Holding Back

Everything we do effects others, we're all connected. Sometimes our aspirations and dreams harm the people who we’re connected to. I think best we stand with people, moving together at an equal pace.

This is how I’m feeling

And it is marvellous.

Perspective

A drawing I did a while back. I can’t remember why, but I’m sure it’s as relevant now as ever.

In the Shade

We’re told so often to shine and grow and lead and be the best.

Recently I’ve been very pleased to let go a bit. Not try to run all the activities and groups I’m involved with. I think I’ve always desired to be the leader of the group, and that’s a stressful position to constantly take. I’m getting the message that it’s healthy to let others do the work, let others take charge and make the hard calls, the decisions and mistakes. I hope it’ll be good to live in the shade, under the tremendous effort and inspiration of my peers and leaders. When I feel healthy, maybe I’ll come into the sun again.

Right Here, Right now!

How often do we live in the moment? How often are we really present with ourselves right now?

I was once told that we can only really experience God, others, and ourselves in the present, but we spend all our time focussing on the past or the future. Not even on the people we’re with right now.

Try being present. Not here, you’re looking at a screen, go somewhere interesting. And try and be present. think about only things in that moment. How your body feels, how the air feels, sounds and sights, but only things in that moment. Try and enjoy it.

Pivotal Moment

I find that I say this to my self often, and then fail to free myself from my chains. I need a real change that will mean something real. Let’s hope this is it. This has to be it.

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.

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?

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

The Plan

I wrote a list of all the things that I couldn’t control. It was a long and frightening list. I wrote it down and let go of it. While i trust that there’s a more solid plan going on, I also know that sometimes there’s nothing wrong with not having a plan at all.

Fragility–More a visual diary than usual.

A while back the roof at our office fell in. It happened at night so no one was hurt but everyone got paranoid. Suddenly the roof, our stable friend we could rely on, was as shifting as the 1 hour parking spaces out front. Paranoia took hold of the staff as they began to doubt their personal safety. The roof looked precarious, and no part of the roof so dangerous as the part just above the beholders head.

Going Deep

My friend Gerard had this door in his house that didn’t seem to go anywhere. When I asked him what it was he got all mysterious and jested that it was “the room of his depravity!”; a kind of space where all his failing clustered and stagnated. I mused at what might be in there, and images of dark and dank caves with shifting shadows came to mind. This picture is about friendship and the power it has to clean out the crap we think we can’t deal with. Leaning on each other makes my life easier, and gives me perspective about my room of depravity. Thanks to all those guys who are here with me, making it seem not so bad.