I keep little scraps of paper around with my grocery and errand list. The other day I decided to knock off one of these lists while on my lunch hour.
It read:
Sparklers
Leash
Hand cream
Upon glancing at each item I was taken aback by the amount of depth packed into this little list.
Why the sparklers?
This weekend I’m going to visit a friend from college. She’s a beautiful person, lots of fun, has an amazing smile, and is full of spunk. Unfortunately, she’s quite sick. She’s the sort of sick where you can’t take food when you visit (since she can’t eat) and flowers or get well cards seem . . .well. . . morbid. I was at a loss for what to take. So. . . I asked her. What can I bring? She came up with sparklers! Excellent idea. Tomorrow is the 4th of July and I can’t imagine anything more fun than sitting out on a deck or the driveway lighting up sparklers. So. . . getting that first item on my list was of highest priority at that moment.
Why the leash?
My dog, Frannie, is ten. When I got her I had (still have) one of the nice, short, leather leashes – the kind for well-contained walks. A good friend of mine had a wonderful dog named Nika. Nika was in her later years and had a heavy-duty, super duper, long, retractable, fancy leash. My friend decided that Frannie, in her rambunctious puppy mode, would have better use for that leash. Up until a week ago we used it daily. On a hot morning walk, when I thought Frannie would sooner have me carry her in than go around the block again, a squirrel zipped past. She took off for the squirrel, the leash slipped from my hand, and the heavy-duty plastic landed in just the wrong spot. No more leash from Nika. That was a sad moment, but I was happy to think about the number of years of good use we all got out of that leash. So, it’s time to break in a new, long, leash and maybe another lucky puppy will end up using it down the road.
And what’s up with the hand cream?
I had a dreadful hostessing moment. My mother was a great hostess. I try to keep my home in a way that she could walk in at any moment and I’d have all my bases covered – meaning I could offer a clean house and a fur-free place to sit, something to drink, something to eat, and be able to offer anything a person needed. Last weekend some friends came over after a hot, sunny day downtown. They were fried. Red-in-the-face, sunburned, painful, fried. One of them asked if I had any lotion she could use. Absolutely! I grabbed the lotion from my bathroom closet only to find it was . . . . empty. Yup. So. The hand cream ranks right up there in my mind with a bad hostess moment. Hopefully my mom wasn’t watching. In the future I’ll be ahead of the game.
So. . . . . what’s the point of all this? Next time you look at your grocery list – or your errand list – instead of thinking how annoying it is that you have to take the time to run the errand or get the picky little things, think about the importance behind it. Chances are you’re doing some good for your life, or others, with that little piece of paper.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Regret
Judith Krug, Executive Director of the Freedom to Read Foundation and Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association for over forty years, died April 11, 2009.
I was fortunate enough to sit in on FTRF and OIF meetings for a couple of years, while serving as a committee chair for a Public Library Association group. That was an absolute treat. Meeting with both of these groups gave me enthusiasm about my chosen profession unlike anything else.
Listening to lawyers debrief on censorship issues, hearing from authors whose books had been banned, and most of all, listening to Judith and her colleagues talk about and make critical decisions that would protect intellectual freedom rights for you, me, and every other American citizen –was contagious, enlightening, and energizing.
This was so energizing, that at every meeting I would become more determined to become a member of the Freedom to Read Foundation board. Every piece of that determination started with a goal of meeting up with Judith for coffee and talking about intellectual freedom and my goals and interests, and how to best proceed. This would have been easy to do. She lived near me, worked a 20-minute train ride from me, and was a warm, welcoming, and practical person.
She’s been on my radar screen for several years now – and yet I didn’t act, call, put it on the calendar, get on the train, and follow through. That makes me sad.
I don’t often speak of regret – and I have a tag line on one of my email accounts that quotes Edward Abbey, “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” Today, when I look at the memorials to Judith Krug, and read her obituary, I’m so thankful for her and all she did with her life. I’m so sad for her family and those close to her. And yes, I believe my soul is a bit ruined because of my failure to follow through.
When the spirit moves, take action.
http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/april2009/oifkrug.cfm
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/othergroups/freedomtoreadfoundation/index.cfm
I was fortunate enough to sit in on FTRF and OIF meetings for a couple of years, while serving as a committee chair for a Public Library Association group. That was an absolute treat. Meeting with both of these groups gave me enthusiasm about my chosen profession unlike anything else.
Listening to lawyers debrief on censorship issues, hearing from authors whose books had been banned, and most of all, listening to Judith and her colleagues talk about and make critical decisions that would protect intellectual freedom rights for you, me, and every other American citizen –was contagious, enlightening, and energizing.
This was so energizing, that at every meeting I would become more determined to become a member of the Freedom to Read Foundation board. Every piece of that determination started with a goal of meeting up with Judith for coffee and talking about intellectual freedom and my goals and interests, and how to best proceed. This would have been easy to do. She lived near me, worked a 20-minute train ride from me, and was a warm, welcoming, and practical person.
She’s been on my radar screen for several years now – and yet I didn’t act, call, put it on the calendar, get on the train, and follow through. That makes me sad.
I don’t often speak of regret – and I have a tag line on one of my email accounts that quotes Edward Abbey, “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” Today, when I look at the memorials to Judith Krug, and read her obituary, I’m so thankful for her and all she did with her life. I’m so sad for her family and those close to her. And yes, I believe my soul is a bit ruined because of my failure to follow through.
When the spirit moves, take action.
http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/april2009/oifkrug.cfm
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/othergroups/freedomtoreadfoundation/index.cfm
Sunday, March 1, 2009
How Good Do We Have to Be?
Last night at 10 p.m. I found myself struggling (strug gl ing - the drawn out, annoying, three syllable sort of struggle) over my Lenten commitment.
What does it mean to apply the doctrine of non-action or least effort, and what sort of trust does this mean I have to have?
How in God's name (literally) am I supposed to apply this for over a month - when I'm four days into it and I don't think I understand what I'm doing?
What sort of weak human can't relax for 40 days, be present and see how life unfolds?
Why does this seem easier for some people than for me?
Why am I not falling into the good, easy, and right category right now?
What can I do to fix this?
When my mind starts going, I take action.
Anyone who knows the women in my family will not be surprised by this - they have sharp minds and they "don't just sit around waiting for something to happen." I will attribute that quoted phrase to my mother, who I'm sure said it, multiple times, and if she didn't say it, she embodied it.
Action, for me, has always felt like a way to work through problems, create solutions, improve life, and move ahead. Taking action can also look like impatience, re-action, or moving too fast. This is why I chose this Lenten project in the first place - I committed to study an alternate option - so why am I beating myself up about this? And how do I get out of this struggle?
My answer for that particular round with struggle popped off the bookshelf and into my hands. The book, "How Good Do We Have to Be," by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner has been on the shelf for several years, and the spine hasn't seen any action.
Last night Rabbi Kushner's thoughts proved to be a big help for me. Did he answer my questions about the meaning of "doing nothing" and "least effort?" No. Did reading the book prove that the help I need in any given moment will present itself? Absolutely. Here are two excerpts that lifted some of the self-judgment off of my heart last night.
Kushner says,
I believe that the fundamental message of religion is not that we are sinners because we are not perfect but that the challenge of being human is so complex that God knows better than to expect perfection from us. Religion comes to wash us clean of our sense of unworthiness and to assure us that when we have tried to be good and have not been as good as we wanted to be, we have not forfeited God's love.
His perspective on the story of Adam and Eve is also an interesting one. The book is short, and entirely worth the read. I'll be going through the rest of it in the next few days. Look for a Lenten bibliography in the coming weeks.
Kushner's view is this,
I am suggesting that the story of the Garden of Eden is not an account of people being punished for having made one mistake, losing Paradise because they were not perfect. It is the story of the first human beings graduating, evolving from the relatively uncomplicated world of animal life to the immensely complicated world of being human and knowing that there is more to life than eating and mating, that there are such things as Good and Evil. They enter a world where they will inevitably make many mistakes, not because they are weak or bad but because the choices they confront will be such difficult ones. But the satisfaction will be equally great. While animals can only be useful and obedient, human beings can be good. The story of the Garden of Eden is not a story of the Fall of Man, but of the Emergence of Humankind.
Thank you Rabbi Kushner!
What does it mean to apply the doctrine of non-action or least effort, and what sort of trust does this mean I have to have?
How in God's name (literally) am I supposed to apply this for over a month - when I'm four days into it and I don't think I understand what I'm doing?
What sort of weak human can't relax for 40 days, be present and see how life unfolds?
Why does this seem easier for some people than for me?
Why am I not falling into the good, easy, and right category right now?
What can I do to fix this?
When my mind starts going, I take action.
Anyone who knows the women in my family will not be surprised by this - they have sharp minds and they "don't just sit around waiting for something to happen." I will attribute that quoted phrase to my mother, who I'm sure said it, multiple times, and if she didn't say it, she embodied it.
Action, for me, has always felt like a way to work through problems, create solutions, improve life, and move ahead. Taking action can also look like impatience, re-action, or moving too fast. This is why I chose this Lenten project in the first place - I committed to study an alternate option - so why am I beating myself up about this? And how do I get out of this struggle?
My answer for that particular round with struggle popped off the bookshelf and into my hands. The book, "How Good Do We Have to Be," by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner has been on the shelf for several years, and the spine hasn't seen any action.
Last night Rabbi Kushner's thoughts proved to be a big help for me. Did he answer my questions about the meaning of "doing nothing" and "least effort?" No. Did reading the book prove that the help I need in any given moment will present itself? Absolutely. Here are two excerpts that lifted some of the self-judgment off of my heart last night.
Kushner says,
I believe that the fundamental message of religion is not that we are sinners because we are not perfect but that the challenge of being human is so complex that God knows better than to expect perfection from us. Religion comes to wash us clean of our sense of unworthiness and to assure us that when we have tried to be good and have not been as good as we wanted to be, we have not forfeited God's love.
His perspective on the story of Adam and Eve is also an interesting one. The book is short, and entirely worth the read. I'll be going through the rest of it in the next few days. Look for a Lenten bibliography in the coming weeks.
Kushner's view is this,
I am suggesting that the story of the Garden of Eden is not an account of people being punished for having made one mistake, losing Paradise because they were not perfect. It is the story of the first human beings graduating, evolving from the relatively uncomplicated world of animal life to the immensely complicated world of being human and knowing that there is more to life than eating and mating, that there are such things as Good and Evil. They enter a world where they will inevitably make many mistakes, not because they are weak or bad but because the choices they confront will be such difficult ones. But the satisfaction will be equally great. While animals can only be useful and obedient, human beings can be good. The story of the Garden of Eden is not a story of the Fall of Man, but of the Emergence of Humankind.
Thank you Rabbi Kushner!
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