The Smell Factor

As I make personal choices about how to live my live by my values I am wary of the slippery slope I’m on. Whilst I aim to live my life in such a way as to empower the marginalised, promote equality and diversity, love others, protect and sustain the world and it’s peoples; the more hard core I get, the more I smell.

No offence to people like Ghandi, Jesus and Mother Theresa; their contribution to the world was monumental, but we all know that the very acts of changing the world for the better are often opposed to personal grooming.

Here’s an example of some thing that are good, but make you smell: Riding your bike instead of your car, avoiding aluminium deodorants, mulching manure, etc. I put together this sliding scale of ‘normal’ to ‘smelling’ people, I’m still pretty close to the ‘normal’ end, but am heading further down:

note: spelling in this may be ‘near-enough-is-good-enough’, also, the order of events may differ from individual experience.

Anyway, I’d rather smell and live in the world I hope for. You know, that is if I can’t have both. I’ll just take more eco-friendly showers. How far are you down the list?

A different kind of Christmas

I think you should all be empowered by this new video, which has become my favourite clip on the cost of materialism. I think it says very simply what we all know about the price of a consumerist society, and what we can simply do to have a better life and community now.

It was posted by Christine Sine on her blog with a lot of other cool tips and resources on how to do Christmas differently. I highly recommend checking it out. Merry Christmas.

Cars Go Fast

Life isn’t fast all the time, that’s just perception. Maybe we should relax a bit and try lose momentum. I think it’s in times like that that we’re best able to see where the car is going, who we’re going with, and what we have to do to get there; if we want to truly get ‘there’ at all. Funny that the thing that slows us down can be going too fast. This was fun to draw.

Hungry People

Right now I’m pretty hungry. But I guess that’s not really anything compared with the way millions of people living in poverty feel. People in my city, people in the world. Right now there’s serious famine starving Africa in a destructive way.

 

It’s difficult to imagine what we could do to change that, but the truth is we can. People have already jumped onboard to make a difference to the needy. These great and inspiring people work for organisations that see and (try to) fill the needs of the world. No one joins an NGO or not-for-profit for their own gains, these people are paying a great cost so others may live/eat/marry/grow. Spare a thought and a prayer for those people. Maybe you’re one of them, maybe you could be.

So what do we lack? Well that’s where everyone comes in: people are acting to help those in trouble, but their financial resources are not up to the task. You could change the world for real people, make a difference in the lives of our human brothers and sisters. You could be a hero, and all you have to do is click your mouse a few times. Or you could think about how your lifestyle affects those on the other side of the world, think about how you could live your life to give others a better chance. You could be one of those people, living a call to help others.

Change is possible, but it always costs us. Then again, not changing costs us to. You don’t have to take a vow of poverty, but you can think before you buy “Do I need this? Or could I be a hero instead?”

If you want to make a difference right now, do it! I recommend TEAR Australia as a personal favourite. But there’s obviously World Vision, UNICEF and Oxfam and countless others. I thought I’d do a little for sharing what I thought with you, may be you can share it with others. The world is full of problems that you have the ability to solve, be empowered!

Desperate times call for…

Strange how in life the harder path is so often the better path. And by ‘harder’ I mean more costly to us and by ‘better’ I mean more beneficial for everyone. When things get tough it’s so easy to sell out others, rather than take to brunt ourselves, I guess that’s a broken survival instinct (broken in that it is short sighted).

The world will no doubt be transformed by those who take the harder path, not by those who save themselves. I hope I don’t cry out “I have no other choice!”, I hope to put others first in all circumstance.

So, now what…?

I always wonder about the day after. What the ‘end of the world’ style cults will do when the world doesn’t end. As a teen I was amused when this happened, now I’m pretty sad. Lot’s of people invested fully in the idea that something was going to happen, and then it didn’t. I’m especially sad to read all the articles about pensioners investing all their savings into ad campaigns warning people, or parents who have neglected their children’s interests in the same pursuit. There’s nothing amusing about this. I don’t think these people should be punished for committing to what they believed in, I just hope there’s some understanding in their community for them.

So, what now? I think Richard Dahlstrom summed it up in “And if the world doesn’t end this Saturday… Getting our Priorities straight” this week. But to put my own two cents in...

I think that we clean it up. The world isn't going anywhere fast, and though we have a lot of work before us there is really no other option. Some look at the mess and are willing to give up because of the size of the damage, but I'm more hopeful than that. A comment I saw recently said:

“I just don’t see everyone learning to love each other happening without His direct intervention. I don’t see the mega-rich stopping their exploitative business practices. I don’t see the rights of indigenous people being recognised; instead the genocide is covered up. I don’t see the poor and the disposed being cared for. I don’t see swords being beaten into ploughshares. I don’t see slavery and oppression coming to an end. So in a sense I am looking forward to the end of the world”

I think we can all relate to that pain of living in this broken world. But I see something different. I know that there is so much war, but then I do see places where swords are being beaten into ploughs. There is oppression, but I do see a transformation where that oppression is replaced with justice. I do see hate and greed and exploitation and genocide and lies and fear, but for all that God is working and transforming lives in real ways that brings about His kingdom on earth. I think this world would have rotted a long time ago if it was in constant decay, but it hasn't, because it's being slowly built up as well. I have a big hope for the future. A future that starts now.

How to Crucify a Rabbit

Symbols get really messed up and thrown around by the pseudo-religious/secular holidays we keep having. I think the confusion will continue to grow as each invested party (ie, the market and the church) get more forceful and more extreme. I can't help but wonder if we're all just getting more confused.

Who is this Easter Bunny? What's his motives? Why would he give us candy for free? Can we take chocolate from strange bunnies? Is he in cahoots with this Santa figure who lures us in with the promise of free gifts? There's aksi a dead body in this story, did they kill Jesus to keep it a secret? Being God's son they must have figured He knew too much and hired the Judas to silence him. The Tooth fairy probably funded the thirty pieces of silver, he's pretty cashed up. And where are all those teeth going I wonder...

It's hard enough to pass on accurate information let alone all the hype. And now that I've got a daughter the prospect of telling her their's a bunny that lays chocolate eggs seems creepy. In a non-Christian sense even the new-life and fertility symbols of Easter have been forgotten for chocolate and excess. What does a hunt for chocolate eggs really symbolize? Do we really need an excuse to eat chocolate or give each other gifts? I'mlooking forward to focusing on the symbols that matter to me, and stripping away the rest. Easter is about freedom and victory, sacrifice and gain, Hope and rescue. For me, Jesus shows the world a way to find the freedom they've been looking for. I think symbols are important, they inform who we are and what we do. Think about whether your symbols are the ones you want guiding you, and if not, look for the ones that will inspire you.

Some cool links I found: Matt Stone Blog: Easter Fail Godspace: Resurrection Life - Christ or the Easter Bunny

Passover Delight!

As I'm not a Jew, you may think it strange that I'm celebrating 'passover' this year. It came to my attention recently (through this article) that Passover was not just a ceremony with relevance to Jews, but to all of God's people. God said that his people should celebrate it for...well for ever, remembering his mighty acts to bring about freedom, justice and hope for his people.

It appealed to me for a number of reasons - 

1. Easter had always seemed a bit hollow to me. The whole holiday seemed distracted by the fertility symbols that it had inherited from it's historical 'pagan' counterpart. New life is meant to be the theme, but with no real ritual or structure, it sort of felt like we were just trying really hard to think of what had happened on the Cross and what Jesus had done. Don't get me wrong, those images, mesages and themes are strong, but i guess they lost their meaning for me in the consumer hype and repetition without structure.

2. Passover is so interactive, why wouldn't it be awesome to interact with our faith.

3. community is intrinsic to the process and is built by sharing and learning together.

4. There's stacks of food to eat. We eat because we're free!

So I loved it, and tried to interpret the ceremony and the symbols in the light of our new understanding of being God's people as Christians. There was plenty to work with, but I found it a bit difficult to find info on Christian Passover. I'm sad that so many people of God are missing out on this great and wonderful message, with an outstretched arm, God has save his people from bondage!

Don't miss out! Get involved!

The Hard way out.

Perhaps it’s hard to remember that hanging from shackles is painful too, when we see the dynamite come out. In the long run you’ll be better off if you grab the bull by the horns, and deal with the source of your real pain. I’m sorry it’s hard. You’re totally up for it. May God be with you.

Out of reach

One of my earliest memories is of trying to reach the door handle, and it being too high. I can remember frustration in that moment, of being unable to attain something so simple. Now days I often feel like I’m not quite there. Stretching for something only just out of my reach but entirely unattainable.
I guess I’m comforted by the fact that I can now reach door handles with ease. Also, there were always those around who could open doors for me. I’m not doing it on my own. I don’t really have the world on my shoulders. I’ll keep stretching till I reach the goal. Keep growing.

Augusta 26/2/11

Here’s some sketches I made while in Augusta recently. I coloured them as well. I like the colours, but I’m not sure it was exactly like that. Thanks for reading. Theo

Boxing

Bono feels like he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for. I think a lot of us can relate; a feeling like we’re not quite there yet, or there’s something more, a general dis-content. Maybe we are all coming short, or perhaps we’re just hoping for a brighter future. Either way we’d best know what we’re looking for, and then probably where to find it.

I don’t want to get stuck, I want to keep looking. I don’t want to avoid finding what I’m looking for. It may be hard to cope with, but I’d rather die in the right place than avoid it forever. Then I think we’;; have found what we’ve been looking for all along. Just a thought…

Queuing...

One of the conversations I keep having lately is about whether our big goals actually line up with what we want. For example, someone might say that they want to be a police officer, but what they really want is to protect people. These aren't mutually exclusive, but they're not the same thing either. They get so caught up on the idea of becoming a cop that they don't even realize that this isn't what they really want, and when they end up behind a desk they're unsure why they feel unsatisfied. I think we should assess our goals and be aware of what they are and mean, why we want them, and how we'll know when we've achieved them. 

There's plenty of goals placed on us by advertisers, social expectation, parents and peers, goals that we don't even really want; buy this, be the best, look sexy, impress your friends, get a good score, work harder, shut up, etc. 

Are we on track to achieving real and meaningful goals? The goals we want?

Being Right

I’ve hurt a lot of people by trying to be right all the time. I create a little space where I control the rules and make everything I do right and everything others do wrong. I think it’s all about acceptance and worth; trying to be right or righteous. I was told one that ‘Righteousness isn’t about being right, it’s about relationship.’ While there’s a few layers of meaning there, the intended one is this: relationship is more important than being right. So now I apologise to all those I pushed down so I could be on top, I was wrong.

Listening

In case you don’t know, people only think they care if they’re right, they really only care if they’re heard. What most people need is a damn good listening to.

Butter Fly

My body, in moments of great emotional stress, can create such tangible discomfort. Like the discomfort you feel when you have to do something that is impossible (seemingly or otherwise). It’s a comfort to me to know that I’ve accomplished some of these impossible tasks, butterflies or not…

I haven’t posted anything since before Christmas so here’s my latest instalment. There’ll be more to look forward to from now on. Thanks for watching this space!

Its moments like these you need…

Strangely enough this is an experience I had today. And despite the huge amount of effort to get the couches through the eye of the needle, as soon as I was done I thought “that wasn’t so hard.” This is a crazy statement based on the transpired events of the afternoon.

I think the reason it seems plain now is because my biggest obstacle was actually not knowing if it was possible to get the couches (yes, plural) in the lounge room. Was all my work in vain? Were these couches to remain outside forever? 

I was once told that all couches are made to fit through standard doorways and, vice versa, all houses were built with moving couches in mind. This ensures that while it may seem impossible to do, there’s always a trick to twist said couch through said house. I’d like to say that the designers of the couch and house, in this instance, did a particularly poor job. After trying every possible trick, removing several doors and dismantling the couch, we finally got it in. But now it’s easy (ish), now all I have to do is reverse that pattern to get it out. And I know it’s possible, I know because I saw it.

Here’s the punch-line:I would like to live my life with the abandon of knowing that there is a way, even when no way is apparent. Having the faith that soon I’ll look back on my impossible problems and say, “see that wasn’t so hard”. Let’s God and us overcome our impossible obstacles together.

Are you in?

Positive Affirmation

I once had a friend comment on why they always complimented people. They said something like “its such an easy thing to do that cost absolutely nothing, why wouldn’t I just make people feel great?”

I think that’s an amazing piece of insight, especially when there’s so much negativity in our culture, not only in media images which feed our insecurity, but from our friends and family as well. I tend to compete and put people down without even thinking about it, I’m getting better at seeing the truly best in people.

You look great by the way.

Underutilised Hero

I’ve never really liked Super Heroes, which people tell me is pretty weird. I think the deal is that they inspire and impress people, but my natural reaction is “So what if you saved the world, you can leap a building in a single bound!” Anyone can save the world if they have superpowers, I’m more impressed when someone average saves the world, or sacrifices their dream for the sake of raising their kids, or gives blood, or donates to charity. The fact that someone as average as me, maybe even more so, could make a difference is what inspires and impresses me.

I'm pretty sure we’ve all got super powers of some sort. Probably not flying or mind-reading, but everyday superpowers like being a really good listener, or being able to make your brother feel good by letting him beat you at scrabble. And because we can’t fly or read minds we think we can’t change the world, that’s why superheroes let us down. One really good listener could change the world. One loving brother could heal a broken heart.

What’s your superpower?

xkcd

This is a comic by Randall Munroe at http://xkcd.com/828/ which he put up last Thursday. xkcd has been a big influence on my drawings and this site. Randall Munroe has said on his site that there’s an illness in his family, which I think this might relate to. Since this comic seemed to fit into the content I post, I thought I would share it with you.

We all know someone who is sick or in need, sometimes its us. Our thoughts, prayers, service and company should be with those it will bless.

Theo