A+ha.

Virtue.

Virtue. It's a word we don't use much anymore. At least I don't. I talk about resolutions, transformation, and values--but virtue? Hmmm...honestly I hadn't given much thought to this subject until I heard Krista Tippett  speak last night. Virtues are those things that give us grounding to live life with excellence--the way God intended life to be. Not "perfection", mind you. But "excellence"--with all we've got, in a way that connects us to the earth, to ourselves, to each other, and to God. 

So today I'm thinking about, pondering, wondering what virtues I hold dear. Here's Krista's list of virtues...I'll start here and see if there are things I would add or delete. 

1.  Beauty. Genuine beauty, that is. Not "glamour." 

2.  Asking good questions. Asking good questions means being present, awake, aware, connected, curious about yourself and others. 

3.  A sense of humor. Yup. Laughter is not only the best medicine--it's healing and connecting and soul-stirring. Whew. 

4.  Taking goodness seriously. Living with gratitue as a state of being, not just a feeling. 

Huh. A day full of beauty, curiousity, laughter and rejoicing does sound pretty holy...maybe Krista's on to something here. 

Moving on?

The calendar this morning reminds me that it's been a little over a week since Easter Sunday. The sugar hangover is (almost) gone. The eggs have been turned into egg salad. The plastic grass and the stuffed bunnies are packed up and stored away for another year. Time to move on...???

Not yet.

Easter is far from over. FAR from over. In the life of the church, we still have another 40+ days to go until the next season begins. But in everyday life, Easter season never really ends. There is new life to be discovered every day. God is alive and loose in the world: changing, transforming, laughing, crying, breathing, touching, healing, performing miracles every day in and through ordinary people just like you. Just like me. 

Every day. Hope. Love. Life. Happy Easter. 

Connection.

Twitter. Facebook. Pinterest. Linked In....all ways that we connect with each other in a virtual way, sharing our interests, our stories, our lives with each other. And they work. To an extent.

The truth is, though, we need personal, face-to-face connection. We are wired to connect with each other. And "virtual" simply isn't a substitute. There's something about looking another in the eye and sharing life in a flesh and blood kind of way that is mystical, magical, holy--something that can't be replicated, duplicated, replaced. 

I'm thinking and feeling that the world could use a little more of this kind of interaction these days. I know I could. 

Resurrection

 

"I Praise You for this Resurrection Madness" (Ted Loder)

Lord of such amazing surprises

    to put a catch in my breath and wings on my heart,

I praise you

    for this joy, too great for words,

        but not for tears and songs and sharing;

    for this mercy that blots out my betrayals and bids me begin again,

        to limp on, 

        to hop-skip-and-jump on,

        to mend what is broken in and around me,

        and to forgive the breakers;

    for this YES to life and laughter,

        to love and lovers, 

        and to my unwinding self;

    for this kingdom unleashed in me and I in it forever,

        and no dead ends to growing,

           to choices,

           to chances,

           to calls to be just;

    no dead ends to living,

            to making peace,

            to dreaming dreams,

            to being glad of heart;

    for this resurrection madness which is wiser than I

        and in which I see how great you are,

        how full of grace.

Alleluia!

Holy.

Be.

Be still.

Be still and know.

Be still and know that...

Be still and know that I am God.

Today is a day of stillness. Silence. Waiting.

Listening.

Being.

Good.

Annie Lamott writes, “I hate it that you can’t prove the beliefs of my faith. If I were God, I’d have the answers at the end of the workbook, so you could check as you went along, to see if you’re on the right track. But nooooo—Darkness is our context, Easter’s context; without it you couldn’t see the light. Hope is not about proving anything. It’s about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak [stuff] anyone can throw at us.”

That's what Good about this Friday. It's a reminder that we are Easter people who live in a Good Friday world. And sometimes it feels like Good Friday is going to win--sometimes life feels pretty freakin' dark. Amazingly, painfully, horribly dark. But you know what? Good Friday isn't the end of the story. Death doesn't win. Darkness doesn't win. Light wins. Life wins. Love wins. 

So here's a reminder (another thought from Anne Lamott) as you step into this dark, holy day:

"When I was 38, my best friend, Pammy, died, and we went shopping about two weeks before she died, and she was in a wig and a wheelchair. I was buying a dress for this boyfriend I was trying to impress, and I bought a tighter, shorter dress than I was used to. And I said to her, 'Do you think this makes my hips look big?' and she said to me, so calmly, 'Anne, you don't have that kind of time.' And I think Easter has been about the resonance of that simple statement; and that when I stop, when I go into contemplation and meditation, when I breathe again and do the sacred action of plopping and hanging my head and being done with my own agenda, I hear that, 'You don't have that kind of time,' you have time only to cultivate presence and authenticity and service, praying against all odds to get your sense of humor back."

It's Good. And it's Friday. So pray. Cry if you need to. Plop down. Hang your head. Breathe. And remember that the darkness of this day isn't the end of the story...there's more light and life to break through. Stay tuned...

Maundy.

It's another word for 'command.' I guess Maundy Thursday sounds more intriguing than Command Thursday but the message is the same: live your life in love. 

Love wins.

Love one another.

Love God.

Love yourself.

That's what it all boils down to: all of the commandments, all of the laws, all of the gospels, all of life.

Just: LOVE. 

Period. 

The question of the week is...

It's Holy Week, y'all. Honestly, this is my favorite week of the year--it's intense, it's focused, it's full of ritual and story. OK I admit that all of life can be intense, focused, full of ritual and story if we're paying attention...but let's face it. We're not always paying attention. Or at least I'm not. Which is why I jump into this week with both feet: I GET to pay attention this week. Focus. Listen. Holy Week is an out and out excuse to explore and play and ponder who I am and what I'm here for.

So the question of the week is: what am I really committed to--what is it that I would give my life for? 

More to come...

Clamoring toward happy.

Mary Oliver says it this way: 

Everyone should be born into this world happy
and loving everything.
But in truth it rarely works that way.
For myself, I have spent my life clamoring toward it.
Halleluiah, anyway I'm not where I started!

Seems fitting for Holy Week as I find myself clamoring toward happy, toward hallelujah, toward life. Things rarely work out the way that I think they should. But wow--am I grateful for this moment and that the journey keeps going. Hallelujah, indeed.

(if you would like to read the whole poem, here's the link: Mary's Oliver's poem "Hallelujah")