Some of us cannot move our thoughts beyond what happened, could have happened, or should have happened in the past.
Some of us dream only of the future, relationships to come, jobs and wealth we could acquire, places to visit.
Seth Godin has pointed out, “The best reason to think about the past is because it gives us the opportunity to improve the future.”
Most important—we live only in the present. This decision of what to do right now, in this moment, that is where life exists.
Arnold Schwarzenegger observing fitness behavior. The people who find joy in the gym are the most likely to keep showing up to the gym. Fitness is supposed to make us feel better, but many people decide to stress about it.
I see the same thing on the nutrition/weight loss side of the equation. People look at “dieting” in order to lose weight as punishment.
That won’t work. Maybe short term. But not for life.
Best is to find the joy of eating wholesome, tasty food in smaller portions. Thousands of recipes exist. One needn’t feel deprived. Heck, have an occasional ice cream.
These practices form the foundation for further spiritual practices. When we feel better, we are more awake to study or finding God’s voice in our prayers and service.
Treating others with kindness can seem like a chore…or it can just be a reflection of who we are.
Spiritual practitioners and teachers have taught people to begin by treating themselves with kindness, practicing gratitude, recognizing our shortcomings with objectivity and desire for change.
Some people whom we might describe informally with narcissistic tendencies seem to be so assured. Yet, inside they cannot treat themselves with kindness while hoping for others to treat them that way.
Others of us have been brought up not to expect kindness from others. Those people are shocked or suspicious when someone is kind to them, since they cannot be kind to themselves.
Blessed are those who treat their shortcomings with kindness. They find spiritual growth. And the ability to serve others in ways great and small simply as an extension of that kindness.
We can all learn to step back, becoming aware of our situation, practicing loving kindness meditation. We become a spiritually integrated child of God.
Worry…Worry, worry, worry, worry
Worry just will not seem to leave my mind alone—Ray LaMontagne, Trouble
My mother was a worrier. She passed this trait along to her four sons. My barber from long ago was researching his genealogy. It was German. He told me that Germans were worriers. My mom’s father spoke German, but he was Alsatian speaking a dialect of German. There was no correlation. I doubt that you can classify a tribe or culture as worriers.
But worry can invade many people in a culture. Especially so in this day of social media algorithms. Conspiracy theories abound. Wonder why? Just look at what “news” item suddenly appear in your Facebook/Instagram/Xitter/TikTok feeds. TV News? I tell people it has little to do with liberal/conservative or red/blue. The real differentiation is hype/more hype/most hype.
I talked with an engineer on the host company’s AI team. He’s worried about AI.
We could always quote another song, Don’t Worry, Be Happy—Bobby McFerrin
An extension of lifelong meditation practice entails intentionally diverting my mind the moment my awareness recognizes worry. It works.
We could infuse this thought into our thinking along with Mark Twain (quoted by President James A. Garfield), “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of which never happened.”
You’ve got to make the morning last.—Paul Simon
Or, if that’s too mellow, try the opposite:
I Can’t Drive 55—Sammy Hagar
I live in a 55+ community. You’d think that retired people have nowhere to go in a rush. But, if you saw where few stop at stop signs and most are far over the 25 mph speed limit, you’d think it was a 25- community where all the young people are in a hurry.
It took me years to learn to pace myself. The 5 minutes that I “saved” by driving too fast really didn’t matter. The frustrations of doing 3 or 4 things simultaneously resulted in shoddy, partially thought-out work.
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy
Background:
Yet
For a Jewish Rabbi, Jesus was astonishingly open to everyone.
What’s my excuse for being closed into my group? What’s your excuse?
I’ve interviewed many CEOs, some of which led multi-billion dollar corporations. I’ve met and interviewed and worked with many people with degrees piled upon degrees. I’ve also worked with electricians on the factory floor and workers on the assembly line. They’ve almost all been good people, smart in their own way.
Jason Fried, CEO and entrepreneur, wrote this in an email newsletter recently. Something which I wholeheartedly agree.
Titles, tenure, and paths don’t matter. The work does. Always look at the work.
How is your work?
I asked yesterday, Have we missed the point?
Maybe I should have asked, Where have we missed the point?
I looked at two surveys—one about young women leaving the church and one about young men returning to the church.
And I wondered about missing this point from Paul written to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
So, where did we miss this point?
Was it missed 1,500 years ago and carrying forward until today?
How can churches become communities where everyone is accepted, no one is put down, as they work toward common goals of service? That is how Paul ended his letter on spiritual formation to the Romans. That is how the early church grew and changed the world.
We don’t proclaim inclusivity; we practice it.
There is a difference. In the end, people are known by what they do.
A Tale of Two Surveys. Taken together, I wonder where the American church has missed the point. Perhaps using the term “church” speaks too broadly. There seem to be myriad churches with myriad theologies.
But, let us consider two recent surveys.
Young women are leaving church in unprecedented numbers, according to the Survey Center on American Life’s research. The center learned that young women are particularly concerned about churches that don’t welcome all people; that discourage women’s leadership; and don’t attend to community, justice, compassion, and loving one’s neighbor.
Young white men are coming back to the church because it’s one of the few places that accept them (undefined, but a logical assumption would be those “evangelical” churches that condemn homosexuality and women leadership).
The Apostle Paul, loved by some conservatives and scorned by some liberals and misunderstood by most, famously wrote to the churches of Galatia, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
I ask, why are we still so intent on divisions? Why do we champion one group and put down another? Why don’t we organize our churches with this vision—you are all one in Christ Jesus?
Conscious ignorance, if you can practice it, expands our world.
Imagine approaching study, say of the Bible for instance, consciously ignorant. We would be open to learning something new. We would be open to the infusion of the Spirit.
We might even become renewed.
Faith Venture 