So, I recommend the enjoyment of life. The best thing a person can do in this life is to eat and drink and be joyful. Let joy accompany him in his work all the days of life that God has given him to live in this world. – Solomon, King of Israel
(from Ecclesiastes 8:15- translated by David Dorsey, PhD.)
It was an uncharacteristically mild day, and I took a long bike ride. The recent inclement weather left the roads with gravel and debris in many spots–quite a danger for a cyclist. My riding buddy commented that a good rain would wash away the problem, and make it right again to ride more safely. It made me think of the cyclical system of nature–the rains that clean and restore. And also the approach of springtime. Rebirth. The theme of regeneration (and seasons/cycles) is ever present with us. It’s ingrained into the fabric of our experience, and I think our human nature. We want to start over. We crave rejuvenation. though change can be frightening, it also means liberation–and we know it deep down in the marrow. It is a reminder–all around–that the spiritual, and the Divine, is as close as one allows it to be.
I blogged at lisadelay.blogspot.com about the British Secretary getting smacked with custard pie. Maybe he’s the one who has something to confess. (?)
Each friday I’m opening up a “confession booth” – It’s good for the soul.
There is something deeply freeing about casting your secrets or your burdens away through the act of confession. It is a practice sometimes scorned, perhaps because it has been misunderstood, made trite, or undervalued. But, with the right reflection, it may be a powerful way to gain perspective, and renewal, or just blow off some steam.
Feel free to be anonymous, (or reveal yourself) and leave a confession of any sort.
I’ll start: Today, I purposefully listened to my van stereo (close to) full blast for quite a while. It was enough to frighten people.
Just about all of us grew to understand our value through what we did. (accomplishments, abilities, behavior, etc.)
Being able to ingest one is loved not because of what one has done, or what one can do, but simply because – one is- is the most healing, awakening, and empowering thing that may ever happen to a person. I believe the Divine offers this to us. Freely.
The question is can we offer people the hope they need by truthfully telling them, “No matter what you’ve done, or what you do, I will love you–because you matter. You are the only you. There is nothing you can do to change that,”?
At the margins of growth–personal, emotional, vocational, spiritual, and otherwise–we feel discomfort. The natural feeling is to, in some way, feel threatened. Our stress increases. Our resistance lives at the edges of what we know. Pushing past the edges involves learning and experiencing-and too, conquering fear. It probably involves some sort of pain, process, or persistence.
Think of anything you ever became good at doing. It was threatening in the beginning, and after perseverance, it grew easier. Sports, music, or learning a language, it’s all the same.
Because most people shift to avoid pain/discomfort or associate it so quickly with negative aspects of human experience, we often fail to realize our opportunity for growth lies in the red flags that signal that we feel threatened. These feelings point to patches where we can learn something new about ourselves, our world, another person, a useful skill, or something else. This is how greater understanding comes about.
Like a root-bound potted plant, or a caged bird, we were meant emerge from our surroundings. We can use the native emotions (once seen as negative) that surface for our growth and benefit.
Share your stuff about feelings and growth….
And if you’ve ever used pain/discomfort to grow…feel free to share a blurb.
