Monday, August 1, 2011
On Mondays.
I'm looking out my windows today from inside my little home office, nestled in our den with my majestic 1908 piano standing comfortably near by. I replaced the pot for the kalanchoe Janell gifted me a while ago, with one we picked up yesterday at IKEA. It's a lovely little reed basket pot. Hopefully the roots spread eagerly with more space and the leaves start to drink in the sun's rays. It's been looking a little sad lately. Here's anticipating new growth. It's a full week ahead of preparations. We're planning two wedding receptions this month - and one is this weekend. Honored to have the privilege of celebrating with family and friends as we commemorate the sacred vows we exchanged in Oceanside on May 1. I've been listening to gulls this past hour... rounding up the ranks to head over to the river perhaps, or longing like I am to be near the Pacific shore, strolling along its magnificent sandy canvas. I am calm, at peace, and feeling connected to God and grateful for His gifts of grace and beauty. It's a good day, amidst the monotony of beginning another workweek. Really no day looks like another. It's a new opportunity to challenge myself to stretch out, share a kindness, repair a strain among friends, cook a meal, sip a cup of strong coffee, or water my flowering fuschia shrub. It's all a gift. Thankful for love, joy, reconciliation and excited for what the week holds. Best to you as you forge through this Monday, and head into the rest of a week that can be all you make of it. May we embrace the masterpieces shimmering amidst chaos as we all venture to accomplish, conquer, be present, be whole, be intentional, and do good things that make us feel alive.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
On Integrity.
Sarah Ban Breathnach, who found huge success with her beautiful book, Simple Abundance, found herself fighting and eventually surrendering to a series of obstacles starting in late 2000 when her wealth was rapidly diminishing, due to poor financial management and a husband apparently much more interested in monetary comfort than maintaining a marriage. She turned it around. Moved in with her sister with her aging cat and no money, and started working on a new book, Peace and Plenty.
In that book, she quotes Pollyanna - she mentions her general mantra of "be glad, be good, be brave"... and whether you credit that sentiment to the film, to the character, or to its author/creator, Eleanor Hodgman Porter, it's an ideal that inspires and challenges me. How simple. Be joyful. Be good. Be courageous. Righteousness. Intention. Reminds me of one of my favorite Jason Mraz songs, where he says "Live high, live mighty, and live righteously; taking it easy..."
I've been raking my mind the last few days and weeks, asking myself what it really means to be a good person. What's quantifiable in my life that shows I'm on a good, true and compassionate path. I've recently joined a community of Friends here in Portland - a Friends Meeting, or a Quaker church for those less familiar. Among a vast array of characteristics and testimonies of faith, practice and principle that have solidified and strengthened my identity as a Quaker, one of the key sets that speaks so powerfully to me is simply their standard of living practice (called testimonies) referred to as SPICES. The acronym is used to teach young children the key factors of Quaker living, the principles Friends would like to be identified by living. Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship (or Sustainability, depending on your circle - and either is valid and equally acknowledged for its importance).
I'm wondering how the world sees me when it looks at my life. Does it see a whole, healthy, emotionally and spiritually mature person? Or at least a person who's on a good path of pursuit? Does it see Christ in me? Does it see a person motivated by kindness, humility, and a desire to change the world around me for the better, by promoting and advocating peace and responding to those who are hurting with love, respect and lack of judgment? It's a full bite to chew for sure. I've traveled into other countries - even overseas to volunteer with groups of people, giving my time and sharing resources for various causes. I actively volunteer here in Portland for an advocacy group dedicated to women and their loved ones as they navigate through the waters of becoming (or choosing not to become) parents. We serve as a holding space of listening and support for those who are hurting and experiencing the weight of complex decision making and an environment that can often be hostile, whether it's family or society at large. I occasionally give cash to a stranger. I've signed petitions, used the tangled web of social networking to try to foster discussions centered around certain issues and topics that are nearest and dearest to me. I wonder if any of this really matters.
I guess what I want, more than anything else, is that when I'm NOT focusing on my behavior, like when I'm absentmindedly checking out at the grocery store and I'm annoyed by the seemingly inattentive or unprofessional cashier who isn't giving me the attention I so obviously deserve, that I could keep that tendency in check - the one that's so quick to jump to a conclusion, make a quickfire judgment or give a look of arrogance or pity for her lack of finesse. That's the behavior I find harder to control. I want to be the type of person who loves first, not the person who finds it easy to justify snarkiness in myself. And yes, snarkiness seems to capture the spirit of that feeling, when it wells up in me.
Meg Casey recently blogged this ideal so eloquently - read it here: http://megcasey.com/archives/303.
If I'm going to impact the world, whether it's serving in a leper colony outside of Delhi, or if it's stopping to exchange a kind and sincere word with someone asking for change - or even taking it a step further and asking what I can buy that person for lunch, I need to start with my heart - not with my actions. Of course, they go hand in hand. James said, in the New Testament, that faith without works is dead. He suggests, "...Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds..." (italicized emphasis mine). I'm setting a conscious effort, a prayer on a daily basis, that I can master the gift of grace and empathy, and give people the respect and patience they may or may not deserve. Because I'm feeling more and more that lip service is so done with - it doesn't matter what I say is important to me and/or what ideals I claim identify my heart. It's all simple rhetoric if no one sees that level of integrity within my life, acted out on a consistent basis.
"Be glad, be good, be brave". "Live high, live mighty, and live righteously..." What can I do today that shows my heart - a heart open and desiring to love and live with humility and compassion? And how can that remain a consistent and steady desire and determination, when life seems to suck the essence out of me and people are mean and I feel misunderstood, heavy and broken? What about when I feel indignant, because I feel like someone has truly wronged me? When a judgment is made against me, or when a cruel word is said about me or to me? How can I channel the love, grace and compassion that I'VE been shown, by friends, family, and above all by a God who loves me and knows me by name, and demonstrate that beauty to others? How will you determine to do the same, in whatever way that seems applicable or appropriate to you? I hope we can all begin and continue to seek that path together. Global family, hand in hand.
Peace.
Sel.
In that book, she quotes Pollyanna - she mentions her general mantra of "be glad, be good, be brave"... and whether you credit that sentiment to the film, to the character, or to its author/creator, Eleanor Hodgman Porter, it's an ideal that inspires and challenges me. How simple. Be joyful. Be good. Be courageous. Righteousness. Intention. Reminds me of one of my favorite Jason Mraz songs, where he says "Live high, live mighty, and live righteously; taking it easy..."
I've been raking my mind the last few days and weeks, asking myself what it really means to be a good person. What's quantifiable in my life that shows I'm on a good, true and compassionate path. I've recently joined a community of Friends here in Portland - a Friends Meeting, or a Quaker church for those less familiar. Among a vast array of characteristics and testimonies of faith, practice and principle that have solidified and strengthened my identity as a Quaker, one of the key sets that speaks so powerfully to me is simply their standard of living practice (called testimonies) referred to as SPICES. The acronym is used to teach young children the key factors of Quaker living, the principles Friends would like to be identified by living. Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship (or Sustainability, depending on your circle - and either is valid and equally acknowledged for its importance).
I'm wondering how the world sees me when it looks at my life. Does it see a whole, healthy, emotionally and spiritually mature person? Or at least a person who's on a good path of pursuit? Does it see Christ in me? Does it see a person motivated by kindness, humility, and a desire to change the world around me for the better, by promoting and advocating peace and responding to those who are hurting with love, respect and lack of judgment? It's a full bite to chew for sure. I've traveled into other countries - even overseas to volunteer with groups of people, giving my time and sharing resources for various causes. I actively volunteer here in Portland for an advocacy group dedicated to women and their loved ones as they navigate through the waters of becoming (or choosing not to become) parents. We serve as a holding space of listening and support for those who are hurting and experiencing the weight of complex decision making and an environment that can often be hostile, whether it's family or society at large. I occasionally give cash to a stranger. I've signed petitions, used the tangled web of social networking to try to foster discussions centered around certain issues and topics that are nearest and dearest to me. I wonder if any of this really matters.
I guess what I want, more than anything else, is that when I'm NOT focusing on my behavior, like when I'm absentmindedly checking out at the grocery store and I'm annoyed by the seemingly inattentive or unprofessional cashier who isn't giving me the attention I so obviously deserve, that I could keep that tendency in check - the one that's so quick to jump to a conclusion, make a quickfire judgment or give a look of arrogance or pity for her lack of finesse. That's the behavior I find harder to control. I want to be the type of person who loves first, not the person who finds it easy to justify snarkiness in myself. And yes, snarkiness seems to capture the spirit of that feeling, when it wells up in me.
Meg Casey recently blogged this ideal so eloquently - read it here: http://megcasey.com/archives/303.
If I'm going to impact the world, whether it's serving in a leper colony outside of Delhi, or if it's stopping to exchange a kind and sincere word with someone asking for change - or even taking it a step further and asking what I can buy that person for lunch, I need to start with my heart - not with my actions. Of course, they go hand in hand. James said, in the New Testament, that faith without works is dead. He suggests, "...Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds..." (italicized emphasis mine). I'm setting a conscious effort, a prayer on a daily basis, that I can master the gift of grace and empathy, and give people the respect and patience they may or may not deserve. Because I'm feeling more and more that lip service is so done with - it doesn't matter what I say is important to me and/or what ideals I claim identify my heart. It's all simple rhetoric if no one sees that level of integrity within my life, acted out on a consistent basis.
"Be glad, be good, be brave". "Live high, live mighty, and live righteously..." What can I do today that shows my heart - a heart open and desiring to love and live with humility and compassion? And how can that remain a consistent and steady desire and determination, when life seems to suck the essence out of me and people are mean and I feel misunderstood, heavy and broken? What about when I feel indignant, because I feel like someone has truly wronged me? When a judgment is made against me, or when a cruel word is said about me or to me? How can I channel the love, grace and compassion that I'VE been shown, by friends, family, and above all by a God who loves me and knows me by name, and demonstrate that beauty to others? How will you determine to do the same, in whatever way that seems applicable or appropriate to you? I hope we can all begin and continue to seek that path together. Global family, hand in hand.
Peace.
Sel.
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