I'm anxiously awaiting spring. That's right, I said it - I want spring to come!
I'm still a fan of winter. I love the brisk air on my face and the liberating feel of the chill, keeping me awake and alive to feel the world around me. Summer days are perceived to be hot and sticky, the sun luring you to nap and sleep and, if you want to be active, go lye on the beach and soak in rays while listening to the water clash about. This has it's unique beauty; I'm just not a fan of humidity and extreme heat.
As I slosh around in the city and journey over and around snow piles stacked to the hilt, I am feeling a bit leery - I've walked this street so many times and yet I STILL manage to slip and slide in the exact SAME places. I STILL manage to get a foot or two stuck in the exact SAME snow holes. I STILL manage to step in the exact SAME puddle of ice, snow, and dirt. Feel free to capture a mental picture here if wish: Ryan, twisting and gyrating, bending and kicking, ass down and legs up while transit buses swerve, cars honk, and people giggle. I laugh, too. The lower body gets a work out while the feet cry for relief. I wish I could say help was immanent or right around the corner. It may very well be, but I won't be betting on that here in Chicago.
The brisk air of winter is still hitting a sweet spot, conjuring up a sense of aliveness and energy. At the same time, the feet are being drug through a messy winter-land. I want to yell, "hang in there, feet, you'll be complaining about the hot sand soon enough!" I want spring to come, and stay throughout the summer.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
A Week of Renewal & Promise
What is this world coming to?
Death and destruction. War and terror. Burning, pillaging, genocide, ethnic cleansing. Hatred and injustice. Racism, homophobia, sexism. Poverty and illness. Shortage of food, dirty water, lack of medicine, expensive drugs.
The question above surfaces for many of us frequently. Although we may not be able to articulate such, it seems never far from memory, etched solidly in our unconscious. The world today does present challenges, there is no denying that. Where there is fear, however, there is opportunity. Where there exists atrocities and violence, there can be birthed peace and healing.
Behind all sin and shortcomings their exists a proportionate grace and invitation.
It's easy to get overwhelmed. Yet, as this week alone reminded me, there is reason to celebrate the "proportionate grace and invitation" behind the doors of violence and injustice.
1) Martin Luther King, Jr. was honored on Monday. His witness to nonviolence and steadfast support of equal rights for all inspires us today. The Six Principles of Nonviolence is only one of his legacies: nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people, seeks to win friendship and understanding, seeks to defeat injustice not people, holds that suffering can educate and transform, chooses love instead of hate, and believes that the universe is on the side of justice.
2) Barack Obama was inaugurated the 44th President of the United States of America. While his legacy is yet to be determined, a new day has seemed to sweep across the country, valuing openness and respect, competence and integrity, unity and purpose. His presidency is no small feat. It's one of those breakthrough moments, re-routing our collective expectations and energy for the future.
3) This Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the proclamation for Vatican II by John Paul XXIII. A renewed, excited, and enlivened Church emerged. It is still giving birth to many fruits, as it continues to open up faith, spirituality, and theology for many, providing access and invitation to being Church. No longer can we pit grace against human nature, religious against lay, or understand sacrifice as salvation - it's instead provoked new questions, visions of a just Church and truly compassionate God.
The challenges are many and the load we bear is not light. The examples above demonstrate that these are burdens carried together, and although progress may not come as fast or furious as we would like, embodied leaders and movements of change do happen. This week is living proof. From this perspective, the world points to renewal and wholeness.
Death and destruction. War and terror. Burning, pillaging, genocide, ethnic cleansing. Hatred and injustice. Racism, homophobia, sexism. Poverty and illness. Shortage of food, dirty water, lack of medicine, expensive drugs.
The question above surfaces for many of us frequently. Although we may not be able to articulate such, it seems never far from memory, etched solidly in our unconscious. The world today does present challenges, there is no denying that. Where there is fear, however, there is opportunity. Where there exists atrocities and violence, there can be birthed peace and healing.
Behind all sin and shortcomings their exists a proportionate grace and invitation.
It's easy to get overwhelmed. Yet, as this week alone reminded me, there is reason to celebrate the "proportionate grace and invitation" behind the doors of violence and injustice.
1) Martin Luther King, Jr. was honored on Monday. His witness to nonviolence and steadfast support of equal rights for all inspires us today. The Six Principles of Nonviolence is only one of his legacies: nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people, seeks to win friendship and understanding, seeks to defeat injustice not people, holds that suffering can educate and transform, chooses love instead of hate, and believes that the universe is on the side of justice.
2) Barack Obama was inaugurated the 44th President of the United States of America. While his legacy is yet to be determined, a new day has seemed to sweep across the country, valuing openness and respect, competence and integrity, unity and purpose. His presidency is no small feat. It's one of those breakthrough moments, re-routing our collective expectations and energy for the future.
3) This Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the proclamation for Vatican II by John Paul XXIII. A renewed, excited, and enlivened Church emerged. It is still giving birth to many fruits, as it continues to open up faith, spirituality, and theology for many, providing access and invitation to being Church. No longer can we pit grace against human nature, religious against lay, or understand sacrifice as salvation - it's instead provoked new questions, visions of a just Church and truly compassionate God.
The challenges are many and the load we bear is not light. The examples above demonstrate that these are burdens carried together, and although progress may not come as fast or furious as we would like, embodied leaders and movements of change do happen. This week is living proof. From this perspective, the world points to renewal and wholeness.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Divide & Conquer -- Unite & Prosper
If you are a progressive like myself you are elated at today's inauguration of Barack Obama. If you are a conservative, you have doubts. Obama won't be a perfect president and certainly doesn't have all the answers. I'd like to suggest we push ideology aside, even if just for today. There will be plenty of time for ideologues to banter.
Instead, I want to focus on process. What is the process by which our new leader will govern? Just as much as ideology informs government, so does the process (rules?) of engagement. I would argue that process has just as much to do with success as does having the 'right' answers and the 'correct' policies. This is important - but it is not everything.
What process will move us forward? Unlike Bush's method of divide and conquer, Obama's seems to be unite and prosper. Unlike the exclusiveness and rigidity of the last 8 years, we seem to entering an era of collaboration, inclusiveness (even of ideas different than our own), and dialogue. This process, marked by transparency and integrity, invites and welcomes, affirms, and gathers all around the national table of conversation. And while there will be disagreements and dissent, there will be a place for all.
Conservatives may have doubts, but they will be allowed at the national table, too. As a self-identified progressive, I wish the same would have been true of 'us' during Bush's presidency. The outrage we feel towards Bush isn't grounded in dissenting ideology (good people can disagree), it's in being pushed - and in many ways shoved - to the periphery, to the margins of public discourse, our ideas and person-hood violated, discredited, many times seemingly not even recognized. There is a more dignified way forward - a process which can hold agreement and tension, dissent and collaboration, conservatives and liberals. It is about building up, not tearing down.
My prayer for America is that Obama continues the spirit of this process. Over the last year Americans rejected a government of fear and unilateralism and embraced hope and possibility, full of big ideas and diverse populations coming together once again for the common good of all. This might be the process needed to solve problems and elevate our collective quality of life.
Instead, I want to focus on process. What is the process by which our new leader will govern? Just as much as ideology informs government, so does the process (rules?) of engagement. I would argue that process has just as much to do with success as does having the 'right' answers and the 'correct' policies. This is important - but it is not everything.
What process will move us forward? Unlike Bush's method of divide and conquer, Obama's seems to be unite and prosper. Unlike the exclusiveness and rigidity of the last 8 years, we seem to entering an era of collaboration, inclusiveness (even of ideas different than our own), and dialogue. This process, marked by transparency and integrity, invites and welcomes, affirms, and gathers all around the national table of conversation. And while there will be disagreements and dissent, there will be a place for all.
Conservatives may have doubts, but they will be allowed at the national table, too. As a self-identified progressive, I wish the same would have been true of 'us' during Bush's presidency. The outrage we feel towards Bush isn't grounded in dissenting ideology (good people can disagree), it's in being pushed - and in many ways shoved - to the periphery, to the margins of public discourse, our ideas and person-hood violated, discredited, many times seemingly not even recognized. There is a more dignified way forward - a process which can hold agreement and tension, dissent and collaboration, conservatives and liberals. It is about building up, not tearing down.
My prayer for America is that Obama continues the spirit of this process. Over the last year Americans rejected a government of fear and unilateralism and embraced hope and possibility, full of big ideas and diverse populations coming together once again for the common good of all. This might be the process needed to solve problems and elevate our collective quality of life.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Always a Panther!
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) fight song contains the verse "hail our panthers we are forever loyal." As an alum of UNI, I couldn't be more proud of my panthers right now!-- Continuously rated in volleyball
-- Reached division II football championship semi-finals
-- Best wrestling program in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), one of best in nation
-- Men's basketball team currently atop MVC
-- Kurt Warner, UNI alum, quarterback of Arizona Cardinals, in NFC championship game
I loved my UNI experience and will be forever loyal. GO PANTHERS!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
American Mission? Church Idol?
This week I start my Church & Mission class on Wednesday evenings. I am excited! If you’re following this blog you know I have been “starting classes” for awhile now. It is true I have two masters degrees and am quite possibility going for another one. I can’t help it, I love to learn. There are worse things I could be addicted too. I no longer resist the labels dork or nerd; they signify someone continually curious and habitually open to the world around them. I thirst the philosophical and love to analyze, theorize, integrate, and synthesize. It’s ok, I know the words dork and nerd fit. While I love the arena of academia and the cultivation of new paradigms in which to see the world, I remind myself to temper such analyses with reflections on the lived experience. They aren’t mutually exclusive, yet, they do talk to each other in dialogue and both are needed to discern wisdom. I find those who rely solely on one or the other lack balance and comprehensiveness, the product wrapped in rigidity and/or universalism. Temper, my friends!
On a totally unrelated note, the TV show American Idol starts tonight. Yes - finally! This is one of the few reality shows that tries to build people up, give them a venue to shine, allow them to showcase themselves and their talent (or lack thereof, quite honestly) to the world. While other shows provoke participants to sabotage and derail each other, American Idol is simply about doing your best. I thrive on the personalities, the songs, melodies, the audience, and the emotions that come with those who sing and dream. There is something in me that cheers this creativity and expression, this risk-taking and vulnerability. Sometimes I sing loudly, too, to the consternation of my neighbors.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Cosmic Dance
I have a new calendar by my desk at work. It’s a “new universe” calendar which suggests small activities to do each day of the year (e.g., reflect with your heart, reverence your story, be free of fear). My hope is that the calendar will remind me of the small things I can do in a day to stay awake to the movements of life. I’m amazed at night, when I reflect back on my day, how many special moments there were, how many things I didn’t even think twice about, and how many encounters went unreverenced. I start the new year staying awake!
The intention in today’s calendar box asks me to share a favorite book with others. Wow, what timing! This past couple weeks I have been reading a book my Mom gave me entitled The Shack by WM. Paul Young. I’ve been captivated by the depth in which he writes, amazed at the topics he treats, and riled up by the theology espoused. Each of us appropriates ‘our theology’ differently; yet, I think this book has universal appeal. It’s universal not in it’s Judeo- Christian principles, or it’s God-centric language, or it’s suggestive dogma. It’s universial in that it takes someone’s story - their humanity masquerading as something else - and asks of the reader:
What does it mean to be human?
What does it mean to be fully alive?
And for Christians, how does the Trinity inform what we believe and how we live our lives?
The Shack is someone’s personal narrative, beautifully presented, rife with moments of vulnerabiltiy and authenticity. The mask comes off, his truly human face peeks through. If only more of us allowed such honesty and transparency in our lives, especially amongst those who loves us and we love.
I recommend the book. It’s an easy read physically, but will pounce on your heart, shake things up, ask deep questions about authenticity and life. I think the calendar will come in handy - is this type of thinking staying awake to the inner movements within and the cosmic dance in the world at-large?
In case your interested, tomorrow’s intention asks: What do you allow to flow through you? Rest assured, I don’t plan to blog on that topic, although maybe each person who reads this will give it some thought.
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