Being Content to Forage?

diveIn the USA, a country of both abundance and excessive waste, dumpster diving is certainly a fringe activity. However, urban foraging is gaining a large following over recent years because of tougher times. Among certain folks, the urge to reuse, recycle, and of course, get free stuff, can be more of an actual lifestyle some opt for daily. It’s surprising the websites that offer tips and tricks for the habitual modern foragers. As I’ve been trimming our consumption way down, the mindset of living with less actually turns into a fun challenge. I don’t worry about the things I used to, like wearing the hip styles, and being trendy/fashionable. (I’ve set my own “trends” since the 80s out of necessity/poverty, now I’m just not so ashamed about it–on my terms.)

Doesn’t this forage business sort of bring us to a point to ponder about contentment, too? We never will find it in Things, new things, (and old things as well.) The perfect car, or shoes, or latest gadget ends up at the dump, and even the perfect meal ends up…well, you know.

Frugality can be a spiritual discipline we do, at least now and then, in which we skim away clutter that is actually internal. The crutch of things often changes us to perceive priorities wrongly. We don’t need much. What we want, and what we feel we need, get mixed up. It’s happened to me, trust me.

Without awareness or discipline, our Want matures into a monster that masquerades as a felt need that is actually internal. It is the problem that has nothing to do with external things. And it’s not a “problem,” but an opportunity for growth, and learning the ways of contentment, which brings gladness and peacefulness.

More details about urban foraging (specifically) here.

Did you ever “dumpster dive”?

(I’ve rescued some nifty items on the way to the landfill.)

photo credit

All about Rhythm…

A fascinating book detailing opting for rhythm in life instead of balance is…

Your Life in Rhythm , (Tyndale Publishing) by Bruce Miller.

978-1-4143-1977-3

 

Bruce may be a bit too analytical for his own good, but his insights are excellent, and completely advantageous for anyone feeling burned out, or feeling too busy. Scads of practical helps and strategies make this an ideal book for groups, interesting discussions, and swift implementation.

Miller solidly proves that balance is a burden, with a built-in pose to secure, while rhythm offers us the freedom to live and function like organic creatures. He shows how the rest of the natural world around us operates in rhythm, and this approach is quite livable. The author makes the distinction between two helpful ways to view time: Kairos and Chronos, and includes a number of case studies that are followed through their progress, making the transformation, for the willing reader, more likely.

Ruth Barton’s Sacred Rhythms is far more poetic and filled with an artistic, even natural rhythmic approach in its actual style. It feels more peaceful to read, then this kind of handbook approach, which is still quite viable. However, if a reader thinks Miller will read like Barton, brace for disappointment. This is written cut and dry, masculinely, with strategies, tips, tricks, and lists. Miller has an engineer’s mind. I feel it’s nice to read a variety of voices on the topic of living life in rhythm, and I would actually suggest both books.

Neda, Iranian martyr for freedom

Nedo means “voice,” and this week this women who wanted freedom for her country was murdered as she cried out for her people. The scene has been capture on video, sent out of Iran, and circulated around the world. The government has forbade mourning for her, under threats of grave punishment. Her death has put a face on the cause of freedom the Iranians desire, and has galvanized their protests against the current government, and recent dubious election. They chant, “Live free or die!”

CBS article with pictures and video.

The Rut of the Insular

aloneincrowd

When the rain is coming sideways 

And the fog is inching near

Many times the universal feeling is alone-ness

But if it is universal, how can it still be true, completely?

It is a paradoxical, yes?

 

Somehow we can be crowded and still alienated, apart.

Never touching another in the way that is the least bit beneficial (in those times).

The gap to someone else feels like miles, becuase real interiors are too protected 

Fortified. Insular.

Like a walled city that starves itself into extinction, we can get into a rut like this.

What’s it like for you?

[polldaddy poll=”1750624″]

Birds of a feather…or opposites attract?

Maybe both are true. Maybe at different times, each one is true. When I see a pack of mean girls at the mall, I think, “birds of a feather…,” or “misery loves company.”

mallgirls

On the flip side, in certain instances we are drawn to others with characteristics absent in ourselves, and, to me, this is a good thing. A sage/spiritual director, a mentor, a spouse, or a friend, may seem more intriguing because they posses traits and qualities we admire, but have not quite yet mastered. From them we learn a lot, when we are willing. And if they are wise, they also learn.

The comfort from being around people like us can be soothing, and smoother sailing, but it will not produce the kind of growth that healthy conflict can. The smoothing of the rough edges happens best during the interaction of dissimilar personalities. When there is mutual respect, very beneficial outcomes, personal growth, spiritual growth, and learning are the consistent result of contrasting personalities.

Reflection question:

Who has been the most beneficial in your life who was not like you, and what was the lesson from them that you appreciated most?

(feel free to leave a comment.)