The Curse of Affluence

Here in the west we have this habit of extending our lifestyles to exceed our incomes. Advertising makes you desire more stuff and then you go an buy it, convinced that you are not very well off, that you deserve more luxury. We always seem to believe that our neighbours and friends are somehow further ahead than us.

Good news is you are well off, and you’re going to be fine without that new toaster. Live simpler and give more, then you'll be doing more than getting by, you’ll be living!

Fish and more Fish

Fish are graceful creatures as they float through the waters of a river or the sea. In giant schools they seamlessly manoeuvre through their environment. Beautiful elegant, look at them go!

 

I've never actually tried to juggle fish, though I imagine it is very difficult indeed. My experiences of handling only a few at a time lead me to believe that if I were entrusted with any greater number my exploits would be comically haphazard. Forget about juggling, I can barely get by holding all of the things at once.

Holding them is almost impossible as they casually flop and fall out of my slime covered hands. But the real fun begins when every time try to pick one up an avalanche of fish stream from my arms to the floor. Let's just say that Juggling fish is very difficult, and very very fun. You're probably expecting me to get to a metaphor soon, and here it is: I find balancing lifestyle much like fish juggling. This season has been enjoyable, with many ventures, opportunities and successes. But everything seems to be flying everywhere (like fish) and I have a relatively low pressure life style. So I guess I'm learning the lesson of trust and immersion; throwing myself into things with faith in the guidance and provision of God. I'm enjoying spending time with my family, working at SU, being creative on my blog and working in the garden. Most of all I'm enjoying the opportunity to discover how I want to invest my time and resources, talking about my gifts and the future, and working in the call God has for all to be a part of something amazing. Hopefully I’ll be Juggling fish soon!

 

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.

Flow Chart

I have this stupid survival instinct that makes me try and be perfect all the time. It clearly doesn’t work.

Support/Bullying

I’m not quite sure what this cartoon is about, I think it’s about how good it feels to have someone back you up in a situation. But then I got thinking about the little guy, I bet he doesn’t feel real great. Maybe the others went to far, and didn’t take care of him. I guess it’s tricky to balance backing our mates and going overboard.

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.

Creativity!

God is creative. Right at the beginning of the Bible, before they describe God as 'good' or 'powerful' or 'loving' or anything they say “God Created”. And what amazing stuff he created! Suns, plants, gravity, electrons, values, experience, consciousness, everything! He loved it so much he did it non-stop for a week. Then he got all excited and got Man to be involved in the creative process.
I reckon we're just like that, creating and building relationships with each other. Some of us create solid things like cars and sandwiches, some of us create abstract things like art or romance. Some of us create solutions to problems and build better futures.
I think that we get starved when we’re deprived of the opportunity to create, just as we’re starved when we’re deprived of relationship. Creating gives us expression and allows us to communicate who we are. Go and create something, you’ll thank me if you do! Comment what you created, that’d be awesome!

Saturday for Christ’s Return

I'm a big fan of unity, and so I don't like to take up a negative stance against those who believe much of what I believe as well. Still, I think that we should be able to think independently and disagree on many things, constantly trying to find the truth and broaden each others minds. That said, I find it rather amusing that yet another Christian group has picked the date of Christ’s return. Guess what, it's this Saturday!

More accurately, Jesus' return to earth is Saturday, with the subsequent destruction of the Earth on the 21st of October. My sister is miffed that she'll miss her 25th birthday this year.

Wecanknow.com makes the argument that 'Noah knew, and so can we' but their site is so bulky that the actual details of their reason for believing this, and their reason for picking this Saturday, are well hidden. Never-the-less, they invite you to pour through the data and pray for a revelation of the truth.

focussing on the destruction of the world is dangerous. We begin to live as thought the planet and our lives don't matter. It's like the old hypothetical 'What would you do if you had only a day left to live?' Provocative perhaps, but I think a way more challenging and telling questions is 'What will you do if you don't die tomorrow?' 'What will you do if the earth doesn't burn?' 'What if we have to lie in the bed we made for ourselves?'

Maybe we'll make a better bed. Maybe we'll treat the earth better. Maybe we'll live our lives more like we'd hoped. We have to put in the effort to heal and transform, because there's no reset button. I hope my life can be different because I have hope for the world we have. How about you?

[Verb] Something

Recently I was going through some old files at work and came across a pile of student responses to a play we had performed a few years back. The play dealt with some heavy issues and after the show students could write/draw a response to the performance from their perspective. There was lots of cool stuff, Some dirty musings, some absent scribbling's and some thoughtful, heartfelt messages too. This image was one that stood out to me and I wanted to share with you.

I thought it was profound in that it drew a clear distinction between our thoughts and actions. My intentions and ideals will have little impact on this world, but my movements and actions will affect it greatly.

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!

Overstated

I once worked for a power generation museum that educated school groups on how electricity was made and transported to our homes. One of the team working there was quite keen on educating students about the long term effects of burning fossil-fuels, and he used to regularly tell groups, “Every time you turn on a light switch, a little fish like Nemo DIES!” (Finding Nemo was a pretty big deal back then).

This was all good and well for a long time, until one day he said this to a group of students who were maybe a bit to young to cope with his poetic description of everyday pollution. A gasp went throughout the room, some tears were shed, they asked if they could turn off the lights in the museum and, needless to say,  they were more than a little traumatised.

Exaggerating is fun, and enhancing stories with near-facts is a raw and creative poetic licence for our often routine lives.  But in a world where so many causes compete for our attention (global warming, morality, human issues, marketing, relationships, Facebook) it seems that everything is blown out of proportion. My life is so larger than life, that it no longer all fits in: it’s bursting at the seems.

The world will end in 2012! If you eat your crusts your hair will turn curly! Your Ipad is ‘Magical’! Nine out of Ten Nutritionists recommend…! Certain unspeakable acts will make you go blind! If you litter a Kitten will get axed! All of these extreme messages, all of the time.

And do we believe it all? Or do we come to expect that things are less satisfactory than they present. After all, marketing must be based on convincing people that their experience of a product will be completely satisfying, life-alteringly so! And to convince you that those needs are actually met after you do purchase the product, they reduce your expectation of what a satisfying, life-altering experience is.

So here’s my thought, let’s start to talk about the world more accurately. Not the worst, not the best. Just is. And then let’s raise our expectations of what satisfactory is. We’ll strive for more and love even harder and ironically, I think we’ll be more satisfied. Thanks for reading, I love your comments!

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.

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.

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?

Hazel Vs. the World

Hazel has a amazing ability to put things in her mouth. Whilst this seems to be a simple task, most people could not accomplish it with such skill as Hazel. her repertoire is extensive and includes, but is not limited to,:

Toys, cutlery, her feet, a pedestal fan, chair legs, bed sheets, the steering wheel on our car, guests, etc.

If you still think, that’s not that hard, then my challenge to you this week is to put all of the above items in your mouth. let me know if you succeed.

Hazel’s mission about the house seems to be to discover and explore. this got me thinking, that maybe that’s what we humans do. We constantly find new was to engage with the world around us. First we touch then taste, then crawl then walk, then talk and socialise, etc. Maybe that’s what drives us to the exploration extremes of space travel. I think I should find a new way to engage with my world this week. All of you with out pedestal fan’s in their mouths are free to join me.

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.

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.

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?