Diligent Joy Blog

Room for Hope

A small miracle occurred in our home this weekend.  My husband and I, faced with an afternoon alone (one teen was at work; the other at the Apple Cup) both shared our fantasies of what we wanted to accomplish, and both had "clean out the storage closet" on that list. 

The storage closet houses emergency food supplies, luggage, wrapping paper, golf clubs, back packs, and various holiday paraphernalia.  The latter is what seriously needed to be gone through.  I undauntedly carried each cardboard holiday box into the house to sort.  I felt a bit like Scrooge on his journey into holidays past, smiling at old Halloween costumes (I think I put three "Scream" masks and capes in the give-away pile), masses of unmatched plastic Easter eggs, and heart-shaped Valentine baskets and pillows.  I had a moment of wondering how we got here--to the place where I was truly ready to throw some things out, pass others on, and do so joyfully and clearly, without a lot of grief or regret.

Armed with measurements of storage space and numbers of containers needed, I headed to Fred Meyer to purchase plastic bins with tops to deter whatever had chewed the last bag of dog food we had stored in the closet.  At home, I put everything in its place back in the closet, and turned to look at the boxes of Christmas decorations still in the living room, waiting to be undone and put out.

There was a kind of grace and serendipity to doing this the day before Advent began. In years past, I have felt there was hardly enough room in our lives for Christmas, and all the shopping, activity, stress, and chaos it has brought with it.  I felt as though I had suddenly been handed a mandatory part-time job on top of an already full plate of work, family, friends, church, and such.  I tried planning way ahead, which only served to prolong the stress.  We started drawing names for gifts, which helped some.  Slowly, over the years, I realized I was the one who was stressing me out, and only I could cure that.  I began to make a conscious effort to make time and room for things that bring me joy during the season, and to be more OK with mediocrity in some areas, which took a lot of pressure off.  Good enough is sometimes, well, good enough....

This year, with the other holidays nestled snug in their plastic bins, I realized I feel like I have room for Christmas.  I have room to choose good-enough gifts, to make a few cookies, to light a fire and watch cheesy Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel.  I have room to put a small tree on my desk, room to spend time with youth and children at church crafting a pageant, room to look at the beauty of lights in the darkness with my sweetie.

This is the true gift I have given myself--room to prepare.  On this First Sunday of Advent, I asked myself, "What could be more important than giving ourselves time and energy to prepare for the greatest love of all? "  And I felt it--Hope.  The hope that springs from room in my heart.  

My challenge to you this holiday season, whether you celebrate Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, or Kwanzaa--is to give yourself room to prepare, and to hope. 

True Economic Greed

My roommate in grad school used to complain about how Thanksgiving got overlooked in our culture. That was over 25 years ago.  This year, I had to walk through Christmas decor to find Halloween candy in October.

At a recent women's event, I was asked to speak about family and holidays, and to include some information about how entitled today's children are.  It's becoming almost a full-time job to counter cultural messages that claim our values should be about income, possessions, and stuff.  Check out this short video called "I Want It All!" for some thought-provoking images.

But this, this ladies and gentlemen, takes the cake.  In Yahoo's "Ultimate Insider Black Friday Guide" it says: "Wal-Mart will allow customers to camp out next to their desired items beginning on Thanksgiving Day, and Black Friday specials will last from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Featured items include a Magnovox Blu-ray player for $78, a Sanyo 50-inch plasma 720p HDTV for $598, a Tom Tom GPS for $59, a reversible fleece jacket for $7, and a Barbie Power Wheels Ride-On for $88."

What has happened to us?  This is not about true economic need.  This is about true economic greed.  Who chooses to camp out a Wal-Mart (a store, by the way, known for its unfair employee practices like making sure employees don't have enough hours to qualify for benefits and suggesting they sign up for government aid instead) in front of an item they want to purchase for the next holiday, ON the holiday our country created for the purpose of giving thanks for what we already have?  To put it mildly, OMG!!!!

This isn't about the local food bank being open extra hours for food distribution.  In fact, our local food bank was closed on Veteran's Day, which fell on a normal food distribution day of the week this year.  Just fyi, people who are hungry and homeless don't always plan ahead for holiday closures.  While leading a youth program about human services that day in the food bank space, we had to turn away several folks who showed up to receive food.  Maybe they'll be glad to know they can camp out at Wal-Mart on Thanksgiving and get that killer deal on a plasma HDTV or a Blu-ray player.

I've really never been a Black Friday shopper, even when it marked the beginning of the holiday season, not the middle or end.  Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, or aren't a Christian, I hope you're at least a little bit offended by the holidays being completely co-opted by retail sales.  If you're up before dawn to have some fun shopping on Friday, so be it.  But for heaven's sake, people, don't go camp out ON Thanksgiving for STUFF.  Resist the ads!  Refuse to live in a scarcity mindset!  Have another piece of pie and watch a movie with your family and friends. Just don't fall for the fallacy that Wal-Mart is helping you have happier holidays.  To quote Charlie Brown, "Good grief."

Yes, our economy is weak right now.  Yes, folks are strapped for money.  But if the whole point of your holidays are to get great deals on expensive products--if that's what you and your family value--then it's time to re-evaluate.  Thanksgiving is a time to gather with loved ones, be they near or far, family or friends, and pause to give thanks.  Focus your time, your energy, and your spirit on what you do have, and be grateful.  Even if it's one little thing that brings a smile to your face or heart.  Even if you've had a year or a decade of hardship, this holiday is the one where we say, "Thanks."  Find a way to feel sufficiency this week--to revel in enough, and if you're lucky, abundance.  No matter what goes on in the world, you still have the power to decide what to spend your time thinking, so think gratitude, count your blessings, and know there are plenty more shopping days until Christmas.

Some Days Are Just Like That.....

There's a line at the end of the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.  Alexander is at the end of his afore-mentioned day, during which he's considered moving to Australia to be rid of all his irritations.  Philosophically, at bedtime, his mom says, "Some days are just like that, even in Australia." 

This morning, as I looked out onto the gray, dreary November day and sighed as I took my ever-increasing handful of vitamins and supplements, further supplemented this morning by a pain reliever due to a recent back-tweak, I had a moment of self-pity.  It seems that it takes so much effort sometimes just to maintain these days in the middle of my life.  The gray dreariness threatened to take over my mood in addition to the weather.

Last night, my loving, well-meaning husband asked me a trivia question he'd read in the news.  "What's the most stressful, underpaid profession?"  I paused but a moment and answered, "Social Work."  Bingo.  Great.  Is that something to be proud of?  Jury's out.....but that could explain why I am on a journey to use my social work skills without burning myself out.  This morning, though, it seemed like more fuel for self-doubt.

As I often do when I find myself tempted to continue down this path, I turned to spirit for help.  As I read the reading for today in A Course In Miracles, I was reminded that the goal is not that MY will be done.  And the goal is not to try to get more effortlessness in my life.  The goal is to let go and let God.  Thy will be done.  Be open to the flow.  Get in the vortex.  Get out of my own way.  Allow.  BE.  

And so, vitamins taken, coffee sipped, and quiet time taken, I prepare to embark on my day, realizing that in Australia, it's spring.

Intentional Insight

Gray, rainy, November morning.  I took heed of the insights gained at the yoga retreat this weekend and spent some quiet time this morning, before coffee.  My friend Suzy says that's when the veil between the conscious and subconscious is thin, allowing us to get some new messages into the perpetual tapes that run in our brains.  (Ok, I added the part about the coffee.  She's a tea person, all the way).

I lovingly scooped up the dog to put him in his dreaded harness with the scary leash to go on a walk. He loves walks--he just really resists the harness and leash.  We went up "the big hill" today.  At the top, there is a lovely view of Puget Sound and even downtown Seattle, 20 miles off into the distance. 

"Ahhh," I thought.  "This is good. We need both."  We need to have a vision off into the distance of our lives, and also to handle what is right in front of us.  Both need attention.  If we only pay attention to what is off in the future, we lose the present moment.  And if we only handle what is right in front of us, we run the risk of burning out and feeling apathetic because we've lost our vision. Or worse, we might not even go on the walk because of the scary, dreaded leash.

Faith and action, together.  That's the key to balance.  But it starts with being quiet enough, and taking time enough to even be able to think like that and notice what's going on in your brain, your intentions, your life.

So, my tip today, on linked in, and facebook, and here, is this:  spend a few quiet moments and discern your intention for today.  Then for this month.  Then for this year.  Then go have your coffee (or tea) and get on with your day.

Namaste.

Gray Area

I was driving to the store tonight to get a few things we needed, and heard about the shooting at the military base in Texas, allegedly perpetrated by an army mental health specialist who's deployment was imminent.  I didn't even know where to put all the incongruous pieces of information to fit in my brain.  Army psychiatrist/mental health specialist.  Suspect. Shooting. 12 dead. Army base. Friendly fire.....

I got to the store, picked up my few items, and was staring at the endless array of wine wondering which would go best with Grey's Anatomy.  I struck up a conversation with the man next to  me, who appeared to be equally perplexed in making a choice.  "You just gotta pick one," he said.  "Actually," I replied, "I'm looking for a blend I like."  "Oh," he said, "what's it called?"  I took a breath and replied, "Menage a Trois."  Awkward laughter.  "I saw that.  It's right over here,"' he said.  I thanked him, got my bottle, and self-checked out with my reusable bag.

On the way home, there was a piece on the radio with a montage of voices with opinions about the Afghan War.  The Afghan War. The phrase struck me.  "Geesh!" I thought.  "How did it get to the place where my country is in two wars?" 

Listening to the people's words, which varied from "Bring 'em all home" to "Get more troops in there and get the job done," I was struck by how complicated the situation is.  Just read Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Is it our moral responsibility to help the people of Afghanistan?  Probably.  Do they want our help?  Depends on if they are Taliban or not.  I'm sure many Afghans want nothing to do with Americans, and can you blame them?  I mean, really?  Perhaps they would think it just that one of our own military psychiatrists would kill our own troops.  There's simply no easy answer.

Still, I wonder what it would take for us all to have compassion for each other.  I believe that there have been horrendous mistakes that no amount of military intervention or community rebuilding will eradicate.  Nothing we can do will make it all better.  Often, that is the case in life. 

Instead of trying to fix things, or giving up, I believe we need compassion.  Compassion for those whose lives have been ruined, both in Afghanistan and in our own country.  Compassion for those who believe violence is their only refuge, and compassion for those who want peace at any cost.  Compassion for the leaders in Afghanistan and the United States and the United Nations and the countries who don't want to be involved.  

Most of us don't have access to the powers in charge of the wars--so we need to practice compassion with those close to us.  Those local leaders who make decisions we agree with, and those who don't.  Those relatives we get along with, and those who drive us just a little bit nuts.  Those drivers who let us in, and those who flip us off.  Compassion.  It's not excusing behavior; it's practicing the quality of what flows out of our hearts, and minds, and mouths into the world. 

Anger and bitterness leave nasty tastes behind, like a wine who's blend has soured.  Compassion is a smoother blend--understanding, tolerance, and love mixed together in the broadest sense of acceptance.  We don't have to love everything that happens, but it will do our souls good to love the souls who share our planet.

Protect Who?

I am offended by the yard signs that have popped up in the last few days on the roadside in my neighborhood.  Urging people to reject Referendum 71 in our state is one thing, but with "Protect Marriage!  Protect Children!" as their tag line?  I don't think so.

First of all, the Referendum protects the rights the Washington legislature approved, which are commonly called the "Everything but marriage" provisions.  Domestic partnership is what is legal in Washington.  This provides protection for not only gay and lesbian couples, but also seniors in committed relationships who choose not to marry.

Protect marriage from what?  Those of us heterosexual couples who have the right to marry, since we do such a bang up job of it?  Current statistics put the divorce rate at between 45% and 49% of new marriages, depending on the source.  And since this law doesn't even have to do with marriage, this is a moot--well, actually, a very misrepresented point.

Protect children from what?  Parents in a committed relationship?    We need more of that, not less.  Being allowed to marry offers no guarantee that a couple will parent well.  Child abuse rates attest to that. Simply providing biological material to create a human being unfortunately carries with it no mandatory knowledge, wisdom, or commitment in caring for that being during or after pregnancy.  

What kind of protection is provided when a partner is forbidden from visiting a loved one dying in the hospital?  Whom does that protect? 

The question on the table is who is going to legislate what we believe?  Should the state deny rights to people simply because of their sexual orientation or living arrangements?  We need to approve Referendum 71 so we can protect people from the real issues on the table:  bigotry and hate.  I do agree with the opponents on one thing:  they are encouraging people to pray for Washington State.  Please do.  Let's join the folks in DC and elsewhere and Stand on the Side of Love, not hate and fear.  Contrary to what many on the dark side would lead you to believe, many Christians and Christian churches stand solidly on the side of equal rights for sexual minorities.

But you don't have to take my word for it.  Listen to Stephen Colbert.  Our state's fight made his national show last week.  Yes people, pray.  Pray hard for the people of Washington State.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/252735/october-26-2009/the-word---don-t-ask-don-t-tell