All the world is waiting for you...
Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
As I am coming to know myself deeper and grow in my faith and in who God has made me to be I am realizing just how deeply I love this passage. While in some ways it has become cliche it's with good reason. Of all the things God is and His word calls us to, by far the biggest is love. Jesus even said "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Everything hinges on love. I honestly think it's really easy to lose sight of this, and getting easier it would seem.
For a while now I have been coming back to one complex thought. Everywhere I look I am greeted by an overarching societal thought of look out for #1. Now #1 may be you, your family, livelihood, Community, etc. At it's essence though there is this pervasive self centered nature that has taken hold in our culture. Entitlement is a symptom of this but by far not the cause. Looking more closely I see it on a deeper level. It is in so many small things in our lives that most of us (myself included) miss in ourselves. I have recently been trying to continually looking for these things in my own life and behavior.
Looking at the news and in general the world around us, the big thing I see is a need to put each other down. It's in the way headlines are worded, it's in how we express our opinions, even in how we think. A few weeks ago I was out running errands and found myself fuming over someone else's driving skills(or lack thereof). That morning while I was fuming a song came on that caused me to think about my thoughts and why was I letting that be a problem. Ultimately they weren't attacking me or seeking to harm me, they were being inconsiderate and not following rules of common decency. Yet, how often do I do those things too. Am I distracted, tired, out of sorts? If I dismiss my own failings as just a piece of life why am I not willing to do that for others? Why am I so quick to make an enemy of a stranger? Lack of love and kindness are probably my biggest pet peeves or soap box issues. With that being such a strong focus in my life I still struggle with it. That day though I acknowledged it. I stopped those thoughts and gave a little grace. Yet so many days I don't.
The more I look, the more I see it. It's in how we drive. Do I speed, cut off others, get angry when the person in front of me is going 5 under? Do I shoot nasty looks at other drivers as I pass them or mutter things to myself in my car? It's in how we walk. Do I get impatient in aisles of the grocery store? Am I respectful of how and when I cross roads and parking lots? Do I rush by people in the store when I am in a hurry? Am I even paying attention to the people around me? My now infamous friend hates it when people talk to him in line at the grocery store. Now he's an extreme introvert some days so it's really just out of his comfort zone. This is by far one of my favorite things to do. So for about 2 minutes of your life (longer if you're in the grocery store at rush hour or Wal-mart on a saturday) you get the chance to smile and brighten someone's day. Occasionally you even get the opportunity to encourage or bless them. There are so many memes and stories floating around these days about strangers judging each other in the store or out and about in daily life. One thing I long to do is to some day have the exact opposite effect on someone. To love them so deeply for 2 minutes that it changes something. Their day. Their mood. Their outlook. Something. I love the idea of random acts of kindness but I wonder if there is a way to take this deeper, bigger, stronger.
Another thing I have been noticing is social media. We all realize that it has become a big part of our lives. Maybe we seek to limit our time on it so we appreciate the things around us, but have we really stopped to evaluate the content? Social media is an interesting thing, especially since it's changed in the 15 years it has really been around. Despite having our names directly attached there seems to be a detachment between the computer screen and our real life. This enables us to say and do things we wouldn't face to face to our best friend, spouse, church family, coworker, acquaintance, and so on. Now in some ways that's terrific. The original goal of this blog was anonymity, to share a thought I felt deeply needed to get out, but was scared to share directly. It also comes with it a deep responsibility to know what pieces of ourselves or our thought lives should ever see the light of day. Let me be the first to say not everything I think or even do or say is always right. There is a deep seated mean streak in me; which if we're being completely honest most of us have a negative, mean, or uncaring side. The problem comes when we post these thoughts for the world to see. Sometimes that's in a post or a meme on a personal page or even in a comment on a larger audience page. A little over a year ago there was a tragic event happen that involved a friend. All the local news outlets for 100 mile radius caught the story. Seeing comments from strangers about someone I knew to be anything but what they were stating was heartbreaking, more so knowing their family could see those same things. Yes there are people who get enjoyment from just being mean, that's nothing new to our internet based culture, but there is a new tendency to be harsh. I can't help but wonder if this is mostly because any reaction is delayed and disconnected. We all know body language is a huge part of communication, but when there aren't physical reactions to read and interpret does it cause us to not realize how much our words hurt?
Somewhere in our culture we have made a move to the offensive. I have started to see a tendency to run forward in a sort of brave heart moment to take out all of our enemies before they can gain any ground. We are losing that generation of grandparently advice that tells us "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." This really gets me when Christians start taking the bible and using it as a battering ram. Yes, Jesus didn't back down, he did things that were wrong in the eyes of the pharisees and many others of his time, he even overturned the tables of money changers in the temple. 2 things though. First off I am not Jesus, so that holy indignation concept is beyond me. I need to evaluate my motives and keep them on a short leash, which means most days I shouldn't be flipping tables of people I disagree with. Secondly, the vast majority of Jesus' actions were oozing love to someone that desperately needed it. The people who had a problem with those actions weren't being loving or kind themselves. As a Christian, believer, follower of God, whatever title you choose why are we sharing such strongly worded hateful messages that are supposedly in line with the loving God we want to be like. We already established that God commanded us to love. I reached a point I took a close look at my facebook page, both current and those pesky little memories that pop up. Don't get me wrong, some are great, it's sweet to remember my kids when they were itty bitty, or when my husband and I were dating. What isn't as pleasant is to see the things I shared in my, let's call them, "stupid years". Things that while loosely biblical are either dreadfully out of context, or just bitingly directed to someone. Unfortunately every time I log into facebook I see more and more hateful posts that directly call out one group or way of thinking. This in and of it's self isn't a problem. we can directly disagree with things, but how we handle it is of the utmost importance.
Several months ago I started using the unfollow feature on facebook. Basically I came to this conclusion, there are people in my life who I love dearly and have no real life connection with anymore that I deeply respect and long to keep in contact with, that post things that make me downright angry. There's several layers to this. It's not that I just disagree with them and can't stand seeing an opinion that differs from mine. I actually love different opinions, they are learning experiences. Not always to change what I fundamentally believe, but to learn what makes people tick and why they do that thing they do. I don't have to agree wholeheartedly with you to enjoy hearing your side of the story, What made me angry was the way these differences were approached. There was a sincere lack of kindness, grace and love in the things I was seeing from people, especially those that espouse those beliefs. Now I know that leaves me judging them. In a way it's true but not in a way that I was changing my opinion of people because of these posts, I wasn't dropping them from my list of favorite people. I was however seeing their words and how I felt about them, how I would convey that same thought in a different way, and how that thought would be received by "the other side". It has led me to looking at everything I laugh at, agree with, think about sharing with a sort of mental pros and cons list. The truth is, I don't share many memes anymore. Many of them are written from a selfish perspective, passive aggressively expressing discontent, or in small ways just downright mean even if they are just meant to be funny. Most of the funny ones I see and just shrug off though, typically a joke is nothing to get your knickers in a twist over, even if it's unkind and hurtful. What really gets me is the political/religious posts. When we start getting into hot button topics concerning patriotism/flags, prayer/faith, families/laws, etc. The truth is these are hard issues that have lots more moving pieces to them than most folks stop to consider. Taking one part you have heard about and making a meme or comment about it, without any true insight into not only the origin but original motivation, is hateful. I am so sick of the debate between kneeling and standing. Let me say this, there are good points on both sides, not by everyone who has taken up either side of this cause or even in execution of their arguments, but at the heart of it there are good reasons for both. So it makes me angry to see people belligerently standing up and virtually screaming hateful things back and forth. Show me one case where hateful tactics successfully changed someone else's mind/life for the better. Proverbs 15:1 even states "A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger." We know better. We know that when someone gets angry and in our face we get defensive and stop listening. My husband and I have had this discussion many times, because it gets us nowhere when we are upset, and we know it but often end up in that same pattern. I am not saying we can't disagree or even argue, but how we approach the battle matters.
For my whole life there have always been people who I felt really embodied "Christian living". You know, the ones who are genuine, loving, caring, serving, etc. The ones that you can count on in almost everything. I have about 20 years of these really good examples piled up. Not that I put them on a pedestal, but that in my mind they have the right idea and are a good example of a path I should follow. Let me tell you, every one of these people have very noticeable flaws and failings. That's part of why they hold that role in my life. They don't hide their faults and failings, they learn and work through them, not just in spite of them . Ultimately every one of them knows how to show unconditional love. That being said, a few years ago I started noticing something. As social media became pervasive in our culture I started narrowing that group of examples in a different way. The people didn't change but those moments when we aren't guarding our words seem to happen more often online than in person. It can happen to all of us, myself included. I have seen some of those memories pop up that I really regret having ever posted because now I see the harsh side. I realize that who I was in those moments was not who I would want anyone to be using as an example in their life.
Back when I was a resident assistant in college we often discussed the fish bowl principle. It's simple, as an RA your life was visible to everyone and someone was always watching; be aware of that and make good choices. Simple enough right? As parents we know this all to well. One year one of my sisters called me on my birthday, she left me a message and never said happy birthday. She had forgotten completely. It's understandable, life was chaotic at that point. The next day when my mom told her she responded "Crap! Crap! Crap!" while her daughter 2ish immediately and joyfully repeated her new word mommy had just taught her. It's a family joke now, but it is by far one of my most vivid examples of people watching when we aren't thinking about it. Some mistakes are hardly life changing, yet sometimes our words or actions can leave a lasting negative impact even though we would be heartbroken if we knew. These are "toothpaste moments." When you squeeze too much toothpaste out you can never get it back in the tube the same as it was before. Our words and actions can be the same way.
We have previously established that I am both a nerd and a geek. However I am not an English nerd. I probably could not diagram a sentence to save my life. In my younger years I even hated grammar. Now I actually love it. Maybe it's the fact that I moved to a school full of literal engineers who take things at face value. They are also very articulate, so I learned in the process I had to choose my words wisely and mean exactly what I said or it would be intentionally taken out of context for fun (yes, to engineers overthinking someone else's comments is fun). This nerdy oddity has actually served me well though. I have found that the tendency to overthink language allows me to find better wordings. I often turn to my husband with something posted by a friend and start analyzing the pieces of their comment for depth and content. He usually just gives me that look that means I am overthinking it. The truth is, part of our problem as a society is our flippant approach to our words. We don't think about how they will be received, what they truly mean on the other side. We all know the old adage "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." We also know just how wrong this is. Words often leave longer lasting scars than any physical injury ever could.
All of this is a piece of a big overarching thought that has plagued me for a while now. I see the problem, in me and the world. Now how can I change it? It's not something that little old me can just declare that it will no longer be a part of me or the world around me. The problem with ingrained thinking is that to end it we have to first realize when it's happening and then take action against it.
I have been trying for several weeks to get various pieces of this thought "on to paper." In the meantime a new piece of craziness has come out with the new Nike campaign and all the following memes. I will admit I laughed out loud at one due to a comparison it drew, but it referenced something that wasn't really funny at all. So why did I laugh? Why are these things flying around like wildfire? A few days ago another friend(I'm up to like 3 here people) put out a thought that I just loved! She said "What if instead of worrying about who’s burning their shoes, who’s kneeling, who’s standing, who’s praying, who’s protesting, who’s this company’s spokesperson, or which side of the aisle you belong we all just started loving our neighbor? I mean really, deep-down, unconditionally loving our neighbor the way we’ve been commanded. How much more beautiful would this world be?" Here I am trying to get a thought out and there she just covered it in about 4 sentences. What if we all could take hold of our actions and thoughts, even just a few everyday, and recognized the unloving ones and changed them?
For me, my middle school years were very rough, as I expect they were for many of us. It was a time of bullies and finding who I was. The other day I was thinking about how these were the years where my love of Wonder Woman grew. There was this orange library bound book of classic wonder woman cartoons in our middle school library. I have very vivid memories of always checking it out when I could. There are very few physical mementos I have a strong connection too but that book has long been one I wish I could have kept. I had never stopped to think about it before but I believe her story resonated deep in me and gave me some inner strength in those days. The thing about wonder woman is that her strength comes through her belief in goodness and love. When the movie came out a few years ago I honestly wasn't sure I wanted to see it. Hollywood has such a way of taking beloved characters with real heart and removing that essential piece that separates them from the crowd. I was not only pleasantly surprised but almost beside myself over how well the movie conveyed the message I had long seen deep in wonder woman. What had drawn me to her in the first place. There were 2 incredibly meaningful quotes that I need to work harder to live by. In her final battle with the God of war he declares that people don't deserve her protection. "It's not about deserve, it's about what you believe. And I believe in love." Pow, Boom! Right there. I believe in God. God is love. If I believe in him it's not about what we deserve. He already made that abundantly clear. So I just need to work on following his example.
Diana ends the movie by saying "I used to want to save the world. To end war and bring peace to mankind. But then, I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learned that inside every one of them, there will always be both. The choice each must make for themselves - something no hero will ever defeat. I've touched the darkness that lives in between the light. Seen the worst of this world, and the best. Seen the terrible things men do to each other in the name of hatred, and the lengths they'll go to for love. Now I know. Only love can save this world. So I stay. I fight, and I give... for the world I know can be. This is my mission, now. Forever." Now drawing the parallel out of the movie and into my life there is one hero/savior who will have ultimate victory. The darkness is not within our light either. The light can overpower the darkness but we have to choose to let it shine. The choice is still ours, on a daily basis even. Will I live to choose the light? Will I spread love even when it is not deserved? Will I continually watch my actions and ensure that they are living up to this standard of love? The struggle to be kind and loving in this world is real. It's not something that will be easily defeated. It's also not something I can see and walk away and do nothing about.
I am challenging myself to this: To pay attention. To be intentional about loving people right where they are, unconditionally. To be the light I am called to be. To pick myself up when I fail, ask forgiveness and try again.
So I stay, I fight, I give... for the world I know can be. This is my mission, now. Forever.
All the world is waiting for you...
As I am coming to know myself deeper and grow in my faith and in who God has made me to be I am realizing just how deeply I love this passage. While in some ways it has become cliche it's with good reason. Of all the things God is and His word calls us to, by far the biggest is love. Jesus even said "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Everything hinges on love. I honestly think it's really easy to lose sight of this, and getting easier it would seem.
For a while now I have been coming back to one complex thought. Everywhere I look I am greeted by an overarching societal thought of look out for #1. Now #1 may be you, your family, livelihood, Community, etc. At it's essence though there is this pervasive self centered nature that has taken hold in our culture. Entitlement is a symptom of this but by far not the cause. Looking more closely I see it on a deeper level. It is in so many small things in our lives that most of us (myself included) miss in ourselves. I have recently been trying to continually looking for these things in my own life and behavior.
Looking at the news and in general the world around us, the big thing I see is a need to put each other down. It's in the way headlines are worded, it's in how we express our opinions, even in how we think. A few weeks ago I was out running errands and found myself fuming over someone else's driving skills(or lack thereof). That morning while I was fuming a song came on that caused me to think about my thoughts and why was I letting that be a problem. Ultimately they weren't attacking me or seeking to harm me, they were being inconsiderate and not following rules of common decency. Yet, how often do I do those things too. Am I distracted, tired, out of sorts? If I dismiss my own failings as just a piece of life why am I not willing to do that for others? Why am I so quick to make an enemy of a stranger? Lack of love and kindness are probably my biggest pet peeves or soap box issues. With that being such a strong focus in my life I still struggle with it. That day though I acknowledged it. I stopped those thoughts and gave a little grace. Yet so many days I don't.
The more I look, the more I see it. It's in how we drive. Do I speed, cut off others, get angry when the person in front of me is going 5 under? Do I shoot nasty looks at other drivers as I pass them or mutter things to myself in my car? It's in how we walk. Do I get impatient in aisles of the grocery store? Am I respectful of how and when I cross roads and parking lots? Do I rush by people in the store when I am in a hurry? Am I even paying attention to the people around me? My now infamous friend hates it when people talk to him in line at the grocery store. Now he's an extreme introvert some days so it's really just out of his comfort zone. This is by far one of my favorite things to do. So for about 2 minutes of your life (longer if you're in the grocery store at rush hour or Wal-mart on a saturday) you get the chance to smile and brighten someone's day. Occasionally you even get the opportunity to encourage or bless them. There are so many memes and stories floating around these days about strangers judging each other in the store or out and about in daily life. One thing I long to do is to some day have the exact opposite effect on someone. To love them so deeply for 2 minutes that it changes something. Their day. Their mood. Their outlook. Something. I love the idea of random acts of kindness but I wonder if there is a way to take this deeper, bigger, stronger.
Another thing I have been noticing is social media. We all realize that it has become a big part of our lives. Maybe we seek to limit our time on it so we appreciate the things around us, but have we really stopped to evaluate the content? Social media is an interesting thing, especially since it's changed in the 15 years it has really been around. Despite having our names directly attached there seems to be a detachment between the computer screen and our real life. This enables us to say and do things we wouldn't face to face to our best friend, spouse, church family, coworker, acquaintance, and so on. Now in some ways that's terrific. The original goal of this blog was anonymity, to share a thought I felt deeply needed to get out, but was scared to share directly. It also comes with it a deep responsibility to know what pieces of ourselves or our thought lives should ever see the light of day. Let me be the first to say not everything I think or even do or say is always right. There is a deep seated mean streak in me; which if we're being completely honest most of us have a negative, mean, or uncaring side. The problem comes when we post these thoughts for the world to see. Sometimes that's in a post or a meme on a personal page or even in a comment on a larger audience page. A little over a year ago there was a tragic event happen that involved a friend. All the local news outlets for 100 mile radius caught the story. Seeing comments from strangers about someone I knew to be anything but what they were stating was heartbreaking, more so knowing their family could see those same things. Yes there are people who get enjoyment from just being mean, that's nothing new to our internet based culture, but there is a new tendency to be harsh. I can't help but wonder if this is mostly because any reaction is delayed and disconnected. We all know body language is a huge part of communication, but when there aren't physical reactions to read and interpret does it cause us to not realize how much our words hurt?
Somewhere in our culture we have made a move to the offensive. I have started to see a tendency to run forward in a sort of brave heart moment to take out all of our enemies before they can gain any ground. We are losing that generation of grandparently advice that tells us "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." This really gets me when Christians start taking the bible and using it as a battering ram. Yes, Jesus didn't back down, he did things that were wrong in the eyes of the pharisees and many others of his time, he even overturned the tables of money changers in the temple. 2 things though. First off I am not Jesus, so that holy indignation concept is beyond me. I need to evaluate my motives and keep them on a short leash, which means most days I shouldn't be flipping tables of people I disagree with. Secondly, the vast majority of Jesus' actions were oozing love to someone that desperately needed it. The people who had a problem with those actions weren't being loving or kind themselves. As a Christian, believer, follower of God, whatever title you choose why are we sharing such strongly worded hateful messages that are supposedly in line with the loving God we want to be like. We already established that God commanded us to love. I reached a point I took a close look at my facebook page, both current and those pesky little memories that pop up. Don't get me wrong, some are great, it's sweet to remember my kids when they were itty bitty, or when my husband and I were dating. What isn't as pleasant is to see the things I shared in my, let's call them, "stupid years". Things that while loosely biblical are either dreadfully out of context, or just bitingly directed to someone. Unfortunately every time I log into facebook I see more and more hateful posts that directly call out one group or way of thinking. This in and of it's self isn't a problem. we can directly disagree with things, but how we handle it is of the utmost importance.
Several months ago I started using the unfollow feature on facebook. Basically I came to this conclusion, there are people in my life who I love dearly and have no real life connection with anymore that I deeply respect and long to keep in contact with, that post things that make me downright angry. There's several layers to this. It's not that I just disagree with them and can't stand seeing an opinion that differs from mine. I actually love different opinions, they are learning experiences. Not always to change what I fundamentally believe, but to learn what makes people tick and why they do that thing they do. I don't have to agree wholeheartedly with you to enjoy hearing your side of the story, What made me angry was the way these differences were approached. There was a sincere lack of kindness, grace and love in the things I was seeing from people, especially those that espouse those beliefs. Now I know that leaves me judging them. In a way it's true but not in a way that I was changing my opinion of people because of these posts, I wasn't dropping them from my list of favorite people. I was however seeing their words and how I felt about them, how I would convey that same thought in a different way, and how that thought would be received by "the other side". It has led me to looking at everything I laugh at, agree with, think about sharing with a sort of mental pros and cons list. The truth is, I don't share many memes anymore. Many of them are written from a selfish perspective, passive aggressively expressing discontent, or in small ways just downright mean even if they are just meant to be funny. Most of the funny ones I see and just shrug off though, typically a joke is nothing to get your knickers in a twist over, even if it's unkind and hurtful. What really gets me is the political/religious posts. When we start getting into hot button topics concerning patriotism/flags, prayer/faith, families/laws, etc. The truth is these are hard issues that have lots more moving pieces to them than most folks stop to consider. Taking one part you have heard about and making a meme or comment about it, without any true insight into not only the origin but original motivation, is hateful. I am so sick of the debate between kneeling and standing. Let me say this, there are good points on both sides, not by everyone who has taken up either side of this cause or even in execution of their arguments, but at the heart of it there are good reasons for both. So it makes me angry to see people belligerently standing up and virtually screaming hateful things back and forth. Show me one case where hateful tactics successfully changed someone else's mind/life for the better. Proverbs 15:1 even states "A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger." We know better. We know that when someone gets angry and in our face we get defensive and stop listening. My husband and I have had this discussion many times, because it gets us nowhere when we are upset, and we know it but often end up in that same pattern. I am not saying we can't disagree or even argue, but how we approach the battle matters.
For my whole life there have always been people who I felt really embodied "Christian living". You know, the ones who are genuine, loving, caring, serving, etc. The ones that you can count on in almost everything. I have about 20 years of these really good examples piled up. Not that I put them on a pedestal, but that in my mind they have the right idea and are a good example of a path I should follow. Let me tell you, every one of these people have very noticeable flaws and failings. That's part of why they hold that role in my life. They don't hide their faults and failings, they learn and work through them, not just in spite of them . Ultimately every one of them knows how to show unconditional love. That being said, a few years ago I started noticing something. As social media became pervasive in our culture I started narrowing that group of examples in a different way. The people didn't change but those moments when we aren't guarding our words seem to happen more often online than in person. It can happen to all of us, myself included. I have seen some of those memories pop up that I really regret having ever posted because now I see the harsh side. I realize that who I was in those moments was not who I would want anyone to be using as an example in their life.
Back when I was a resident assistant in college we often discussed the fish bowl principle. It's simple, as an RA your life was visible to everyone and someone was always watching; be aware of that and make good choices. Simple enough right? As parents we know this all to well. One year one of my sisters called me on my birthday, she left me a message and never said happy birthday. She had forgotten completely. It's understandable, life was chaotic at that point. The next day when my mom told her she responded "Crap! Crap! Crap!" while her daughter 2ish immediately and joyfully repeated her new word mommy had just taught her. It's a family joke now, but it is by far one of my most vivid examples of people watching when we aren't thinking about it. Some mistakes are hardly life changing, yet sometimes our words or actions can leave a lasting negative impact even though we would be heartbroken if we knew. These are "toothpaste moments." When you squeeze too much toothpaste out you can never get it back in the tube the same as it was before. Our words and actions can be the same way.
We have previously established that I am both a nerd and a geek. However I am not an English nerd. I probably could not diagram a sentence to save my life. In my younger years I even hated grammar. Now I actually love it. Maybe it's the fact that I moved to a school full of literal engineers who take things at face value. They are also very articulate, so I learned in the process I had to choose my words wisely and mean exactly what I said or it would be intentionally taken out of context for fun (yes, to engineers overthinking someone else's comments is fun). This nerdy oddity has actually served me well though. I have found that the tendency to overthink language allows me to find better wordings. I often turn to my husband with something posted by a friend and start analyzing the pieces of their comment for depth and content. He usually just gives me that look that means I am overthinking it. The truth is, part of our problem as a society is our flippant approach to our words. We don't think about how they will be received, what they truly mean on the other side. We all know the old adage "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." We also know just how wrong this is. Words often leave longer lasting scars than any physical injury ever could.
All of this is a piece of a big overarching thought that has plagued me for a while now. I see the problem, in me and the world. Now how can I change it? It's not something that little old me can just declare that it will no longer be a part of me or the world around me. The problem with ingrained thinking is that to end it we have to first realize when it's happening and then take action against it.
I have been trying for several weeks to get various pieces of this thought "on to paper." In the meantime a new piece of craziness has come out with the new Nike campaign and all the following memes. I will admit I laughed out loud at one due to a comparison it drew, but it referenced something that wasn't really funny at all. So why did I laugh? Why are these things flying around like wildfire? A few days ago another friend(I'm up to like 3 here people) put out a thought that I just loved! She said "What if instead of worrying about who’s burning their shoes, who’s kneeling, who’s standing, who’s praying, who’s protesting, who’s this company’s spokesperson, or which side of the aisle you belong we all just started loving our neighbor? I mean really, deep-down, unconditionally loving our neighbor the way we’ve been commanded. How much more beautiful would this world be?" Here I am trying to get a thought out and there she just covered it in about 4 sentences. What if we all could take hold of our actions and thoughts, even just a few everyday, and recognized the unloving ones and changed them?
For me, my middle school years were very rough, as I expect they were for many of us. It was a time of bullies and finding who I was. The other day I was thinking about how these were the years where my love of Wonder Woman grew. There was this orange library bound book of classic wonder woman cartoons in our middle school library. I have very vivid memories of always checking it out when I could. There are very few physical mementos I have a strong connection too but that book has long been one I wish I could have kept. I had never stopped to think about it before but I believe her story resonated deep in me and gave me some inner strength in those days. The thing about wonder woman is that her strength comes through her belief in goodness and love. When the movie came out a few years ago I honestly wasn't sure I wanted to see it. Hollywood has such a way of taking beloved characters with real heart and removing that essential piece that separates them from the crowd. I was not only pleasantly surprised but almost beside myself over how well the movie conveyed the message I had long seen deep in wonder woman. What had drawn me to her in the first place. There were 2 incredibly meaningful quotes that I need to work harder to live by. In her final battle with the God of war he declares that people don't deserve her protection. "It's not about deserve, it's about what you believe. And I believe in love." Pow, Boom! Right there. I believe in God. God is love. If I believe in him it's not about what we deserve. He already made that abundantly clear. So I just need to work on following his example.
Diana ends the movie by saying "I used to want to save the world. To end war and bring peace to mankind. But then, I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learned that inside every one of them, there will always be both. The choice each must make for themselves - something no hero will ever defeat. I've touched the darkness that lives in between the light. Seen the worst of this world, and the best. Seen the terrible things men do to each other in the name of hatred, and the lengths they'll go to for love. Now I know. Only love can save this world. So I stay. I fight, and I give... for the world I know can be. This is my mission, now. Forever." Now drawing the parallel out of the movie and into my life there is one hero/savior who will have ultimate victory. The darkness is not within our light either. The light can overpower the darkness but we have to choose to let it shine. The choice is still ours, on a daily basis even. Will I live to choose the light? Will I spread love even when it is not deserved? Will I continually watch my actions and ensure that they are living up to this standard of love? The struggle to be kind and loving in this world is real. It's not something that will be easily defeated. It's also not something I can see and walk away and do nothing about.
I am challenging myself to this: To pay attention. To be intentional about loving people right where they are, unconditionally. To be the light I am called to be. To pick myself up when I fail, ask forgiveness and try again.
So I stay, I fight, I give... for the world I know can be. This is my mission, now. Forever.
All the world is waiting for you...
Well said
ReplyDelete