interesting idea.

lots of new things like this are popping up:

http://www.vittana.org/

soundtrack of life

I want to learn to know God's love in my life so that reflecting on it feels like the rush of a powerful and beautiful song such as those in movie montages.

The other day I walked from the train to work listening to 'Inni mer syngur vtleysingur' or possibly more simply known as the 2nd track on sigur ros's latest album. you know that bounce you get in your step while walking or driving to an amazing song - as it just sort of fills you with energy?

I pray Lord that I can know your love more and more, such that I can be filled with the same sort of energy - energy that stems from the creativity in who you are.

One Week

What would you do with One Week to live? Today over lunch I watched the movie One Week by Michael McGowan.

I think it is the greatest movie I have seen in a long time. Not just because it fully features ridiculous amounts of Toronto and Canada and places I have been and seen. Not just because I was tired and therefore I cried a lot (cheesy I know). Not just because I know most of the songs and it features many of my favourite bands.

I think it was because of this line: fighting with his fiancée Sam, Ben declares that his adventure is the right choice – he says

“If I can make each one of these days a life – that has to be a better choice”

What a way to express our life here on this world. Tell me I’m wrong – but I believe that we all just want every day to be a life. We want to live – OH we want to live. We want appreciation, acknowledgement, wisdom, new experience, meaningful relationship and love – OH do we want love. St. Augustine, in one of my favourite conclusions ever states,

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in You, Lord.”

This may have not been the conclusion of the movie – but, alas, I believe that the reason that the movie makes sense to us is because we know we all share the same feelings. It does NOT take the news that we are terminally ill for us to realize that we want to burst outwards in expression – we want to be in intimate deep connection and love with others – be appreciated for who we are. Ultimately we want to rest in the Lord. I am 1000% convinced that this forms the base of the longings and desires of every person who has ever lived.

I think adventure, much like Ben found out, can be vitally important to our lives. In most respects this throwing off of some responsibility and virtual spreading of our wings helps us to realize what we long for in our life. Ben turns from Sam and spreads his arms to the Rockies and says “This is right!” But Samantha has told him that he cannot drive around (and run away) forever. Trying to fulfill our heart’s restlessness only through adventure and experience is dangerous simply because it is impossible. We can never satiate our longings that way – we can only realize in moments of clarity what we long for.

In fact, if I could borrow a common expression and practice used by Ronald Rolheiser, after the realization an adventure can bring, one of the only ways in which we can grow in our state of restlessness is by turning the other way. By quieting our souls and activity completely and trying (time after time) to search in our hearts; through prayer we can begin to meet God in a fuller way. In this development of our relationship with him we can slowly begin to claim some of the feelings of love that we long for. The full consummation of this relationship is not realizable in our current state of affairs. However, I have found in my life, that the only times when I feel like I am able to be slightly more fulfilled in my life is when I take time to pray and reflect after the occurrence of an outward seeking adventure or even just in the middle of the most mundane of activities (often while longing for one of those adventures). I am so pathetically bad at this. What I can do, however, is consider those people I know in life that seem the most content, and fulfilled in the every day, mundane, domesticated and ‘boring’ tasks of life. I think of my Nana, for one, and I see a lady who has spent countless hours focusing on deepening her relationship with the Lord simply so that she is able to understand her existence while resting further in God’s heart.

A friend of mine posted a quote about stories helping us to determine how to live our lives – the story of this movie helped me to concretize I think a lot of the above thoughts and realize that I must keep struggling to reflect, pray and cry out to God in the alone and simple times of the day in order to move towards rest.

The Greatest Wedding of All

Weddings are awesome. Ultimately the wedding of Heaven and Earth will be the most awesome - I thank the Lord I am invited to THAT ceremony AND reception (one might even say heavily involved) and I pray that it will come ever so soon...

"And when they finally come together, that will be cause for rejoicing in the same way that a wedding is: a creational sign that God's project is going forward; that opposite poles within creation are made for union, not competition; that love and not hate have the last word in the universe; that fruitfulness and not sterility is God's will for creation." N.T. Wright, Surpised By Hope, pp. 105

ultimately yet another reason to dance! PTL

Creativity vs. Consumerism

Why is it that some random days the urge to buy something comes easy?

Maybe its because I don't outlet enough creativity, just like Rolheiser talks about how creativity can be an answer to violence in his latest post - it could probably also answer the urge to buy something.

cool:

"Creativity can be as simple (and as wonderful) as gardening, growing flowers, sewing, raising children, baking bread, collecting stamps, keeping a journal, writing secret poems, being a teacher, being cub-scout leader, coaching a team, collecting baseball cards, doing secret dances in the privacy of your own room, fixing old cars, or building a deck off the porch. It doesn't have to be recognized and you don't need to get published. You only have to love doing it." - Rolheiser

SO I guess we just have to dance on!

A Challenging Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

- Saint Francis of Assisi

This is very humbling for me, and that's probably why I love it.

John Locke is my Hero

Warning: This is my unabashed love tribute to John Locke.

2nd Warning: If you don't watch LOST this may make no sense - but read it anyway as my submission of a reason why you should just take some time and watch all 5 seasons.

I love John Locke. I can't say it enough, I loved him from the first season of LOST when he just looked like my Dad. I loved him when he was given his legs. I loved him when he was obsessed by the hatch. I loved him when he walked around and tried to provide sage wisdom to anyone who would listen. I loved his flashbacks. I loved his leadership feud with Jack. I loved his decision to stay on the Island. I loved his passion and his insanity.

But it was only after tonight why I truly realized I loved him. John Locke is me - John Locke is you. John Locke is all humans. John Locke is Chosen, Blessed and Broken.

Locke is 'chosen' by the island - brought there repeatedly and involved deeply in its work and in its purpose and its events. Most importantly - he is chosen as someone 'special.' To the island, Locke is entirely and completely special. Locke is 'blessed' by the island - given his legs - his life - his purpose - his reason for living - and countless opportunities. Opportunities to lead and opportunities to love.

Finally, and most endearingly, Locke is broken - repeatedly. Locke is broken physically an astounding number of times, and he struggles with this. But Locke is broken in a more deep and menacing way than that. Locke is repeatedly told by most that are not manipulating him that he is NOT SPECIAL - that he has no value to them. This, perhaps, is his most human quality. I've read Henri Nouwen say, "it is much easier to accept the inability to speak, walk, or feed oneself than it is to accept the inability to be of special value to another person ... when we sense that we no longer have anythign to offer to anyone, we quickly lose our grip on life." Pardon me for my Locke bro-mance, but I just can't get over what I see of my own struggles in him...

... and somehow it gives me hope - the Island which has chosen me has greater blessings, greater brokenness, and further gifts to give yet!