Attention To

What you pay attention to is what you become.

It Is Not The Answer

It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.

-- Eugene Ionesco

Worst Enemy

The worst enemy to creativity is self doubt.

-- Sylvia Plath

Note to self....

Can't vs Won't

I'm wondering...what is the essential difference between can't and won't?

The most obvious aspect, on the surface, might be volition.  

But, pick either one and then move towards the other.  In the end, how much volition is really involved?

Why does it feel easier for some to claim that someone won’t do something than it is to say they just can’t?  For others, it seems easier to conclude someone just can’t, rather than that they just won’t.

We can't ponder this for too long without running into the question of capacity.  What are we capable of?  How much can we do?  

We often love stories about people who pushed the boundaries of their capacity.  Perhaps, we vicariously imagine that we could do the same, whenever we would want, too.

The truth is, though, that there are some things I literally cannot do...even while others actually can do them.  Is that because of my genetic limitations (physical or otherwise)?  In some cases, yes.  In other cases, no.

I remember the first time I took a hike up Pike's Peak -— it was awful and I couldn't enjoy it at all.  I was out of shape and unfamiliar with my surroundings.  I decided at the point, that I wanted to enjoy things like this and that that meant I would have to do some things differently in my life to make it happen.  In other words, I had some choices to make.

Tami and I now enjoy hiking in all kinds of places — at least in part, because of some of the choices we make that physically enable us to do so.

If I think you can, but you think you can't, where are we (even if I think it is because you won't)?

What about when it comes towards me, instead of from me?

If you think I can, but I think I can't, what then (even if you think it is because I won't)?

So, how far does choice push us either direction on the can't / won't continuum?  Does it really matter?  

What degree of agency is there on such matters — 10%, 100%?  

And, what about other kinds of agency (below the surface) that at times is hard not to notice; the kind that is beyond the confines of my own choices?

Scripture or Love

Instagram: nakedpastor

Randoms...

If you can capture the attention of a dog before it gets distracted, you can more easily influence its subsequent behavior (makes me wonder for what other species that might also be the case).

Often, there is quite a bit of sub-text below what we generally let on to...some of which, we even are aware of.

Heavy-handedness does produce results...for a while.

When do you tend to wonder about the meaning of things? 

Prior Randoms...

The Unmasking of Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism has lost credibility. It can only blame itself. We are watching its unmasking.

Evangelicalism is a disorganized, ecumenical alliance of Christians with traditional beliefs, the necessity of a personal experience with God in Christ (new birth), and as a movement it (previously) had a strong commitment to evangelism.

But, evangelicalism has become a noisy cymbal with a pestering “look at me” call for attention. What it wants others to see is not what they see, and what it doesn’t see the rest observe. It’s ugly.

Theology is never meant to be a set of beliefs disconnected from a serious life, but evangelicalism’s claims to possess final truth about the Lord Jesus Christ is systemically denied by the immoralities and inconsistencies of its confessors. It is deconstructing.

There was a time when evangelicalism was carried along by a deserved, general social and even some political respect: Americans were “Christian” and respected the various Christian denominations. Priests got hat tips, pastors were asked to pray at high school gatherings, and churches had social honor. Evangelicals were part of that social world.

Not today.  Continue here....

-- Scot McKnight

I, Lover

'Poem for the week' -- "I, Lover":

I shall never have any fear of love, 

Not of its depth nor its uttermost height,

Its exquisite pain and its terrible delight.

I shall never have any fear of love.

I shall never hesitate to go down

Into the vastness of its abyss

Nor shrink from the cruelty of its awful kiss.

I shall never have any fear of love.

Never shall I dread love’s strength

Nor any pain it might give.

Through all the years I may live

I shall never have any fear of love.

I shall never draw back from love

Through fear of its vast pain

But build joy of it and count it again.

I shall never have any fear of love.

I shall never tremble nor flinch

From love’s moulding touch:

I have loved too terribly and too much

Ever to have any fear of love.

-- Elsa Gidlow

The Same

I have to change to stay the same.

-- Willem de Kooning

Rarely Independent

We don't get extra credit by trying to maintain the position that our thoughts are not highly self-referential.

In other words, not many (any?) of our "I'm an independent thinker..." thoughts (often viewed as more virtuous) are really independent.  Context is always involved; and, often, way more then we realize.

The implications are nearly never-ending....

Denialism is not skepticism

Resolutely refusing to accept a conventional understanding is a statement of certainty.

That’s different from honest skepticism. The skeptic offers an open mind and is clear about what would be necessary to earn enthusiastic support.

The denialist, on the other hand, is sure. Now and forever. This certainty probably doesn’t come from the matter being discussed. Instead, it’s based on external factors, a story, a cultural connection, something that is fueled by the feeling that comes from refusing to examine the issue, not by honest inquiry.

Skepticism is gutsy, denialism is based on fear.

-- Seth Godin, Denialism is not skepticism

Holding Tensions

I've noticed...one of harder things for me to sustain is holding the tensions of others.

Actually, I do it quite well, at least on the surface.  

What I often don't do so well is care for the toll it takes on me by the way I acknowledge (or, more likely, don't) these tensions.

Altar of Social Change

We must proclaim the truth that all life is one and that we are all of us tied together. Therefore it is mandatory that we work for a society in which the least person can find refuge and refreshment. . . . You must lay your lives on the altar of social change so that wherever you are, there the Kingdom of God is at hand!

-- Howard Thurman, Commencement address, Garrett Biblical Institute, 1943

All The Ways

Randoms...

Chiding (oneself, or others) is rarely an effective long-term strategy for change.

Friends are, among other things, those who show up.

When you give of yourself, it tends to cost you something.

Aren't we mostly curators of our own ideas?

Prior Randoms...

Visual: From Afar

Visual - "From Afar”:

St Mary’s, CO

More pics here....

In Search of a Story

We are all wired by what we’ve experienced to be in search of a story with an ending...that feels like it has a completion. And the stories that we gravitate to are the ones that make sense to us, stories that fit, stories that feel like they have continuity, connection to the past, where we’ve been.... Those stories that we will follow are the ones that feel true, feel like they have continuity to our past and that resonate with the trajectory of our lives. So, we’re looking for the story that doesn’t necessarily change our minds; we’re actually looking for the story that confirms what’s in our minds.

-- Jacqui Lewis

What I Want To Do

I live with a question — why can't I leverage what I want to do?

Underneath this question might be this one — why I do feel the need to do so?

And, underneath that question might be yet another one — what am I assuming, about leverage, that I haven't already done so?

Unplug It

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.

-- Anne Lamott

NOT 'Just Another Wedding'....

It seems to me that marriage is a kind of a calling, at the very least, to a commitment.

Given our times, I'm still struck by the desire people have to do it — to make this kind of commitment, to be in union with another person.  When I think about the significance of this day, I think about it in at least 3 ways:

As a friend or family member, I'm struck by the significance such gatherings represent about the lives we live.  So many have made a contribution to Makenzie and Caleb, either by their experience of you in their lives or by your very presence at the wedding.  Many came from far away, just to be there for these few hours.  Many gave generously to them in one way or another to make the day special.  So many were generous to us, as their parents.  Tami and are deeply grateful for these things, for each of you who have been involved.

As a parent, I really feel grateful for Makenzie's desire for marriage.  I can still remember how we would dance together, when she was a little girl.  I am grateful for how Makenzie has come to know that she is loved — that she can both receive love and give love.  

Thirdly, as a person, I am excited about this marriage, for her sake.  I can also remember when we found Makenzie, still very young, walking on a 4-foot tall ledge on the side of our house...by herself!  She was both careful and fearless.  Where we felt the possibility of danger; she felt the possibility of something exciting.  And then there was the time when she came up to us from the backyard holding a little wild bunny in her hands; she felt connection and tenderness.  And, from there, Makenzie has continued — to desire life, to experience life, and to grow in life.

And so, here we are, today at her marriage.

Surely, the path of marriage, if like our own, will be harder than can really be anticipated, but it will also be...better.  I can attest to both of these realities.  In our view, those who make and sustain this kind of desire for and commitment to another person are traveling on a road — a road to a kind of betterment — the kind that changes you, those around you, and probably in some mysterious way, the world.

Makenzie, may you become all that you can become, may your marriage be a vehicle for traveling into the embrace of all of who you are, and may the life you create (figuratively or literally) be a reflection of the greatness and beauty of God.  And, when this feels impossible to see anymore, just keep going.  Because, this is in fact a path, one that many have travelled, and it can lead to goodness.

Caleb, I really can't think of anyone who seems more suited to walk this life with Makenzie.  There is a lot about you that I don't know.  But, through our correspondence and time together, I have gotten to know some things.  I am grateful for: 

• your humility 
• your desire to grow as a person
• the ways you are worthy of trust
• the way you desire to honor people...and, of course, Makenzie

Even when you don't manifest all of these things perfectly, they give me great confidence that you are a part of what it looks like to love Makenzie.  And, she, you.

So, I am excited for both of you — for what you will receive from each other, for what you will learn to give to each other from your increasingly full selves...from all that God has made you to be.

May God bless both you...AND others through your union of marriage!

Some pics here....

See and Accept

What I let God see and accept in me also becomes what I can then see and accept in myself, in my friends, and in everything else! This is “radical grace.”

-- Richard Rohr

Randoms...

Groups with power too often need an enemy.

Be aware of how much of the world (System) you take in — not necessarily 'beware', but 'be aware'...it is systemic.

Among other things, pain focuses our attention.

It’s not hard for me to see gray where others only see black and white…see what I mean?

Prior Randoms...

This Is Water

It's 'commencement' time again:

"It isn't really the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about."

"Blind certainty — a closed-mindedness that amounts to an imprisonment so total that the prisoner doesn't even knows he's locked up."

"The real value of education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over."

-- David Foster Wallace

You Can't Create Peace

You can’t create peace; you can only discover it.

-- Deepak Chopra

Is Capitalism Is Destroying America?

In some ways, capitalism is now destroying America. 

And, it doesn’t seem clear that democracy can save it either. 

The incessant channeling of natural resources for the primary purpose of pure consumption is literally changing our collective ecosystems. Just because we have air-conditioning, live indoors, and don't it, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Not to mention drought, carbon-emissions, etc. 

If we mow down the world, and pave it over, just so that we can have new living spaces…what on earth did we think is going to happen?

How many more signs does nature need to give us that what we are doing is unsustainable?

Maybe there is more unsustainability involved than we realize — it appears the factors involved aren't all just external either.

Will we continue to consume almost anything (and everything); just because we can, just because someone will sell it to us?

America Has a Drinking Problem

 

A little alcohol can boost creativity and strengthen social ties. But there’s nothing moderate, or convivial, about the way many Americans drink today.  Continue here...

-- Kate Julian

Courage Comes From

Our courage comes from the courage of others.

-- Simon Sinek

Selling Outrage

Ever noticed...that selling outrage is a problem?

At the very least, consider the money behind outrage in our society.

It Isn’t The Gospel

It isn’t the gospel, if it doesn’t include a social justice.

In other words, the gospel isn’t just  a private thing.  In fact, it may not even be primarily a private thing.

Randoms...

There’s the truth and then there’s the package in which it is delivered.

It’s not good to go too long thinking about people, without being with them.

Applying pressure is a tactic, but not a good strategy.

Why do we tend to believe that the present is not enough (that we need to know the future, too)?

Prior Randoms...

Can You Find - The Mouse Among The Mushrooms?

Morning Brew

The Optimist

'Poem for the week' -- "The Optimist":

Who would have the sky any color but blue,

     Or the grass any color but green?

Or the flowers that bloom the summer through

     Of other color or sheen?

How the sunshine gladdens the human heart—

     How the sound of the falling rain

Will cause the tender tears to start,

     And free the soul from pain.

Oh, this old world is a great old place!

     And I love each season’s change,

The river, the brook of purling grace,

     The valley, the mountain range.

And when I am called to quit this life,

     My feet will not spurn the sod,

Though I leave this world with its beauty rife,—

     There’s a glorious one with God!

-- J. W. Hammond

Is empathy always good?

Empathy, patience, and compassion — how they are inter-related....

Apparently, It Isn't

Last week's post on not wanting to be a Christian requires some intellectual honesty.

Truth be told, the way Christians treat people they disapprove of is likely more a function of being human than being Christian.  But, something is easier about targeting a group, than it is to reflect more honestly on what all of us are susceptible to.  The fact is that many human-beings treat each other poorly, if not in the worst of ways.  All kinds of groups are actually created because of the distinctions they are trying to make about themselves, relative to other people.  And, once that dynamic gets started, it is very hard to stop.  If our current political process isn't an example of such things, I'm not sure what is.  We do this not only in religious realms (a basic contradiction in and of itself), but really in most areas of life.  Even our leisure time has become defined by what team we are for (and, therefore, what team we are against) — all in the name of fun.

Our needs for belonging, acceptance, and fulfillment end up driving our belief systems, which end up translating to how we think, talk about, and treat those who are not 'one of us'.  For all our supposed sophistication, some aspects of basic tribalism are still operating alive and well.

Christians really aren't necessarily any better at many of these things after all.  The reality is, they are often more confused than others (or live in a lot more denial).  Other people choose different forms of denial.  So, at some level, Christian or not, people are often involved in things like denial and disapproval because it really is what people in general tend to do...especially when they are encouraged to do so by the personalities and power-structures that are involved in the human (and Christian) experience.  In other words, people who have nothing to do with Christianity do the very same things that Christians do.  And, vice-versa, most Christians are simply doing what most human-beings do.

But, shouldn't there be a higher standard...for Christians?  Yes, at the very least there can be, and I'll write more about that soon.

In the meantime, I am increasingly aware that Christianity and following Jesus are more often not the same thing.  So much of what happens under the banner of Christianity has little to do with what Jesus was about or taught.  

It's kind of gotten to the point where someone should be saying, 'Isn't that obvious?', because apparently it isn't.

Infinitely More Instructive

Failures are infinitely more instructive than successes.

-- George Clooney