Sound of the genuine

"There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend y our days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls."

–Howard Thurman

Come alive

“The pattern in creation is one of transformation: out of death comes life…A dry brown seed is pressed into a dark space of soil and there it gestates into a new green shoot.”

– Joyce Rupp, The Cosmic Dance

Spring causes me to consider again the gift of new life, and especially fresh life coming from what has seemed dead or undesirable. On this first Wednesday of May I’d like to mention a few ways that good comes from what is apparently not-so-good, considering an example in each of the realms of physical, emotional/mental, and spiritual.

- in the physical realm -

* using what seems ‘dead’ (as in unwanted) to fuel life – in a case of microbes gone good, Bruce Logan, an environmental engineer at Penn State U, and lab researchers who study bioenergy technologies related to water treatment, are working on developing microbial fuel cells (MFC) that can generate electricity while accomplishing wastewater treatment; read more.

[** for a little bonus, see below]

- in the emotional/mental realm –

* embracing what is at first glance undesirable (our vulnerabilities) as bringing positive to life – these words “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown remind me to not shame myself for my limitations:

“Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy – the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light… our vulnerabilities are what force us to call upon…courage, compassion, and connection…the gifts of imperfection.”

- in the spiritual realm -

* watching anew the blah dormancy of winter morph into lush new life as spring unfolds - I remind myself that everyday living is similarly cyclical, and that God is about making things new.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. II Corinthians 5:17

"Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

This May as you enjoy the vivid green of grass and budding leaves and watch the magical opening of splendidly colored blossoms, may you also accept invitations to step into new ways of being, to entertain new thoughts, and to explore new love. May you (and may I) come alive in fresh ways.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal. – Jesus, John 12:24 (The Message paraphrase)

[**Some other research on new forms of power, that don’t exactly fit my theme of this message, but that certainly are noteworthy…

*on powering almost anything, anywhere - a group of scientists has demonstrated a new way to use sunlight, water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2)--some of the cheapest and most commonplace stuff on Earth--to make unlimited amounts of fuel to power almost anything, anywhere

*on harnessing physical motion for conversion to electrical energy - nanotechnology researchers are developing the perfect complement to the power tie: a "power shirt" able to generate electricity to power small electronic devices for soldiers in the field, hikers, and others whose physical motion could be harnessed and converted to electrical energy]

To live them

No one imagines that symphony is supposed to improve as it goes along, or that the whole object of playing is to reach the finale. The point of music is discovered in every moment of playing and listening to it.
It is the same, I feel, with the greater part of our lives, and if we are unduly absorbed in improving them we may forget altogether to live them.

-Alan Watts, philosopher, writer, and speaker (1915-1973)

Hitched to

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.

-John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (1838-1914)

Quietly passionate

It’s the first Wednesday of April, and I feel mostly uninspired, even though it is spring and I see a few teeny blooms here in Minnesota. [I DO feel passionate about watching spring unfold: I hope you will observe the greening and budding and blooming with delight along with me.]

I am newly back from a trip away, and it takes a fair amount of energy for me to “get back in the swing of things.” So this month I merely share a few words that have spoken to me and are gently helping me settle into some calm.
My wish for you: to find calm, even as you embrace your passions. And certainly also to enjoy spring!

A perspective:

An individual human existence should be like a river: small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters

flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.

-Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

A prayer:

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

and the fact that I think I am following your will

does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does

in fact please you.

And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this,

You will lead me by the right road, though

I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though

I may seem lost in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,

and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton...New Seeds of Contemplation

A verse:

I'm praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.

– Jesus, John 17:20-21

Questions within

Again, in my days of late, I’m realizing mostly questions, and few if any answers. This quote resonates:

"Frequently, we are restlessly looking for answers, going from door to door, from book to book, or from church to church, without having really listened carefully and attentively to the questions within...

When God enters into the center of our lives to unmask our illusion of possessing final solutions and to disarm us with always deeper questions, we will not necessarily have an easier or simpler life, but certainly a life that is honest, courageous, and marked with the ongoing search for truth. Sometimes, in living the question, answers are found. More often, as our questions and issues are tested and mature in solitude, the questions simply dissolve...

God does not solve (all) our problems or answer all our questions, but leads us closer to the mystery of our existence where all questions cease."

- Henri Nouwen...Spiritual Direction

Gotta admit – being with grandson Noah and knowing deep within that God loves me even more than I love that grand child, helps me embrace living in some questions. Maybe I’m – I hope I am – getting just a little bit closer to the mystery of existence where questions cease.

Disturb us

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly -
to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery;
where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.
We ask you push back the horizons of our hopes,
and to push us in the future with strength, courage, hope and love.

– Sir Francis Drake

On focus

“Cool breezes and a clear sky. This day will not come again.” -Thomas Merton...Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander 45

From a research brief from Scientific American MIND Mar/Apr 2011 issue:

“Lose Focus, Lose Happiness: A wandering mind may bring you down

Daydreaming may boost creativity, but a new study from psychologists at Harvard University suggests that letting your mind wander may also lead to unhappiness. The researchers had more than 2,000 study participants use an iPhone application that randomly asked them to report their current activity and state of mind. The results indicate that people’s minds wander an awful lots… and the more people reported being distracted, the lower they reported their mood. There may be something to “living in the moment” after all. – Erica Westly”

At this source researchers Matthew Killingsworth, a doctoral student in psychology at Harvard University, and lead author on the study Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert assert: “People's minds wandered almost 47 percent of the time, and were more likely to think about pleasant topics than unpleasant or neutral ones. Yet thinking pleasant thoughts made people no happier than focusing on what they were doing – and unhappiness spiked when thinking neutral or unpleasant thoughts… Mind wandering took up at least 30 percent of the time during almost every activity, including playing, exercising, praying and taking care of the kids…So what was the only exception? "Apparently people focus most intensely on making love. [Making love] was 10 percent [for mind wandering], which was the lowest," Killingsworth said in an e-mail. "The highest was 'grooming, self care' at 65 percent."

(Study is detailed in the Nov. 11, 2010 issue of the journal Science)

Spring will come soon to our part of the world and I’m looking forward to that. But I don’t want only to look forward, I want to also be present in this day and in this moment (even when it’s COLD outside? Even when some situations feel cruddy? – well, I’ll try). Sounds like we’ll be better off “all in” whatever it is that we’re doing. Attentive. Intentional. Focused.

And it helps me to come back to the idea that there is a Loving God who has gifted me with this moment, even when it’s harder to find the gift under all the clutter, or the grass under all the snow.

May you be present in your moments, and may those moments hold good and gift. Best, Dee

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. – Colossians 3:17