I can’t remember how many guitar picks I’ve lost through the years. I’ve misplaced the one’s I’ve borrowed from friends too. The one above is one I can’t lose 🙂 When I saw it I thought, “Wow!” Thanks Eric Y for the gift .. a pleasant surprise.
When we are forgetting things too often, it’s a sign that the mind is over-crowded. When we are not our usual selves and alert, perhaps emotionally we are tired. Stress does get us working and yet it’s a major power drain. Learning to “STOP!” is an uncomfortable art but without the occasional pauses we merely go on and on. Perhaps there is also a hint of reaction because we see so many people giving excuses when in fact it’s plain laziness. Some jokingly admit their laziness, but do nothing about it. Putting too much attention distracted by other people’s inaction is equally tiring. We each need to take ownership of how we are living. Some distance is needed so we won’t live other people’s lives. There’s so much paradox while we are breathing this air which is increasingly polluted.
Solitude was good. Solitude with reflection was better. Solitude with reflection penned down with ink reorders what’s messier on the inside. Solitude with a journal and some quiet music does wonders for me. Strange since extroverts should be energized by being with people. And I get lots of that, but I’m only human. Too much of what is good for me can turn bad. So, Solitude has been an unexpected antidote.
Gareth asked me to play with him yesterday. He mentioned about me being missing for meetings for a few nights. Tonight will be another one. But last night, it was fun watching Elysia and him painting, their art pieces are very … hmmm … abstract 🙂 It wasn’t the final product which was fascinating, it’s the joy they had while painting which was electrifying.
I can see the clutter, I can feel it … it’s always a challenge when more is added and none is subtracted. The piling up of responsibilities is the same. Tasks added, but other projects are still ongoing. It requires some determination to keep one’s heart focused. Discerning the central themes of my life has been key lately, new themes have been layered upon older ones. The concern for “political” implications of the Gospel layers upon the “on the earth” – incarnational – emphasis which has always been what keeps me anchored. The broader musings on organization and institutions and their limited roles are part and parcel of asking what does church mean from the most local level to the most global one. The questions on philosophy are part of the quest for an authentic spirituality which takes human questions seriously. There’s more but often when one is negotiating the seemingly opposite or even polarizing aspects of the questions these contexts require, it’s muddier. Another picture, is when we are stirring the dust, it needs some time to settle before we see things clearer? That’s enough of image tossing for now – clutter, mud, dust!
10 more minutes to go.
It’s a beautiful sunshine.
It’s so critical for some people to learn to read warning signals of stress. I’m particularly bad at seeing it come. But I’ve learnt recently discovered a key pattern that signals something’s wrong. It goes like this
STEP 1: difficulty in concentrating on anything too long
STEP 2: This leads to restlessness – just wanna do something else, but after doing it for a while, I go back to STEP 1.
It’s really frustrating especially when there’s lots to get done. I don’t even feel the tiredness but there’s this overall feeling of being uncomfortable in my own skin. The sabbath makes so much sense, even if you remove the “faith” dimension to it. On the other hand, taking breaks is probably the only way we’re gonna be effective for the mission to which we’ve each been called, to which we are to be faithFULL.
Thanks for the free seminar on Sunday by the way. Was a real blessing. So much material covered. Really building up towards Reformation Sunday with the Luther quotes. Thanks for the hard work.
yewkhuen – it’s rare for you to comment so when you do it’s precious! Faithfulness is what I think many of us desire. A desire which requires decisions to act (as well as not act), decisions which accumulate into a discipline (a word which has often lost it’s currency these days or has become an excuse word more for not changing), and yet to find our way again and again towards our destinies (as well as the DESTINY of humankind) … all these “Ds” need to converge at some point. I think this comment allowed me to try some alliteration exercise. Your STEP 1 is one I need to work on! 🙂