Love the Life You Live

I have been aware recently of the sudden (or so it seems so to me) proliferation of "life is good" type logos/branding. There are a number of products on the market now that use this mantra or some version of it. For the most part, I don't usually notice marketing slogans - at least not consciously. I think I am noticing this one because I find that I'm coming to understand on a deeper level, with a deeper sense of knowing, that life is good.

Partly, for me, this means understanding that life isn't "good" because things are going the way I want them to, or because things are easy, or because I can stay in my comfort zone and maintain the status quo... Life is "good" because I am learning to trust more deeply that loving God and being loved by her are what make the details of life have meaning. Life is "good" because I am learning that this day will roll into the next, this moment will roll into the next and things will change - but what will remain constant is being loved by God and being connected to one another.

I also realize I am connecting to this theme in part because of the experiences I lived for several years while denying God's call to live the life I am now living... I bought a pendant the other day that says "live the life you love; love the life you live". I bought it because I feel that it names what I am doing - finally embracing the gifts and graces I have, finally beginning to embrace a life of wholeness (but I do confess I am still working on the "life of balance" part!)... I am definitely living the live I love and loving the life I live!

What about you? If you are not loving the life you live, what one thing can you do (add, change, stop doing...) that would move you in that direction? How can we help one another along that journey?

Time-conscious or God-aware?

...more about seeking intentional awareness of living in God's presence... A few years ago I heard someone say "all our time belongs to God" - no matter what we are doing, we are with God and, hopefully, are aware that we are spending time with God. In thinking about that I realized how time-conscious I had become. In almost any situation, I could catch myself checking the time - so I'd know when it was time for the "next thing." Instead of paying attention to what I was doing, or who I was with, I would be preparing (mentally at least) for other things that were coming up. It was, and still is, humbling. To break the pattern - or at least to make me more aware of when I am doing it - I sought a ritual or habit that I could do that would help... So I began wearing my watch on my other wrist - knowing that I would find it bothersome and it would serve to remind me throughout the day...

"They" say it takes 30 days to make a new habit part of your life. I still have not adjusted to this one - even after several years! I still have to consciously think about putting it on - or it ends up back on my left wrist. And I never have adjusted to the feeling of having it on the other wrist. Perhaps it's a sign of my stubbornness? ;-)

But I did come to realize how time-conscious our culture is. Have you ever noticed the number of clocks there are? Rarely am I someplace that I don't see a clock - and if that happens, I always have my cell phone and my pda! So after several months, I took my watch off completely. I do have to dig one out when I am helping lead events where I have to begin/end on time throughout the day (like camp, retreats, etc). Instead of wearing a watch, I now wear a bracelet, mostly because I found after wearing a watch for years it was uncomfortable to not wear one. I wear them on the "wrong" wrist, and they are still bothersome to me - a reminder throughout the day of my connection with God and with all of humanity. ...another way I seek to remember and experience my connection to the Holy.

Sacred Space

It continues to amaze me how easy it is for me to buy into the success-driven, accomplishment-driven ethos that we live in. If I don't pay close attention to what I am doing - more specifically, to the intentions that I bring to what I am doing - I quickly get pulled into doing (whatever it is) and caring more about the goal or end product. In other words, I care more about getting "it" done "right" (which, of course, means my way) than about learning as I go, or helping others along the way. When I do that I am focusing mainly on the future-end instead of on the present-now. I have learned - although I guess I've not learned it well! - that to live with awareness, for me, means that I need to seek ways/practices that help me stay aware of "now".

I have started lighting a candle each day when I enter my office before I begin my tasks for the day. Throughout the day, having that candle lit where I can see it helps to call me back to awareness of what I am doing and through Whom I am doing it. Rather than "business as usual," it helps me remember that the journey is important. If I believe, and I do, that God can use all that I do for God's purposes, no matter the outcome, then from God's view perhaps it is the way I live the journey that is most important for me...

How do you create intentionality in what you do? Do you find a need to work at bringing awareness of the presence of God into the daily-ness of your life? If so, how do you do that? What works for you at home, in the office, during rush hour traffic...? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Why...

As my first post to my blog, I want to try to explain "why"... truthfully, more for my sake than for anyone who might read this.

Why do I want to blog: I don't think "want" is the best description... Adding one more thing to an oftentimes crazy schedule is not something I really "want". I'd say, instead, that this is something I need to do, something that's calling me - at least for now...

Who is this blog for: Anyone who wants to read it ;) But it's also for my friends and members of the congregation I serve - another way that we can journey together, deepening our faith and our relationship with God and one another.

Why "sacred thresholds": For several years now I have tried to approach life, the living out of it, with intentionality. I am attempting to live in such a way that I can hear my true-self calling. And that means I am trying to allow myself to cross the threshold into the space where the old is not completely gone and the new is still becoming - trying to hold the two in tension so that the new has space to emerge. I have found that crossing the threshold (and there seem to be so many opportunities to do so!) often generates both fear and hope. Maya Angelou has said, "Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Invite one to stay." ...so I seek to invite hope and love to live in and through me.

I believe none of us walks this journey alone. Whether we see it or not, we are all connected. As I walk with you on this journey - whether it is for a moment or for a longer space - I pray that I will be open to all that God has to teach us. I pray this blog will encourage you to listen for your true-self, and that your presence here and your sharing will help me grow as well. May we create together sacred space that nurtures our spirits and emboldens us to cross the threshold...