An off-kiltered heart

By Paula Gamble

I went to the woods this week – it is a place where my soul is deeply restored. I feel grounded the minute I step into the urban forests around Portland – I love the sensation of a rich store of oxygen filling my lungs. The barren wintery landscape is starting to fill out with small budding sprouts…there is hope…new life, growth, expectation.

After crossing an old stone bridge, I stopped to watch some birds flitting from branch to branch, in a flirtatious chase, picking up lichen, calling out a melodious chicka-dee-dee-dee. They made me smile and utter a supressed giggle. Contemplating these frolickers, I realized I could not distinguish if they were working, loving or playing. And in an instant I longed to echo their manner of living.

But how?

Am I to merely “balance” my life by getting work, relationships and leisure in proper priorities? Do I just reorder my schedule? Well, that doesn’t actually solve the core of my issue because an off-kiltered schedule always betrays an off-kiltered heart. Merely reordering schedules and lifestyle, fundamentally, starts at a heart level, not a calendar level.

Augustine said that everyone has a spirituality that can be defined in an ordis amoris – a way of ordering loves. Our spirituality, and the meaning of our lives, comes not so much by what we believe, but how we order our loves and how we integrate love into all that we do. It is accepting our frailty, offering our time, our wallets and our relationships to creation and our fellow creatures in ways that promote love that moves us toward this integration. It requires an intentional cooperation with One greater than us, and letting the soulrest that results from that synchronicity flow into our spending, our scheduling, our loving.

I go to the woods, like Thoreau, “to live life deliberately…and to put to rout all that [is] not life and not when I… come to die discover that I [have] not lived.” It takes intentionality. It takes paying attention at a heart level, not just a calendar level. Really living is a life where work, love and play are more and more indistinguishable and unfrenzied. I’d like that.

To read more from Paula, please visit her blog by clicking –> here.

A Holiday from Noise

By Gunnar Simonsen

“Easter requires preparation. I have to get my mind reset. My heart. I have to declare a holiday from things in my life that clutter up my path.” – Lori Lenz

I really like that quote a lot. It challenges me.

After spending a few days reading all the comments and threads of what people are giving up for lent, I wonder what the behind story is that would make people choose the things they choose.

I wonder what lasting impact it will make on their life long after lent is over. I wonder what they will do with this new found void that has come into their life.

For me, I would really like to fully understand what Lori says in that statement not just in meaning, but also through living.

To declare a holiday from the things in life that clutter up our path is to first understand that which clutters up our life.

To be honest, I believe what we need is more days without noise in our lives.
But, for some reason, we have all become way too addicted to the noise. We need it. We crave it.

In this, I cannot think of anything more at the core of our clutter than that of all the things we seem wired to in this day and age.

I type this because I am just exhausted from all the noise. I type this because I too… need a holiday.

My fault in life is that I go in rapid spurts. I get busy and I take off. I get exhausted and I lay down. Everything in between needs to fend for itself. The in-between moments simply become a blur.

Sure, it looks like I am busy, active, and engaged… but, a lot of times, I am just exhausted trying to keep up.

And why not?

I need to lose my remote control. I need to put away my laptop, iPod, and phone. I need to not worry about my Twitter rank or Facebook status updates. I need to get out of my car and maybe walk instead. I need to spend this holiday without jamming as much noise into my life as possible.

Life is too much like an all you can take noise bar and the result is that we generally take more than we need.

I need to spend some time regaining my perspective. I need to spend some time listening.

I need to take a holiday from all the noise.

A holiday without noise to me is a time to regain my perspective of that which I face in life… of that which truly matters in life.

A holiday with noise to me is a time where perspective is something that is rushed and meaningless busyness, poor decisions, and missed opportunities are the result.

A holiday from noise is a time I need in my life… a time that I crave in my life.

Do you need this holiday, too?

What will you do on your holiday without noise?

Be it a day, week, or season… we all need it.

In this, perhaps collectively, we can return much needed perspective to our world and in doing so, a whole more to ours.

Otherwise, chances are that the path will remain cluttered and in this, we too shall remain… right where we started.

Lent : Changing Lanes

By Lori Lenz

Preface: I am stealing this idea from my dad. He forwarded me the article and told me that he was going to do his Ash Wednesday service on this concept. I love it. So great job to my dad for coming up with the concept…I wish I could hear his sermon tomorrow – but here’s the idea…

A couple of years ago, the island of Samoa – with its 180,000 inhabitants, decided to change from an American style of driving (cars on the right) to a British style (cars on the left.) This was to make it easier for people in Australia and New Zealand to export cars into their country. How does one completely change an entire country’s driving habits?

Preparation.

The country widened roads. There were large media campaigns. And the country declared a two day national holiday starting the day of the switch to reduce traffic. No alcohol was sold in the country for the 3 days before, and the day prior (a Sunday) churches had organized prayers for driver’s safety. Speed limits were temporarily reduced. A few speed bumps were added. People’s minds were changed, and thus, their habits were able to change as well. This was a well thought out process.

At the appointed time, 6:00am on Monday morning, the police minister went on the radio and told all drivers to pull over wherever they were. After a few minutes, he explained how to make the switch to the other side, step-by-step, inch-by-inch, and as scores of onlookers cheered, drivers moved to the other lane.

And the first day, not a single accident occurred.

Isn’t that a little of what Lent is? As we were chatting about it, my dad said, “It’s not about changing your direction, it’s about changing your lane.”

Easter requires preparation. I have to get my mind reset. My heart. I have to declare a holiday from things in my life that clutter up my path. I’m still going in the same direction – but if changing lanes helps me better understand the miracle – the mystery – that is Easter, then I need to do whatever I can to be ready to receive. And, still moving forward, still running the race set before me, I bet the road will look a little different, and hopefully a little clearer from the other side of the road.

“Create in me a pure heart oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…” Psalm 51:10 (TNIV)

For more on Samoa’s driving change:

Asia-Pacific

No Glitch in Samoa driving switch