Monthly Archives: June 2017
“OF ART WORK AND FRAMES: IN PRAISE OF BOUNDARIES”
“BEECH”
“Where my imaginary line
Bends square in woods, an iron spine
And pile of real rocks have been founded.
And off this corner in the wild,
Where these are driven in and piled,
One tree, by being deeply wounded,
Has been impressed as Witness Tree
And made commit to memory
My proof of being not unbounded.
Thus truth’s established and borne out,
Though circumstanced with dark and doubt—
Though by a world of doubt surrounded.
THE MOODIE FORESTER” (Robert Frost)
My wife and I went to a Civil War reenactment. We visited with friends and had a good time.
There were various crafts and activities in the town square. My sweetheart talked me into trying my hand at “spin art.” I would call “spin art” “art for those who can’t do art.” In other words, it was precisely the sort of (non)art I could do!
I was advised as to what colors to use, and where to drizzle the colors. With a great deal of supervision, I did a fairly good Frisbee, although it looked a bit like what I imagine an L.S.D.-induced vision of an eye might look like. As I said, I am not an artist.
The seller of the Frisbee probably felt sorry for me, and let me do a little sheet of paper for free. It looked outstandingly mediocre when I was done with it. However, my radically generous sweetheart said it was good. Since she is a good artist, I was very humbly pleased.
However, I thought she was going more than a bit overboard when she wanted to buy a frame for it. When my Princess gets an idea in her head, she is harder to stop than a Trane—or a train.
I thought that buying a frame for my spin junk . . . , I mean spin art . . . was a mistake. The fact that she had bought the frame at The Dollar Tree (where everything really does cost a dollar) somewhat mollified my stingy attitude. And I have to admit that, with a nice little frame around it, my spin art did look much better. Frames don’t make art, but they can make art look better.
I’ve never liked boundaries, but this little vignette helped me to think differently about boundaries, borders, and frames. Perhaps frames or borders don’t simply limit art. Perhaps they enhance art.
In life also, frames or borders are important. In Psalm 16:6, the psalmist says, “The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.” Apparently, the psalmist didn’t simply love his territory. He even loved the limits of his territory.
I have boundaries, limits, frames, in connection with my body, my mind, my time, my finances. Do I love the limits? Or, am I always wanting more?
That great philosopher Clint Eastwood said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” Yes! Perhaps that’s a huge part of the art of living.
“BEYOND HOLY WILLFULNESS: LOVING GOD BECAUSE GOD LOVES ME”
Richard Rhor wrote some much-needed words for me in a post I read of his this morning. (Okay! So perhaps Rhor did have me particularly in mind, but it feels that way!)
In the Franciscan reading of the Gospel, there is no reason to be religious or to “serve” God except “to love greatly the One who has loved us greatly,” as Saint Francis said. . . . Religion is not about heroic will power or winning or being right. This has been a counterfeit for holiness in much of Christian history. True growth in holiness is a growth in willingness to love and be loved and a surrendering of willfulness, even holy willfulness (which is still “all about me”).
Yes, I fear—and more than half suspect— that even my “holy willfulness” . . . is still all about me. So, is my willfulness really even holy? The question answers itself.
Many years ago, my mom said to me, “Sometimes, I think that you think too much about improving yourself, and not enough about other people!”
I have heard it said that, if you throw a brick at a bunch of dogs and one of them yelps, it means you hit it. When Mom said that, I definitely yelped. (I am not advocating, by the by, throwing bricks at dogs!)
I am going to let Rohr have the last word. “Doing anything and everything solely for God is certainly the most purifying plan for happiness I can imagine. It changes the entire nature of human interaction and eliminates most conflict.” (For his entire meditation, see his website and the meditation for June 22, 2017, accessed 06-22-2017.)
“IMAGINING DIFFERENT FUTURES”
I have signed up to receive daily TED talks in my e mail in box. My first one was a talk by Anab Jain, and was titled “Why We Need to Imagine Different Futures.”
I am not all that big on the future. I’m still trying to decide if I like the present. Don’t even get me started on the past!
However, I thought to myself, “Well, I’ve signed up for this, so I’d better listen to it.” I’m glad that I did. (If you want to see and hear the entire TED talk, go to https://www.ted.com/talks/anab_jain_why_we_need_to_imagine_different_futures, accessed 06-20-2017.)
Jain gave a number of examples of her team’s research in various fields. However, I was especially intrigued by some of her comments that are, I think, widely applicable.
For example, concerning climate change, she spoke of exploring different “possible futures.” Such exploration tries to “. . . prepare for that future by developing tools and attitudes that can help us find hope—hope that can inspire action.”
. . .
“. . . [C]reating concrete experiences can bridge the disconnect between today and tomorrow. By putting ourselves into different possible futures, by becoming open and willing to embrace the uncertainty and discomfort that such an act can bring, we have the opportunity to imagine new possibilities. . . . We can move beyond hope into action.”
Christians should be among the forward-looking people in the world. Instead, we are among the most backward-looking folks. Years ago, I remember (!?! See! I’m looking back!) someone speaking of “. . . the seven last words of the church: “We’ve never done it that way before!” Churches tend to forget the truth of a Will Rogers’ saying: “The good old days ain’t so good any more, and they probably never was.”
To imagine different futures doesn’t mean ignoring the past, nor does it mean that we don’t live in the present. Rather, imagining different futures means “. . . developing tools and attitudes that can help us find hope—hope that can inspire action.” It is only when we begin to develop tools, attitudes, and hope that our actions can really make a difference in the present and for the future.
“JESUS’ SELF-CARE”
A friend who reads this blog always sends me appreciative, thoughtful, and thought-provoking e mails. Concerning my post about loving and respecting God, others, all of creation, and myself, he noted how tricky it is to balance these things. I absolutely agree.
My reply to his e mail was as follows:
“Dear James,
Yes, indeed! It is tricky—perhaps even beyond tricky! I most certainly have not made a good start on this.
In this regard (as in all others), Jesus our LORD is our redeemer, example, guide, friend, and forgiver.
I think I feel another blog post coming on (although it could be just a stomach bug) about how Jesus took care of himself. I had never thought about that until your e mail. Thanks!”
Generally, it is better to think before you speak or act, and I do try to do that (with varying degrees of success). However, sometimes I think of things after I have spoken or written something. After I had written the bit about Jesus being our example, I suddenly realized that I had never thought of Jesus as an example of balanced self-care. Never!
I had thought about Jesus being an example of caring for others and for loving God, but had never considered that Jesus also took appropriate care of himself as well.
Jesus rested when he was tired. He could even sleep in a no-doubt cramped boat in the middle of a storm (Matthew 8:24).
Jesus ate when he was hungry (Luke 10:38-42). Indeed, many of Jesus’ teachings were given while he was enjoying a meal with someone or a group.
Jesus reached out for companionship (Mark 14:32-34).
Jesus sometimes spoke up when he felt that he or those around him were being treated unfairly (Mark 14:48-49; Luke 18:15-17).
Now, of course self-care had its limits with Jesus, as indeed it should for all of us. Jesus spoke of giving up his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). For each of us, self-care must be balanced by a willingness for self-sacrifice. There are times when we all need to be willing to risk everything for someone else. And yet, our basic instinct must be not self-preservation, but rather self-care. Only if we are taking appropriately good care of ourselves are we able to sacrifice ourselves. A firefighter, in order to have a shot at saving others, must be in good shape physically and mentally. Only so can she risk her life in order to save the life of another.
“DOING SO WELL, BUT THEN, . . . OOPS!”
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18, King James Version.)
“Look, Mom, no hands!” (Nine-year-old boy, doing tricks on his bicycle.) “Look, son, a broken arm!” (Mom of the nine-year-old boy, at the emergency room, after the doctor had read the x-ray.) "I learned that it is better, a thousand-fold, for a proud man to fall and be humbled, than to hold up his head in his pride and fancied innocence. I learned that he that will be a hero, will barely be a man; that he that will be nothing but a doer of his work, is sure of his manhood. In nothing was my ideal lowered, or dimmed, or grown less precious; I only saw it too plainly, to set myself for a moment beside it. Indeed, my ideal soon became my life; whereas, formerly, my life had consisted in a vain attempt to behold, if not my ideal in myself, at least myself in my ideal". (George MacDonald, Phantastes, 166.)
I was doing well, I really was. I was hustling to sit people in my station, which wasn’t the best in the restaurant. However, if I look pitiful enough, I can often persuade (guilt?) people into sitting there. I was getting the orders right. After about an hour, I said to myself, “I’m doing pretty well tonight! Maybe I’m getting the hang of this serving business.”
I immediately discovered that I was entirely premature in my self-congratulatory thoughts.
I seated a grandma and grandpa and their little grandson in one of my booths—and proceeded to make three mistakes: I forgot to give them their silverware until the food came out. (They had to ask for silverware!) I didn’t get a salad out in a timely fashion. I forgot that the little guy got applesauce.
It seems that every time I think I’m doing well, I’m not.
So, what is the solution? Not, I think, believing that I am not going to do well in a given situation. Rather, I think that the solution is to simply focus on what I am doing, and striving to do it well. Not beating myself up, and not evaluating. Just being a doer of the work.
Pride precedes a fall. Yes, it does!
So, I apologized profusely, and offered to give them a “d e s s e r t” at my own expense. (I spelled it in case they didn’t want the little guy to have any dessert. Hey, I used to be a dad of small children!)
I did give them a small dessert, paying for it out of my tip money, and they went away fairly content, I suppose. In fact, they left me a six-dollar tip!
Self-congratulation is always a dodgy business. Humility is a choice, but it isn’t really optional. Sometimes, failure is a wonderful reminder of this fact.
“CONCERNING LAUGHTER AND CIRCLING BUZZARDS”
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” ( Proverbs 31:25, New Living Translation, concerning the woman of excellence.)
“ 6 And Sarah declared, ‘God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.
7 Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!’” (Genesis 21:6-7, New Living Translation, Sarah [who was 90 years old (!) after the birth of her only-born son, Isaac, whose name means “Laughter.”)
A lady told me a very funny story to me after church yesterday. Her husband plays on a seniors’ softball league, and many of the wives go to watch—and to visit with one another.
One day, when the old guys were coming off the field, their wives were laughing uproariously. When the men asked what the ladies were laughing so hard about, the women just pointed to the sky. Apparently, there were a bunch of buzzards circling around!
Laughter is a wonderful thing. It is on my to-be-and-to-do list as an every-single-day goal.
Of course, there are lots of painful and serious things in the world. Sometimes, all we can do is just stand there, like a cow in a cold rain. Laughter is not always an option, either for us or for those we love.
But often, we can laugh—even at very serious realities. Especially at very serious realities. Why do we laugh about politics, marriage, aging, sex, and death? Because they are too serious to take too seriously!
I am not a very humorous person. (I once made the mistake of asking my wife, “Why don’t you ever laugh at my jokes?” She shot back with, “If you’d tell one, I would!” Now that was funny!) Usually, about the only time people laugh at me is when I’m being totally serious.
And, of course, I am most certainly no researcher in the field of humor research, though there are people who do serious research in the field of humor. I am not joking! A Ph.D. in joke-ology: Imagine that!
There really are some serious reasons to laugh. Even such a sober and respected organization as the Mayo Clinic recognizes some of the health benefits of laughter (http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456, accessed 06-19-2017). I’ll just mention a couple of the benefits that I have personally experienced.
I suspect that laughter is our way of holding serious issues at arm’s length, so that we can get a better look at them. Taking everything seriously all the time destroys our perspective. Laughter helps us to regain our perspective. I think that laughter may even help us to think of other possible solutions to some of our most vexing problems.
That may be related to the fact that humor helps us to relax. Only when I am relaxed can I think of other possible solutions to my problems. In any case, relaxing is an important thing to do. Most of us, I suspect, need to practice the fine art of relaxing a whole lot more than we do.
I was once at a very tense meeting at a church. We were considering making a major financial commitment. There was a lot of discussion, both pro and con. I realized that churches had split over much more trivial things.
When the vote was taken, the ayes had it by one vote! I held my breath. I think everyone who was there held his or her breath.
And then, one of the people who had opposed the expenditure made some outrageously funny remark that I can’t even remember now. It may have been something to the effect of a lighthearted “Well, we’ve settled that one!” Everyone laughed. And suddenly, we all knew that we could go on being one church.
Have you laughed yet today?
“THE WISE OLD MIRACLE-WORKER, AND THE YOUNG SKEPTIC”
“Miracle is simply the religious name for event.” (Friedrich D. Schleiermacher, On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers.)
The story is told of a wise old miracle worker. A skeptical young man went to the old man, and demanded, “Show me a miracle, so that I may believe in God!”
Without uttering a word, the old man planted a seed in a nearby pot. Immediately the seed grew into a tall green plant. In less than a minute, the plant had produced a lovely flower.
The young skeptic was in awe. “It is a miracle!” he exclaimed.
But the wise old miracle worker looked at the young man with compassion, though his words were stern. “Young fool!” he said, “The miracle of life, and growth, and beauty is all around you all the time. All I did was speed up the process in this one case.”
Perhaps the process for all good things is a miracle. Maybe all true beauty is an amazing thing. Maybe miracles are in the eye of the beholder—like beauty.
That was apparently Friedrich Schleiermacher’s point. If you’re amazed, an event is a miracle. I don’t entirely agree with Schleiermacher. Even if no one is around to observe an amazing thing, it is still a miracle. However, I do think Schleiermacher makes a valid observation—as long as it is not pressed too far. Miracle, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
Of course, life could be an accident, and beauty could be an illusion. However, I’ve had several accidents (automotive and other kinds of accidents as well), and I have yet to find an accident that leads to life or beauty.
I wonder what miracles will happen in my world and in yours today. I wonder if we will be aware of these miracles. Perhaps awareness itself is the one of the greatest miracles.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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- “The Process in Miracles and the Miracle of Process” March 11, 2024“2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids […]
- “The Power of Encouragement—Even for Old People” March 10, 2024“But encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.” (Hebrews 3:13, New Century Version) Yesterday, I was walking at a nearby park. There was a large group of young people some of whom were running while other young people […]
- “Endurance” March 10, 2024“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36, English Standard Version) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us […]
- “The Limits of Non-Judgmentalism” February 24, 2024“Matt. 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. Matt. 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2, English Standard Version) This morning, in my virtual 12-step meeting, we discussed the topic of judgmentalism. There were many wise […]
- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
- “Character is the Real Lesson” January 19, 2024I am often confused about what lesson I’m really supposed to be learning. For example, this morning I was trying to knock out several Spanish lessons. My intentions were a lot better than my internet connection. I’ve done three lessons. Or rather, I’ve done two lessons. One of them I did twice because the internet […]
- “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked” January 1, 2024Each year, I try to come up with one word or a short phrase for what I intend to work on in the upcoming year. 2024 is “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked”. What?!! What does that even mean? So glad that you asked! Jesus said to his disciples, “Why do you look at the speck […]
- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
- “That Don’t Impress God Much” December 14, 2023DTEB, “That Don’t Impress God Much” “That Don’t Impress Me Much” (Song by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain) Micah 6:8 (MSG) “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be […]
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