Did you know that there is a world-wide labyrinth finder?
Yes!
And, in fact, should you choose to utilize this link, you may be surprised to find a labyrinth near you! I was quite astonished to find one in a little-nowhere town just miles from us.
So here's the deal: you may be saying, "why do I even care?" – and you may very-well-not care; yet, I find it fascinating that there is this whole world out there of labyrinth enthusiasts. I have a passing interest in them, only because they were important in the early history of Christianity as a tool for meditation / prayer / contemplation. And, actually, they're pretty cool looking. But aside from these stellar reasons, I just love that I "stumbled" onto this world. Mostly just because it is fun.
I know a person who texted a mutual friend and said she was having a really rough time. Mutual friend told me – "you should reach out to her … she's hurting." I texted hurting person who responded with: Life is good! I'm good!
Why did she do that?
I know another person who said to me today, "I think I am really good at lying, which is strange, because honesty is my highest value."
Actually, if you lie all the time, honesty is NOT your highest value.
In the case of the second friend, I think her highest value is compassion / empathy and she can't bear to hurt other people, so she says all sorts of things she doesn't really mean (or she DOESN'T say necessary things) just to keep the peace.
In the case of the first friend, I believe she told me what she thought I wanted to hear. I'm not sure what it is all about, but something within her is keeping her from trusting that I can handle if she is not ok.
Often, I am privy to so much more information that most people realize. Because I know lots of people who know each other and folks tend to trust me with private and personal information, it is not uncommon for me to hear two sides of the same story without each of the participants realizing that I know this from the other position. What I find so fascinating is the spin that people put on things.
Occasionally, I'll stretch people some by saying, "I'm not asking you to fill in the gap, but when you think of the current situation, what percentage of the WHOLE TRUTH did you just tell?"
People usually smile – semi embarrasedly – and then say something like : 37%. This is especially interesting to do in a group. The answers usually hover between 15% and 80%.
It just goes to show that we are not all that honest.
Ask yourself that question the next time you have a conversation with someone. You might be surprised at your honesty (or lack of) quotient.
So I am what you might call "cautiously optimistic" – I really don't expect the worst, I try not to spend too much time in the 'worry zone' and I usually have a general plan that is highly flexible. However, last night, I spent more time than I wish feeling very unprepared for a real emergency.
In the early morning, we had heard several sirens pierce the quiet. When Ethan and I left the house, the billowing smoke was easy to see about a half-mile from us. Flames, ladders and shooting water. My son and I prayed for the home owners and their animals and we went on about our business. When we returned six or seven hours later, there was no real sign of anything, except some residual smoke.
At 3:00 am, I was awakened by the strong smell of burning. I got up and peered through several windows … I went out the front door. The Harvest Moon was so bright, it almost didn't seem dark. My eyes and lungs began to hurt, although the air still looked clear.
I think under normal circumstances, I probably would have just closed the windows and gone back to bed, however, we have several large animals now; feeling how much my lungs were smarting, I was thinking of them being out in this all night … surely it was hurting their eyes and throats. I did try to go back to sleep, but became increasingly anxious, thinking about how I really have no way of saving everyone if there was a close fire. It was distressing enough that I got dressed, brushed my teeth (because I can't think without clean teeth!), put in my contacts, so I'm street legal, and I drove all around the neighborhood trying to pinpoint the source.
It is SO quiet at now 4:00 am. I found in my reconnaissance that not that far from us, the air was clear; we were in a low spot that was collecting the smoke – from the same fire that was burning earlier. I returned home and tried to end my night better than the middle portion – i.e. sleeping.
This morning, while better, is still bad enough – it is quite painful to breathe. But of more concern to me is this realization that I truly can do little to help my animals. This, I need to figure out – not because I think there will be a need, but because if there is a need, I could never live with leaving them behind.
Having an actionable plan reduces panic, false guilt, and chaos. This is true for many things beyond emergencies. Its pretty much all of life, actually.
I was sitting in on a meeting with sharp, enthusiastic students. However, in the context of this interaction, no one was saying a word. No one was contributing. It was all I could do to not step in and create the answers that they needed, but that wasn't really going to help them in the long run. I do have to say, it was maddening.
Can I just exhort you - if you are going to be part of something, then please be an enthusiastic contributor; anything less is discouraging and disheartening .
I was listening to a webcast on becoming a successful author. The instructor was saying that a mistake aspiring writers make frequently is to say they "want to be a writer" or they "want to write something someday" – rather than saying "I am a writer." He said that subtle distinction prevents many of them from becoming the author that they wish to be.
So in the spirit of all this, when someone today learned of a recent transition I will be making in the near future and they asked what I will be doing with my extra time, I said, "I am going to write."
It made it more real.
Because, though I have never published anything (YET), still, I AM a writer. : )
The poor puppies are sick. Yesterday there was sneezing. Today Ed's eyes are half closed and he is hacking. Where previously I thought they were little scrappers, today I feel so bad for them.
When something is hurting, it makes you want to reach out and nurture it.
Remember this when you are angry.
Usually, underneath anger, there is a more vulnerable emotion like fear or feeling invisible or hurt or devalued or unloved. If you can express to the other person that softer emotion, they are WAY more likely to hear you and to move closer. If you communicate the anger, usually they just get defensive.
We want to take care of the defenseless. It's just in our nature.
