Thinking grown-up things...

My facebook status for a while today read "Lisa is thinking boring adult things today".

I've had enough health problems this last year that it was time to make some decisions. And, because of a variety of circumstances, there were a number of "stuff of life" things that had been put off. So, I spent today thinking about "boring adult" things.

Things like:

• getting to the medical appointment on time, and being sure to discuss the appropriate concerns with the doctor, and then getting the follow up blood work done.
  
• filling a prescription
• sorting out a method for keeping track of vitamins and supplements and ensuring that I remember to take them
• figuring out some diet stuff (some seemingly obvious things like I'm going to lay off eating a few things that I regularly consume but have some mild allergies or sensitivities to).
• getting the oil changed in my car. and considering that I need the power steering fluid changed next month.
• a variety of errands
  
• doing laundry.
• house-cleaning
• cooking dinner
• calling the utility company with questions about a bill
  

And on it went. To be fair, I've thought about most of these things before, and I'm certainly not complaining about them, just reflecting on how, even two years ago, none of these sorts of things would have even crossed my radar. Whereas today, all of them where quite important to deal with in their own ways. Does that, along with the fact that I'll now eat mushrooms and love hummus mean I'm a grown up???

Who Said Bras Aren't Practical?

For all of those of you who've always hated the needing to wear a bra thing, apparently they can actually save your life!

Bra Deflects Bullet

Hope (restored?)

This is a photo of a bottle of wine I brought home with me. A gift from the friend I was visiting over the last number of days. We've spent much of the last year talking about hope. I have no idea where she found this particular wine, just that she has a gift for finding these sorts of things.

I'm not totally sure how to sum up the weekend.

It was beautiful. And hard. And freeing. And so very needed.

Full of hugs and prayer.

The airport shuttle driver who picked me up this morning asked me if I was going home, or leaving home.

Yes.

New things. Hope being restored. Oh I pray so.

The Importance of Roots

Loved this thought on the importance of deep roots from Henri Nouwen...

Deeply Rooted in God

Trees that grow tall have deep roots. Great height without great depth is dangerous. The great leaders of this world - like St. Francis, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., - were all people who could live with public notoriety, influence, and power in a humble way because of their deep spiritual rootedness.

Without deep roots we easily let others determine who we are. But as we cling to our popularity, we may lose our true sense of self. Our clinging to the opinion of others reveals how superficial we are. We have little to stand on. We have to be kept alive by adulation and praise. Those who are deeply rooted in the love of God can enjoy human praise without being attached to it.

Give/Receive

Some thoughts on giving and receiving from Henri Nouwen...

The Dignity to Give and Receive

"Nobody is so poor that he/she has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich that he/she has nothing to receive." These words by Pope John-Paul II, offer a powerful direction for all who want to work for peace. No peace is thinkable as long as the world remains divided into two groups: those who give and those who receive. Real human dignity is found in giving as well as receiving. This is true not only for individuals but for nations, cultures, and religious communities as well.

A true vision of peace sees a continuous mutuality between giving and receiving. Let's never give anything without asking ourselves what we are receiving from those to whom we give, and let's never receive anything without asking what we have to give to those from whom we receive.

The Importance of Receiving

Receiving often is harder than giving. Giving is very important: giving insight, giving hope, giving courage, giving advice, giving support, giving money, and, most of all, giving ourselves. Without giving there is no brotherhood and sisterhood.

But receiving is just as important, because by receiving we reveal to the givers that they have gifts to offer. When we say, "Thank you, you gave me hope; thank you, you gave me a reason to live; thank you, you allowed me to realise my dream," we make givers aware of their unique and precious gifts. Sometimes it is only in the eyes of the receivers that givers discover their gifts.

Daring to Become Dependent

When someone gives us a watch but we never wear it, the watch is not really received. When someone offers us an idea but we do not respond to it, that idea is not truly received. When someone introduces us to a friend but we ignore him or her, that friend does not feel well received.

Receiving is an art. It means allowing the other to become part of our lives. It means daring to become dependent on the other. It asks for the inner freedom to say: "Without you I wouldn't be who I am." Receiving with the heart is therefore a gesture of humility and love. So many people have been deeply hurt because their gifts were not well received. Let us be good receivers.