One of those times where I feel like writing but have nothing in mind, I'm not pregnant with any particular thought or picture that is demanding to be birthed. As I look back in this blog I see that this is not an uncommon thing with me. So, I will give it a whirl even though I sit here deeply doubtful in having either a reasonable chance for satisfaction or even being able to just bang out something...anything.
The inner waters of Santiago are stirred up, choppy. There is no clarity, no particular clear focus. Just shreds and snippets of half-baked thoughts and observations. Might a data dump of some kind help clear up the logjam of backed-up mental/spiritual poop?
Sandi and I took a recent trip to Arizona. We stayed five days each with two couples. I had some advance dread at the prospect of just receiving for 10 days in someone else's home, eating their food, using their sewer and water. Not wanting to disrupt their routine. Not wanting to be their project, their need to entertain. Yikes! How did I ever even venture forth into such a potential abyss?
But we did and it was much better than anticipated. We learned a lot about olives on a tour, got to know and appreciate cactus, the desert, AZ architecture and color palettes beyond anything garnered thus far. We saw swarms of retired people doing classic retired stuff in the warmth and within neatly organized, HOA-managed communities and including a wide-range of varied income strata....from double-wides to whizzing golf carts, to Southwest magazine AZ elegance. It was something to behold. I also experienced a small group of like-aged, like-minded people enjoy an evening of transparency and connection. I can't remember when I last experienced something similar. There was a Lutheran church service where I witnessed several hundred mostly white haired folk singing out loudly, in-tune and with passion some of the old hymns of my youth. I was surprised with joy and deep feelings of being in a community of like-minded seekers of the eternal available exclusively through Jesus. Beautiful!
Back home of course I find myself walking amidst what I perceive to be the high level of tribalism that is loose within the culture of today. Mankind seems allergic to mere neutrality. It now seems that cultural ideals have sorted themselves out into a very delineated left, right and an extremely weak center. Most adherents are highly, emotionally involved and seek only to embrace and hear from their own. Each dials in their respected, approved echo chamber. Those outside their circle of truth are not mere outsiders but enemy combatants suitable only for resisting, fighting and hating. Families and friends find themselves embracing 'belief life rafts' that they cannot help but believe in and maintain that everyone should need and value in the same exact way. Divisiveness and separation are released upon the land, the human bonds are stretched towards there ultimate max and all thinking people can only wonder when it will pop and how bad that will be.
But then there are the oases of friends, open-minded friends with whom one can chat and explore without tripping emotional and mental land minds. Thank you for these gifts Jesus! And thank you for leading me into the prioritization of unity with all you created me to step into, with all you intended for me to be from before the creation of the world. That and You are what keep me going. I admit to being profoundly puzzled and troubled on any given day of the week but the fact that I was created in Your image so that I could have an eternal walk with You as my Source forever is the core belief that brings a smile to my face despite the surrounding cacophony!
As I glance over my shoulder I see wispy shreds of what can only be called....what?....hints and glimpses of barely baked observations and experiences and WTF's. Things like how I always wanted a mentor (human) but never quite achieved one, I probably should have been in the military but I pranked it and now part of my limp is as a result of that scam, years of struggling with "you are what you produce" has left a mark and sometimes causes a slight trip, I got a second chance at having a mate and for that I am ever grateful, blank whiteboards give me the willies, some of my limp was created with my poor choice in friends, Mom was really right about my inflated ego but I was blind, drugs got their pound of flesh, I got to have a great childhood, Jess and Jenna are the best things about me but guilt and shame taint those waters for me, I have recoiled from pain my entire life and yet am faced with the truth of "in this world you will have trouble", what's the deal with my love of the illusion of unlimited, unending supply?
Ok, now take all of the above and add the other crap that is too vague and foggy to even articulate, put it all into a blender, hit Frappe for thirty seconds and pour out the green-grey mixture into your favorite glass and Voila! you have....what? A glass of green-gray mung. Depressing? Nah, because when I look for where Jesus is in all of this I see and believe that he is right here, fueling my fingers and cheering me on in this journey of being real and authentic and unapologetic. So there's that......