Photo: Michelle Meiklejohn.
Surfboard? Check. Wax? Check. Waves? Uh. They’re coming.
I’m ready. Any minute now, a perfect swell is going to build, crest into a wave, and come up right under me. I’m going to sit right here and jump to my feet just as the peak sets me up to cruise down the line. It will be amazing. I cannot wait!
What about the waves over there?
Those are too far. That would be a hard paddle. Besides, I am ready in this spot. Right here. When a wave comes, watch me go!
Photo: procsilas.
We spend the majority of our lives striving after something we want. It changes over time and is typically not an end unto itself but a path to something much more profound. Something that does not exist in this life. At least not in the ideal, perfect form we have in mind when we set out for it.
In a word, this end goal reality we strive for is, spiritual. We look to people to fulfill our desire for love, but they fail. We look to the stuff we buy to bring us joy, but it fails. We gather experiences to feel like we are really living, but nothing lasts. The reason we can say they fail is that they are measured against something perfect. A rule of measurement we have never experienced on earth. The very existence of this desire should whisper that there is something more we are missing in this life.
Some of you believe we are chemical accidents, and the physical world is all that exists. You would say that these desires we have for a perfect embodiment of our ideals, a spiritual realm, or heaven even, is just a result of our biological instinct to survive. That it is simply nature’s way of implanting hope in us to preserve the human race. Yet this belief does not change your pursuit of this hope, of these ideals. You still get up and operate as if heaven exists. In other words, believing the spiritual world is imaginary does not change its impact on you.
Photo: doug88888.
You probably feel tired. Tired of being yourself. You want to escape and be anything but under the particular burdens that weigh on you daily. Planted where you are, your environment is anything but favorable to be who you really want to be.
Each day you have a choice. You can choose to bloom or wither away in obscurity.
Many of us are so self-defeating, we do not even realize the negative self-talk we tell ourselves. Ever so quietly and constantly, we whisper to ourselves the lie that no one cares about us. No one cares what we have to say. To write. To share. To create. To give. Blooming is for them. Not us. We are nothing special.
And it’s one of the most damaging lies we can tell ourselves. We all have our time to bloom. And it’s never too late. I will finish with a story about a little red flower that illustrates this well.
Video: Zack Arias.
One year ago this month, photographer Zack Arias posted a video called Transform that made an impression on me. He poured his heart out in a very open and vulnerable way that spoke to the things I believe many of us struggle with as photographers, designers, artists, and creatives of all stripes. Although a photographer, he used video to tell his story in a powerful way. I believe this method of communicating will continue to explode online as a new generation of kids grow up on YouTube and television.
The specialists like Zack are starting to realize that the new social media (now just the media) world we now live in will demand even more skills out of niche players than ever before. Photographers must now be web designers, social media experts, producers, directors, workshop hosts, and many other things to stay in business and compete. The pace can turn any creative into a heap of overwhelm. What Zack says in his video is key to overcome this shift we are now experiencing in every industry from music to photography to film to publishing.
Photo: Logan Abassi / The United Nations.
As the recent devastation in Haiti flashes across our screens in vivid high-definition, I hear many whispering under their breath, “Where is God? If He is so loving, how could He let this happen? Why do so many have to suffer? God, the children! Jesus, where is Your compassion?” Others are so numb and desensitized to the constant march of blood and violence in the media, they rationalize it away or pretend they have all the answers to somehow make themselves feel better.
The truth is, when disaster strikes, the answers are irrelevant. The solution is love. And love, or charity as some prefer, takes action. Charity doesn’t search for answers or try to rationalize suffering. It rushes to the rescue.
The day after the earthquake, Bill O’Reilly had no trouble sizing up the situation on his January 13th Talking Points spot entitled “Haiti, liberalism and America.” Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush co-wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times. Musicians from every genre and style banded together seemingly overnight to record and play benefit concerts. Pat Robertson stirred up a firestorm with his comments, and the responses were even stronger. I found the responses from Don Miller and the Star Tribune in Minneapolis particularly worth a read. Photographers on the ground in Haiti captured every moment. Countries all over the world weighed in and sent their support. The earthquake became something more.
It became an opportunity to love. To be the hands and feet of Jesus when He healed the sick.
Charity cannot exist in a vacuum. It does not exist outside of people overflowing into the lives of other people. God doesn’t promise us safety from earthly disasters, but He does expect His body of believers to be God to those around them. To comfort the sick, feed the hungry, and shelter the needy. Where is God in Haiti? He is serving through compassionate hearts in every capacity every minute. He is the helping hand bandaging the bruised. He is charity in Haiti.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,”
— Matthew 25:35 (NIV)
Photo: Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
This week took me on business out of state. I travel light, and when it came to swipe my credit card at the airport terminal, I realized I was a few grams too light. My credit card had taken a vacation the night before and had an away message in its place. “Dear Owner, you’re screwed.”
I took a deep breath and smiled. I felt like James Bond. How would I hop a flight, rent a car, eat, stay in a hotel, do business, and get back home safely without any form of currency? I only carry two things in my wallet — my driver’s license, and my credit card. Both memorized. If you rob me, have fun while you can. The card carries a very low balance, the license is old, and if I find you there will only be one story. My story.
Photo: Reinante El Pintor de Fuego.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:”
—Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
Almost. Did you see that spark? There! It’s catching. Guard it from the wind! Now blow on it! What? It needs oxygen! Dang it. You blew it out. Let me try.
If you have ever started a fire or tried to start one, this exchange sounds amusingly familiar. I smile remembering us little scouts hovering around a campfire, taking turns striking and blowing at the embers until it grew into a victorious furnace of heat. Back then we did not realize the principle we were learning.
As the fires of life sparked, raged or fizzled, the magical interplay between oxygen and fire started to take on new meaning. If you apply oxygen at the right time in the right amount, you will have a wonderful growing fire. And if you apply too much oxygen too early or not enough, you won’t. Building fires reminds me to ask the question elsewhere in life, is my timing and intensity off? Sometimes we strive and toil at something so hard, we miss this key question and principle.
Sometimes all it takes is adjusting your timing and intensity to turn a negative into a positive.
See if you can apply this principle in your life. The next time your life serves up a situation that is not quite working out in a positive way, don’t give up before identifying the oxygen and fire, then applying the principle. Is this the best time? Is this the right amount? I hope this serves you well.
Photo: Cia de Foto.
“doveriai, no proveriai” {Trust, but verify.}
—Russian proverb
We trust entirely too easily. And it’s damaging our health. Let alone our bank accounts, our children, and our lives. We are so oblivious to the depth of our trust in things undeserving that the mere thought of questioning them sends us immediately into denial. To admit our naivety or irresponsibility is unthinkable. We rest in the wisdom of the herd; let the consequences be damned. We prefer to slide through life and not rock the boat rather than have to deal with the truth. I hope if you are reading this, you’re a rocker not a roller.
Photo: Ansel Adams.
As you reflect on the year ahead, you are bound to think about the things that matter to you above everything else. Your priorities. Sure, you may set goals or resolutions. You may even be struggling just to stay afloat. But the things that hold the most value to you will always trump these. No matter what, I hope you include your health as one of your top priorities this year. Your other priorities depend on it.
You may have nodded and said, “Got it. Losing weight is my top priority this year!” That’s great, but that’s not a priority.
When I think priorities, I am thinking about my relationships, my health, my finances, my work, my home. At any given moment, I am deciding what takes priority in my life. Do I catch this really funny show on television or call my friend to go running? I am juggling something that is entertainment, which is cool yet not even on my top five list, and my health, which comes in at number two. And if I choose wisely, I am also building a better relationship and having fun too. I believe they call that a twofer.
Thanks for stopping by my site today. It's truly an honor. I pray blessings on you and your family, and I hope I can speak encouragement into your life. You are uniquely created for a purpose that only you can fulfill. No matter how you feel on any given day, know that. Keep striving. Keep creating. Keep loving. Find your passion. Or let it find you. If we haven't met yet, I look forward to meeting you. Please comment, contact, or connect with me to share your view, say hello, or walk with me for a while. I'm just getting started!
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Weeding Your Mental Garden
Photo: Jeremy Avnet.
You want to create something amazing. Have an impact. Make a difference. One beautiful day at a time. You want to bring the right people into your life, but they seem to leave as fast as they arrive. You try so hard and seem to make little perceivable progress. You beat yourself up. In public. On your blog. Repeatedly.
You are one hot mess.
Why? Your head is full of strong, healthy weeds. And you haven’t done any heavy weeding in a long time. The flowers are sparse and anemic, you have little good soil to work with, and the weeds are so familiar that you forgot they are unwelcome. Some even look like trees. They crowd out good ideas, good opportunities, and good people that want to take root in your life. Instead of people coming into your life and growing in a pruned garden, they are faced with man-eating Venus Flytraps and thick tangling weeds. The soil is so toxic, they cannot grow and quickly leave.
My hope is to paint a picture of some of the nasty weeds that can grow in one’s life in order to jump start the weeding process. If you identify with any, and God knows I am speaking from experience, I want to encourage you and remind myself to be diligent in keeping our mental gardens hospitable to all who visit. To guard our gates wisely.
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