silence…again

I know I recently blogged on silence, but I’m reminded of my favorite portion of verse:

“Teach us to sit still
  even among these rocks

 our peace in His will
  even among these rocks

Where will the Word be found? Where will the Word resound?  Not here, there is not enough silence”

T.S. Elliot, Ash Wednesday

life revolution

I think I’ve decided how to revolutionize my life. It’s a one-stop recipe for success. I’ve discovered an invention that is guaranteed to change how we live, to save time in the kitchen and prepare just about everything in 10 seconds or less! From the way the television describes it, the “Illusionist’s Artillery-Shell” (copyright issues may limit my description here – you have to figure it out…) should be called the “best thing next to Jesus.” Like I said, this could change the way our family lives altogether!

The Illusionist’s Artillery-Shell grates, juices, blends, chops, and morphs just about everything into a delicious shake, omelet, dip, salsa or virgin strawberry margarita (that’s what the t.v. said, honest) in less time than it took to think up this sentence. I could be completely full right now if only I owned the Illusionist’s Artillery-Shell! Instead, I’m stuck reheating pizza in the microwave…30 seconds is an outrageously long time to wait…

In the time it takes to pull out the grater and place a piece of cheese on it, I could use the Illusionist’s Artillery-Shell to chop onions, grate cheese, puree tomatoes, blend spices, save time, print my own money and quite possibly build an entire house. In 10 seconds or less or my money back!

Gotta go…I have to call in the next 12 minutes to change my life forev…

what i was meant to do

The other night I was watching the Home and Garden channel with my wife (ok, I’m just barely man enough to admit this) and on one of the design commercials, this guy is reviewing his work for the day and says this:

“Designing Living Spaces for People. It’s what I was put on this earth to do.”

Hello?  What you were put on this earth to do?  Now, I’m the first to run far, far away from over-spiritualizing things.  I don’t look for a demon behind every bush or an angel on the head of every pin, but this is ridiculous!  Evidently this designer (who was quite good, mind you) understands in some sense that he is placed on this earth for a reason.  He should be applauded for that.  Too many people forget that there is purpose instilled in each of us, value by virtue of our very creation.  We are incredibly endowed with a variety of gifts and talents unique to us. But to be created for the ultimate purpose of designing consumer living spaces for people?  I’m not the brightest kid on the block, but even I can see a disconnect there….

silence do-good

Silence.  Absence.  We all experience these, but very rarely consider enjoying them.  I so easily fill my senses with noise:  the company of people, television, internet, radio.  Why would I want absence?  Do I enjoy abandonment, alone-ness?  Is it comfortable to ‘be alone with my thoughts,’ to hear nothing but the pounding in my own ears, the noise inside my own head?

 I’m becoming convinced that I avoid intentional silence.  I wasn’t always like this.  I enjoyed reflection, contemplation.  But something gradually changed – imperceptively at first.  Now I avoid discomfort when all possible.  I like my comfort!  And I am becoming convinced that I seek noise to dodge the inside voices, my head noise – some have called it soul noise.  All that is pent up inside desires an outlet, begs for contemplation, asks for notice.  But I know there is so much inside, so many words, ideas, beliefs, questions, too much stress pleading for a moment of recognition that I am all too often prone to put off, to postpone until some more opportune moment.

And so, to resist this soul noise, it is easier to fill my eyes, my ears, my hands with busyness, with external sound and noise.  It’s more comfortable to attempt fixes on the outside situations than to give room for the questions on the inside.  It’s easier to busy myself mending others than to listen to the noise on the inside.  It is indeed more blessed to give than to receive.

But I am convinced of our need for silence.

belonging

This morning I read something new. OK, I’ve read it before – probably scores of times – but this morning it became fresh. It came from the book of John, chapter 13, verse 8: “But if I don’t wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

“You won’t belong to me.” That’s what got me. Where does our sense of belonging come from? From family relations? From fulfilling duties to the Kiwanis Club? Church attendance? Warm, happy feelings we get when we pray? “No,” this passage seems to say, “your belonging comes from something else.” This hit the “Huh?” section in my brain because the line is delivered by Jesus while He is trying to wash Peter’s feet.  What does washing someone’s feel have to do with belonging?  Peter has seen Jesus send hungry crowds away satisfied, formerly blind people away seeing, prostitutes forgiven. Jesus must have seemed amazingly powerful. Yet this new king was now telling Peter that unless he – the king - could serve Peter, Peter could never belong to him.

Is this what belonging is, that the king would serve us? What does this mean to be served by the God of the Universe? Do we belong in the Kingdom of God because we’ve decided just that? Or do we belong because Christ has given Himself for us, served us with grace? Can we truly find belonging if we cannot or will not accept this grace?

big-dog-daddy-cash

I’m not sure where we went wrong. I’m quite certain we crossed some line a long time ago, at a point too far in the distant past to easily recall. Somewhere along that continuum we were introduced to products that would change our lives forever, gimmicks that would make life easier. We were given dandruff shampoo and cash-back on automobiles. Sometime past we were given plastic with which to purchase whatever we desired. And I’m okay with this. Heck, I’ve needed the dandruff shampoo, and if I were buying a new car, I’d love the cash-back option. And I get 5% back on my credit card purchases.

But recently I was personally marketed, in the comfort of my own home, in between episodes of “Back to You” not 1, not 2, but nine – yes, 9 – different kinds of blue dandruff shampoo. Now, if I have dry and thin hair, I can use one kind of shampoo; if I have dry and thick hair, I use another; dry and scabby scalp, yet another; dry and color-treated, one more – and on and on and on and on and on. Picture this: somewhere in the affluent United States of America, there are highly-paid scientists – women and men with terminal degrees in their fields – working out the world’s dry hair dilemma. These knowledgeable intelligent people are spending their talented lives creating a flake-free existence for the rest of us.

Then there’s the cash-back gimmick for car and truck sales. Last week, from another room I heard a television commercial marketing “big-dog-daddy-cash-back“. Seriously, when did a few thousand plain old dollar bills become cash-back? And when did that novelty wear off so much so that it has to be marketed big-dog-daddy-cash?

Finally, I’m mad at my credit and debit card companies. Sure, I like the convenience of not carrying cash around (and I love rewards), but what gets me is watching these commercials that show a seamless, unending, smooth-running cashier’s line. Everyone pays with plastic. Everything is fast. Smooth. Until that poor hapless responsible sap comes along wanting to pay for his sandwich with two one-dollar bills and a few pennies. Somehow being smooth and seamless is more important than being responsible. Somehow using cash is now at once primitive and time-consuming.

Where are we going? It seems we are so quickly moving towards comfort-, money- and time-saving devices and yet we end up with more stress (and even itchy scalp), less money (do we really save that big-dog-daddy-cash?), and fuller schedules. We’re in an endless race to save all this for what? For finding out that our pursuit of stress-, money- and time-saving devices don’t really work, much less satisfy? But maybe I’m just watching too much TV.

Colette’s first trip to Silverwood

The Practice…

“This sums up our entire call and duty, brothers: to adore God and to love Him, without worrying about the rest… [and]] we must not grow weary of doing little things for the love of God, who looks not on the great size of the work, but on the love in it.”

- Brother Lawrence

8 minutes from juno…

So, it’s the middle of October and I’m in Portland, back in school. I’m pretty sure I could be a professional student. Trees are turning (as many as can – there are way too many evergreens here in the Pacific Northwest. I mean, it’s Fall, and it’s cold. Where are the beautiful trees? At least it’s green here.) and the air is crisp.

I like Portland. I could live in Portland, at least when the sun shines. It’s a beautiful town. With the exception of the vast numbers of cheezy radio stations, I really like the place. But it’s not Juno Beach. It’s close to the second ocean, but it’s not the balmy Atlantic. (at first I hesitated identifying Juno Beach because I don’t want the vast throngs who rely on my blog to overrun the most perfect and non-touristy beach in Florida; then I realized the people who will actually read this: mom and dad – because they’re nice; my wife – maybe, my 17 friends – none of whom have much means to actually visit Florida, much less Juno Beach. So, I’ll mention it.

Happily.

Because it’s a dog-friendly beach. Because it’s warm. Because my former bicycle commute ran 3.1 miles along its stretch. Because I was 8 minutes away from crystal clear, three-shades-of-blue water. Because the overgrown sea-grape wraps the beach in privacy. Because it’s not Daytona. Or Miami. Or Fort Lauderdale.

I was 8 minutes away.