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Ambition

Don't you love it when you read or watch something for the umpteenth time and notice something different?  To me, that's kind of THE test of the quality of a book or movie, that not only do I find it deserving of experiencing multiple times, but that it speaks to me differently at different times, and new things capture my attention or make me think of something in an unexpected way.  It's like an old friend you see for the first time in many years--there's the beautiful familiarity of the relationship as it was, coupled with the life each experienced in the intervening years, and the accompanying maturity each has achieved.   My reading today did that for me.  The last three weeks have been hard.  Watching insecurity manifest itself in self-centered power grabbing and metaphorical kneeling on the necks of the already-oppressed has left me starving for reason, for peace, for justice.  Ambition joined to competition, greed, and aggression is simply exha...
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Giving our Gifts

 Good morning!  A little disclaimer:  I have to get my things together to go to work in just 25 minutes, so that's my time limit to write this little musing.  So I may not do much editing this time.  Let's just see how it goes (24 minutes left . . .) I try to do a little Bible reading every day.  Depending on how I sleep the night before, snoozing a couple more times may be a better way to prepare myself for the day (complete honesty here), so sometimes it's in the evening, and some days I just don't get to it.  I read a little devotional and then take the passage of scripture and read it several times, in several versions, to help the message sink in.  When I did yesterday's reading, it stuck out to me as an idea that would be good for anyone to espouse, not only those of us who try to follow the teachings of the Bible.  It's from the first letter of the apostle Peter:  "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve ot...
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Enough

I'm becoming somewhat obsessed with the idea of decluttering.  I've subscribed to a few email lists about simplicity, living simply, minimalism, and decluttering, and enjoy gleaning the ideas in an effort to simplify my own life, to declutter.  I like to read books about things like Swedish Death Cleaning (that's really a thing, and if you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend it), making life simpler, and time-saving hacks.  I think when most people hear the word "minimalism," they think of getting rid of all one's possessions, and sleeping on the floor.  Talk about living simply, and the mental picture is of the Amish or a "hippie" commune.  It's usually about stuff.  Physical stuff.  Eliminating the stuff you already have and reducing the stuff you acquire.   I also think a lot about the word "enough."  I made a bracelet at a women's retreat last year, and after agonizing over designing the perfect bracelet decided it sh...
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Simple

For the last several years, instead of "New Year's Resolutions," I've chosen a "Word of the Year."  Rather than set myself up for failure with a grandiose To-Do List , I try to set the tone for the year with a word I want to focus on, and then throughout the year, keep my eyes open for how that word and the concept behind it show up in my life and in the world around me.  What's really amazing about this exercise to me is how easy it is to find what I'm looking for.  If my word of the year is "light," everything I read seems to have something to do with light.  Conversations I have in person and online tend to lead to discussions about the darkness in the world and effects of light on the darkness.  Sermons and TED Talks and Webinars I encounter through my year of light inevitably connect, sometimes directly and sometimes obliquely, but it's always there.  It's like when you buy your first Toyota, and then suddenly it seems that eve...
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Early Morning Inspiration

I love it when inspiration strikes first thing in the morning.  A little disclaimer for this post:  I've been reading what I discovered is a pirated edition of The Anti-Planner  by Dani Donovan, and one of the tips for getting things done is to set a timer, and just work until the timer goes off.  Let go of perfectionism, and what is done at the end of the allotted time is just done.  So, I have to leave for work in 40 minutes, so 40 minutes is all I get.  If the ending is abrupt, or if certain sentences don't seem to go anywhere, it's because I ran out of my usual editing time.  I really just want to get my thoughts down on "paper" before I forget. Starting over.  I love it when inspiration strikes first thing in the morning.  I was playing a game on my tablet while drinking my morning coffee, and thinking about my Joy Journal.  I started this on November 2, writing down at least one thing each day that brings me joy.  What brought...
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What Now?

Today has been hard.  I woke up this morning, and was immediately confronted by extremely disappointing news.  I thought of my daughters, one of whom was three days too young to vote.  I thought of all women, the battles won and lost, the rights obtained and those withheld.  I thought of the marginalized, the poor, the refugee, the minority--those Jesus commanded us to love and care for.  I thought of my friends in the LGBTQ community, and the children of my friends, who are either part of that community or allies to them.  I thought of the earth, the environment we as humans are making ever more inhospitable for ourselves.  And I thought of higher education, such an important institution that is becoming less accessible thanks to policy and funding cuts.  It seems that everything I care about is being gutted in the name of power and privilege. So, what now?  What do we do in the face of such bitter disappointment?  We do have options....
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What Do You Want to Be?

What is your dream?  When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?  A doctor, teacher, or fireman?  A rockstar, artist, or professional athlete?  Wealthy?  Powerful?  Influential? What qualities or characteristics did you dream of having?  That's a little harder to answer.  It's not a question adults asked your eight-year-old self, is it?  You may have dreamed of being a lawyer, but why?  To make a lot of money and be respected, or to help people in difficult situations?  If you wanted to be a business executive, was it to be important and have a lot of people to boss around, or to guide a business and its personnel into a positive way of being in the world, recognizing human value, environmental and financial impact, and service? I wanted to be a teacher.  I had a chalkboard in my room, and picked up textbooks at garage sales.  I made answer keys for the books, and taught my dolls and stuffed animals....
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