I picked up George from my parent's house after work tonight. They picked up George from our mechanic this afternoon.
I'm rather thrilled to have him back.
I'm even more thrilled that the damage to my pocketbook was something like half of what I'd thought I might end up paying.
And, all in all, it was a decent Monday. I did some interesting stuff at work - maintenance on the website, booking some hotel rooms and pulling together a new business card template for the company. I like the variety that my job offers these days. And I like that I'm finally getting to be a bit creative, and to use my brain!
Tonight I'm at home, hanging out, and catching up on some stuff on my "to do" list. So good. It's nice to have an evening where I have enough energy to do at least a little bit of stuff that needs doing.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Waking from Dreams
I woke probably every hour or two last night, but apparently I slept deeply enough between the many wakings to dream.
Some of the things I dreamt of last night:
Some of the things I dreamt of last night:
- a house under construction
- a house with an unstable foundation
- bulldozers
- a few relatives from my extended family
- bottles of wine
- feeling shy and uncertain
- a label clearly marking something as from Machu Picchu, Peru.
On Generosity and Scarcity
A few more thoughts from Henri Nouwen...
God's Generosity
God is a god of abundance, not a god of scarcity. Jesus reveals to us God's abundance when he offers so much bread to the people that there are twelve large baskets with leftover scraps (see John 6:5-15), and when he makes his disciples catch so many fish that their boat nearly sinks (Luke 5:1-7). God doesn't give us just enough. God gives us more than enough: more bread and fish than we can eat, more love than we dared to ask for.
God is a generous giver, but we can only see and enjoy God's generosity when we love God with all of our hearts, minds, and strength. As long as we say, "I will love you, God, but first show me your generosity," we will remain distant from God and unable to experience what God truly wants to give us, which is life and life in abundance.
The Temptation to Hoard
As fearful people we are inclined to develop a mind-set that makes us say: "There's not enough food for everyone, so I better be sure I save enough for myself in case of emergency," or "There's not enough knowledge for everyone to enjoy; so I'd better keep my knowledge to myself, so no one else will use it" or "There's not enough love to give to everybody, so I'd better keep my friends for myself to prevent others from taking them away from me." This is a scarcity mentality. It involves hoarding whatever we have, fearful that we won't have enough to survive. The tragedy, however, is that what you cling to ends up rotting in your hands.
Seeing the Miracle of Multiplication
The opposite of a scarcity mentality is an abundancy mentality. With an abundancy mentality we say: "There is enough for everyone, more than enough: food, knowledge, love ... everything." With this mind-set we give away whatever we have, to whomever we meet. When we see hungry people we give them food. When we meet ignorant people we share our knowledge; when we encounter people in need of love, we offer them friendship and affection and hospitality and introduce them to our family and friends.
When we live with this mind-set, we will see the miracle that what we give away multiplies: food, knowledge, love ... everything. There will even be many leftovers.
God's Generosity
God is a god of abundance, not a god of scarcity. Jesus reveals to us God's abundance when he offers so much bread to the people that there are twelve large baskets with leftover scraps (see John 6:5-15), and when he makes his disciples catch so many fish that their boat nearly sinks (Luke 5:1-7). God doesn't give us just enough. God gives us more than enough: more bread and fish than we can eat, more love than we dared to ask for.
God is a generous giver, but we can only see and enjoy God's generosity when we love God with all of our hearts, minds, and strength. As long as we say, "I will love you, God, but first show me your generosity," we will remain distant from God and unable to experience what God truly wants to give us, which is life and life in abundance.
The Temptation to Hoard
As fearful people we are inclined to develop a mind-set that makes us say: "There's not enough food for everyone, so I better be sure I save enough for myself in case of emergency," or "There's not enough knowledge for everyone to enjoy; so I'd better keep my knowledge to myself, so no one else will use it" or "There's not enough love to give to everybody, so I'd better keep my friends for myself to prevent others from taking them away from me." This is a scarcity mentality. It involves hoarding whatever we have, fearful that we won't have enough to survive. The tragedy, however, is that what you cling to ends up rotting in your hands.
Seeing the Miracle of Multiplication
The opposite of a scarcity mentality is an abundancy mentality. With an abundancy mentality we say: "There is enough for everyone, more than enough: food, knowledge, love ... everything." With this mind-set we give away whatever we have, to whomever we meet. When we see hungry people we give them food. When we meet ignorant people we share our knowledge; when we encounter people in need of love, we offer them friendship and affection and hospitality and introduce them to our family and friends.
When we live with this mind-set, we will see the miracle that what we give away multiplies: food, knowledge, love ... everything. There will even be many leftovers.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
End of Day
The day is drawing to a close.
I was hoping to go to bed early tonight. But I took a nap late this afternoon that will likely preclude that.
I'm not feeling very well today. Physically anyway. Just kind of icky and lethargic.
And I have to be out the door really early tomorrow. Since George is still in the shop, it will necessitate taking the bus and then the train to work. I have not missed taking the bus and train, can I just say that? Not even a little bit. Ah well, hopefully I'll hear from my mechanic and have George back by the end of the day tomorrow.
I've done such fascinating things today as searching online to discover when our garbage collection day is. We're never home when the garbage collectors come by, and so we had no idea, but Calgary is putting in a recycling service, and it begins in my neighborhood this week, so I needed to know when garbage day is, so I know what day I have to put the big blue bin out in the back alley for pick up.
I really hadn't realized how housebound I must have been feeling before I got a car. My energy levels have been so low that doing errands by bus takes everything out of me. The short walk I made yesterday to a fair trade shop and home again left me exhausted and in need of a nap. It's no wonder I felt trapped so often before owning a car. I've struggled with that just this weekend, knowing I couldn't do some errands I'd hoped to get done, and knowing I'd have to push them to an evening during the week. And just feeling trapped, unable to go out and pick up a cup of tea or rent a movie, or browse a bookstore for a little escape from the mundane.
Here's hoping that George is repaired soon. Very soon.
I was hoping to go to bed early tonight. But I took a nap late this afternoon that will likely preclude that.
I'm not feeling very well today. Physically anyway. Just kind of icky and lethargic.
And I have to be out the door really early tomorrow. Since George is still in the shop, it will necessitate taking the bus and then the train to work. I have not missed taking the bus and train, can I just say that? Not even a little bit. Ah well, hopefully I'll hear from my mechanic and have George back by the end of the day tomorrow.
I've done such fascinating things today as searching online to discover when our garbage collection day is. We're never home when the garbage collectors come by, and so we had no idea, but Calgary is putting in a recycling service, and it begins in my neighborhood this week, so I needed to know when garbage day is, so I know what day I have to put the big blue bin out in the back alley for pick up.
I really hadn't realized how housebound I must have been feeling before I got a car. My energy levels have been so low that doing errands by bus takes everything out of me. The short walk I made yesterday to a fair trade shop and home again left me exhausted and in need of a nap. It's no wonder I felt trapped so often before owning a car. I've struggled with that just this weekend, knowing I couldn't do some errands I'd hoped to get done, and knowing I'd have to push them to an evening during the week. And just feeling trapped, unable to go out and pick up a cup of tea or rent a movie, or browse a bookstore for a little escape from the mundane.
Here's hoping that George is repaired soon. Very soon.
Sunday
It's Sunday morning again.
When I woke this morning, I had a severe headache and stiff back, neck and shoulders. I got up just long enough to take painkillers, and then went back to bed to wait for them to become effective. The combination of the painkillers and a hot shower once the drugs had kicked in seems to be working, and I'm feeling pretty good at the moment. I'll make sure to stay well hydrated through the day, and hopefully keep the headache at bay via that method.
I'm sitting in the kitchen, near the patio doors, and paused just a moment ago when a robin landed on the deck railing, and preened before flying off. It finally feels a bit like spring here. Finally.
It's Mother's Day today, and in a few hours my brother will come to pick me up, and we'll have lunch together with our mom and grandma and family. Dad is barbecuing steaks, and there is other tasty food planned as well. I still need to write a card for my mom. I bought the card, but I need to put a message into it.
I actually feel like reading this morning, or working at least a little on a creative project, so I think I'm off to do those things.
Happy Mother's Day!
When I woke this morning, I had a severe headache and stiff back, neck and shoulders. I got up just long enough to take painkillers, and then went back to bed to wait for them to become effective. The combination of the painkillers and a hot shower once the drugs had kicked in seems to be working, and I'm feeling pretty good at the moment. I'll make sure to stay well hydrated through the day, and hopefully keep the headache at bay via that method.
I'm sitting in the kitchen, near the patio doors, and paused just a moment ago when a robin landed on the deck railing, and preened before flying off. It finally feels a bit like spring here. Finally.
It's Mother's Day today, and in a few hours my brother will come to pick me up, and we'll have lunch together with our mom and grandma and family. Dad is barbecuing steaks, and there is other tasty food planned as well. I still need to write a card for my mom. I bought the card, but I need to put a message into it.
I actually feel like reading this morning, or working at least a little on a creative project, so I think I'm off to do those things.
Happy Mother's Day!
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