Open Eyes November 29, 2008

I have been putting off writing this post for several days. Maybe I wanted the quiet of the holiday weekend. Maybe I wanted to avoid the thoughts and fears going through my head.

 

I have been doing a lot of thinking (and praying) over the terrorist attacks that occurred in Mumbai last week. I’ve received several phone calls, emails, and text messages asking of Mumbai was where I would be heading next year. My answer is, and will continue to be, I will go wherever Oasis needs me. My passion to be involved with the trafficking cause has not changed. However, this does not mean that I am not considering my safety when I head over. I think that now, more than ever, I am wondering about my safety as an American in India.

 

My missionary friend, Michelle, sent an email from India last week letting us know that she is safe. As the village that she lives in is about two hours north of Mumbai. This was a relief, and made me happy.

 

I ask for your continued support in my goal.

Act of Hate… React in Kindness November 26, 2008

This morning I learned the reason behind the disappearance of a co-worker. This person is not in the best of health. He was born with an extreme physical disability. He and his partner had split up not too long ago, and ever since then the health of this person has seriously declined. I learned that while my co-worker was in the hospital recovering from a heart condition AND a mild stroke, his house was broken into and ransacked. Apparently, nothing was stolen. But my co-worker returned home, to recover from his hospital stay, to a house with broken windows, overturned furniture, clothing that was destroyed, things that had been urinated on.

This was definitely an act of hate.

Needless to say, my co-worker is having a hard time right now. I think that he is completely embarrassed that he was the victim of this crime (as I heard this story from a third party). I desperately want to reach out to this person, but don’t quite know how to do this. I have decided to get some folks at work to make a few meals for him, since during his time away from work, he is lost a considerable amount of weight from his already small frame.

All of this reminded me of the Advent Conspiracy that we have been talking about at Evergreen. Giving less (financially), yet giving more… more time, more love, more energy to those around you and those in the world.

Be aware of the folks around you… you never know if the small act of kindness you have within you can make an impact.

Quiet November 25, 2008

I got stuck in this huge traffic jam this morning on my way to work. Usually, traffic flows pretty well down Louisburg Road. I think that maybe people were trying to get a jump start on their traveling plans. Anyhow, while stopped at a light, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. There were birds, like hundreds of them in a huge swarm flying over the road. This reminded me of something…

 

When I lived in Iowa, I had a friend named Valerie. Val lived on the fifth floor of a five story walk-up. Her apartment faced the back of the building and she was so high up that her balcony was, basically, at the tree-top level.

One afternoon, in the fall of 2002, we were sitting in Val’s living room listening to some music and reading for an upcoming exam. I kept hearing something strange. It was muffled, but also kind of high pitched. I looked at her and asked what that noise was. She suddenly became super excited and told me to go with her onto the balcony.

We went onto the porch, and all she said was “don’t move, and don’t talk. Just stand there.”

I was confused, but agreed. A bunch of crows started to fly onto the branches outside of Val’s apartment. In the following twenty minutes, hundreds of crows flew in from all directions to perch on the branches that were just fifty feet from where we were standing. They came in a frenzy, each of them trying to find their place on the branches, and not be crowded by their bird brothers and sisters. When it seemed that no more birds were going to fit, it became deadly silent. The silence lasted a mere five to ten minutes, but seemed like hours. At last, when the silence of the panorama seemed that it couldn’t be more deafening, the crows started to fly away. Making more noise than they had upon their arrival.

This entire scene took less than forty-five minutes. But it’s something that I remember like it was yesterday. It was by far one of the coolest things that I had ever seen.

I sometimes think of this day when things seem to be out of hand. When there is a lot going on, and I feel that my head is spinning. I try to remember that if I can just stand still and take it all in for a few minutes, I can catch a glimpse of something that I would have never paid attention to.

Wanted: November 20, 2008

~patience

~grace

~tolerance for those who have different opinions than mine

~the ability to be less emotional when dealing with conflict

~strength

~discipline

~continued good health

~hugs

~peace

(and the laundry list goes on…)

Bringing It To The Table November 19, 2008

I have been having a dispute (okay, a fight) with a good friend regarding some spiritual stuff. At least, I am portraying it as being spiritual stuff.

Basically, the question has been raised (not by this person, but by me) of whether or not someone with “less” of a spiritual background could/should/would be able to lead a spiritual pilgrimage. Admittedly, I spent the first thirty years of my life as an athiest/agnostic. I have never kept this a secret. I feel that having gone through the experiences that I have, that I have plenty to bring to the table on such excursions.

For example, I went to the MTU Deaf Camp in Ukraine for two years in a row. I believe that some of the kids there, especially the older ones, were relieved to find that there doesn’t have to be a spiritual “box” that one has to fit into.

I have overcome some amazing things. I have lived an amazing life. I have experienced some amazing successes AND disappointments. These are the things that have shaped who I am today. Our experiences make us beautiful pieces of tile that create a mosiac.

This is what I bring to the table.

Remember Natalie Holloway?? November 18, 2008

Check THIS out!!

The Good, The Bad, and Facebook November 14, 2008

Facebook.

Yeah.

Okay, so one of my oldest friends from childhood told me that she was completely addicted to Facebook and that this was how she communicated with people. So, I signed back up for Facebook to see what she’s been up to. I have talked to her more in the past two days than I have in the past six months. I know that this is completely pathetic.

In the past two days I have also been contacted by friends from Iowa, three ex’s, a friend of a friend of a friend, and one of my very best friends in high school who reminds me of a combination of three different people. Today I spent over three hours at work doing this.

Facebook is evil. Addicting, annoying, twisted, pleasurable, evil that allows you to contact people that you never knew that you wanted to hear from again.

I have a point.

So, I am farting around on this evil addiction today, talking back and forth with people that I haven’t talked to or thought about in over 15 years… I am looking at the pictures of their husbands, wives, and kids. The kids. Oy. This would be about the point where I realize that I am pretty much doing the same thing that I was doing about 15 years ago. Not much. This would be the part where I start to compare myself to everyone that I had left behind.

I am trying to reassure myself with my plans for next year. Knowing that I will never be where I am again. Knowing that in a matter of thirty-three weeks, I can quit this job that I have grown to dispise. 

Thirty-one today
What a thing to say
Drinking Guinness in the afternoon
Taking shelter in the black cocoon

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it’s not, and I don’t know where to turn

Called some guy I knew
Had a drink or two
And we fumbled as the day grew dark
I pretended that I felt a spark

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it’s not, and I don’t know where to turn
No, it’s not, and I don’t know where to turn
No, it’s not, and I don’t know where to turn

Easter comes and goes
Maybe Jesus knows
So you roll on with the best you can
Getting loaded, watching CNN

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it’s not, and I don’t know where to turn
No, it’s not, and I don’t know where to turn
No, it’s not, and I don’t know where to turn
No, it’s not, and I don’t know ~Aimee Mann

My Cat Is Stressed November 13, 2008

Hugo has been increasingly taking chunks of hair from his body. His neck is now bare and scabby. He is missing chunks from the back of his neck and stomach.

While I was in the hospital this weekend, it apparently got worse. When I returned home on Monday, his neck was twice as bad as it was on Saturday when I left home.

We made a trip to the vet on Tuesday afternoon. The vet said that due to the move into the commune, and Chloe going to a new home (since Chloe has been around since the day that Hugo was adopted)… Hugo is stressed. Plus, I was gone for two days.

This worries me. What is going to happen to him when I leave for India?

Nervous Nellie Takes A Plunge November 6, 2008

Okay, I may potentially be the world’s greatest procrastinator. This is my self-proclaimed title. I finished the Oasis application last week, well before the deadline that I had set for myself. Theoretically, the application should have been in the mail by last Friday (Halloween). However, due to circumstances of a medical nature, I wasn’t able to cart my butt to the post office.

Okay, who am I kidding… I just didn’t do it.

This morning I managed to dig out the sealed envelope that was addressed to the Oasis UK office, in London. I just went to the post office and sent the thing off. So, ninety-four cents and a small panic attack later, my application is in the mail.

My question is this… why am I so nervous now?

Demonstrating Grace November 6, 2008

As everyone knows, I have been a huge advocate for the failure of Prop 8 in California.

 

I encourage you to read the blog of Hermit Thrush, attached here. My friend has definitely demonstrates grace with her words, in a way that I am not sure that I could ever muster.