages that I rely on, like 1 Chronicles 17, but the ones listed on the homepage are my essentials.
On a mission trip many years ago, the team members discussed the three albums (CDs, what-ev-er) they would want to have with them if they were stuck on a desert island. I think mine were Carole King's "Tapestry," Joni Mitchell's "Miles of Aisles" and Steely Dan's "Countdown to Ecstacy." I probably argued for increasing the allotment, too!
Similarly, if there were only a few scriptures I could have with me, the ones on the homepage would be the winners.
Isaiah 61 speaks to me of my call; Jeremiah 29 reminds me that God will always hear me; 1 Peter clearly states my responsibility to God; and Psalm 37 is a promise repeatedly demonstrated in my life.
What are your favorite scriptures?
Blessings,
David
On a mission trip many years ago, the team members discussed the three albums (CDs, what-ev-er) they would want to have with them if they were stuck on a desert island. I think mine were Carole King's "Tapestry," Joni Mitchell's "Miles of Aisles" and Steely Dan's "Countdown to Ecstacy." I probably argued for increasing the allotment, too!
Similarly, if there were only a few scriptures I could have with me, the ones on the homepage would be the winners.
Isaiah 61 speaks to me of my call; Jeremiah 29 reminds me that God will always hear me; 1 Peter clearly states my responsibility to God; and Psalm 37 is a promise repeatedly demonstrated in my life.
What are your favorite scriptures?
Blessings,
David
I Will Let You Find Me
God tells Jeremiah, "When you seek Me with all of your heart, I will let you find Me."
Sometimes God seems to be hidden or disguised, silent or difficult to understand. Maybe this is so, and maybe it is my limitations getting in the way.
So I trust that my whole-hearted search will make the difference.
Blessings,
David
Sometimes God seems to be hidden or disguised, silent or difficult to understand. Maybe this is so, and maybe it is my limitations getting in the way.
So I trust that my whole-hearted search will make the difference.
Blessings,
David
Return to the Quiet
Sometimes life seems overwhelming.
How do I get back to the center when there is so much swirling and confusion inside me? Demands on time, expectations, emergencies, who needs sleep?
I snuck away to my church office tonight and in blissful solitude listened to some spiritual music CDs while I did some straightening and organizing that required no intensive thought.
In the process, God has returned me to the Quiet.
This is the place where I am loved and experience it, where I am reassured and believe it, where I am serene and safe and embraced in timeless rest.
I'm not sure when the transition happened from feeling overwhelmed to feeling received. I didn't notice it. I only realized my neediness was gone, evaporated like a shallow icy puddle on a warm spring day. I just know I have been received by God into the Quiet; restored, renewed, and relaxed.
Now I'm ready to go home and sleep. God is so good.
Blessings,
David
How do I get back to the center when there is so much swirling and confusion inside me? Demands on time, expectations, emergencies, who needs sleep?
I snuck away to my church office tonight and in blissful solitude listened to some spiritual music CDs while I did some straightening and organizing that required no intensive thought.
In the process, God has returned me to the Quiet.
This is the place where I am loved and experience it, where I am reassured and believe it, where I am serene and safe and embraced in timeless rest.
I'm not sure when the transition happened from feeling overwhelmed to feeling received. I didn't notice it. I only realized my neediness was gone, evaporated like a shallow icy puddle on a warm spring day. I just know I have been received by God into the Quiet; restored, renewed, and relaxed.
Now I'm ready to go home and sleep. God is so good.
Blessings,
David
Saturday, September 3, 2011
What Should We Do with All These Needy People?
I spent four days away with family to have a mini-vacation. When I returned home, my animals, left in the care of a friend while I was gone, began competing for my attention. They were needy, and they didn't have any issues about expressing it. I didn't have any issues about meeting it.
Not always the case with humans.
Imagine the letter C drawn in the sand, with the open section facing down, so that it is not recognizable as a C. If I asked you what shape that was, you would likely say it was circular, because our mind likes to close things. We follow the loop of the arc and see that when closed it becomes a circle. We add whatever definition suits our fancy.
Now, perhaps it was really the beginning of the Greek letter Omega, in which case it would not be circular at all. We can't know until we have all the facts, but we come equipped with our conclusions ahead of time.
When I encounter humans with a desire for validation, notice, affirmation, or regard, I likewise tend to project my explanations on them. I create a "back story" about why they have a need, or what kind of need they really have, or if they even have a need in the first place.
A guy sitting on the sidewalk has a cup in front of him with some change in it. I've never met him before in my life, yet I observe him in order to form a back story. He's homeless. He's a drunk. He's mentally ill. He's lazy. He's a child of God. Yes, even that one!
I form a conclusion to support some action I feel obligated to take in regard to him. Do I ask him his name? Where he's from? What he needs? No, I just make a decision - yes or no; on or off; donate or don't donate; love or scorn; acknowledge or ignore. I have created my own story about him and I am satisfied with that.
I don't respond to him and his need with anything near the intensity or compassion that I offer my dogs or my cat. Instead, I imagine a reason for his need and, beyond perhaps a small donation and the same "God bless you" that I offer to a stranger who sneezes, I keep walking.
I wonder what would happen if I stopped and said, "Hi, my name is David, what's yours?"
Blessings,
David
Not always the case with humans.
Imagine the letter C drawn in the sand, with the open section facing down, so that it is not recognizable as a C. If I asked you what shape that was, you would likely say it was circular, because our mind likes to close things. We follow the loop of the arc and see that when closed it becomes a circle. We add whatever definition suits our fancy.
Now, perhaps it was really the beginning of the Greek letter Omega, in which case it would not be circular at all. We can't know until we have all the facts, but we come equipped with our conclusions ahead of time.
When I encounter humans with a desire for validation, notice, affirmation, or regard, I likewise tend to project my explanations on them. I create a "back story" about why they have a need, or what kind of need they really have, or if they even have a need in the first place.
A guy sitting on the sidewalk has a cup in front of him with some change in it. I've never met him before in my life, yet I observe him in order to form a back story. He's homeless. He's a drunk. He's mentally ill. He's lazy. He's a child of God. Yes, even that one!
I form a conclusion to support some action I feel obligated to take in regard to him. Do I ask him his name? Where he's from? What he needs? No, I just make a decision - yes or no; on or off; donate or don't donate; love or scorn; acknowledge or ignore. I have created my own story about him and I am satisfied with that.
I don't respond to him and his need with anything near the intensity or compassion that I offer my dogs or my cat. Instead, I imagine a reason for his need and, beyond perhaps a small donation and the same "God bless you" that I offer to a stranger who sneezes, I keep walking.
I wonder what would happen if I stopped and said, "Hi, my name is David, what's yours?"
Blessings,
David
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