Review: essentialism by Greg McKeown

Last summer, our friend Naomi recommended the book essentialism: The Disiciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown to myself and Jamie in the middle of a period where we were looking at ways to simplify and streamline our life. The book has a simple and compelling cover showing just exactly what happens to our bodies, minds, hearts, and lives when we choose to fill our life with nonessential things. The book is a quick read, and super helpful for anyone who is looking to get back to basics, and build from a solid foundation

The book is a fun read, and the way the book is set up helps to think through simplifying from the highest priority. Each chapter not only lays out an example of someone who is focused on essentials as well as someone focused on non-essentials, but also gives a path to get to what’s really important.

If each of us is honest, we spend a significant amount of our time and energy focused on things that are urgent, but not necessarily important. We give up our sleep for getting a few more emails out, or we give up on our exercise so we can surf the internet or watch tv. It’s like our thinking has gotten completely backward.

With Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) on the rise, and a strong illusion that we can “do all the things” we find ourselves wanting to include more and more habits, skills, responsibilities, and tasks in our lives. As two people who have historically tried to figure out how to say yes to just about every opportunity, Jamie and I have really benefitted from this book’s encouragement to say no to things that are less important, and to determine what is of prime importance.

The book offers some great tools and reminders to each of us with regard to keeping our life simple, and rather than trying to determine how to add activities to our already busy lives, essentialism by Greg McKeon encourages us to take stock and take away some of the flurry of busyness, to subtract things and say no to what is not essential. May we each live more simple and fulfilling lives and bring our very best selves to this world for the good of those around us, and for the good of those whose time has not yet come.

Review: Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols

My wife works as an aquatic rehabilitation therapist, and each year at Christmas, she and her coworkers exchange gifts. This year, one of the items she received was a book called Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, Or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, And Better At What You Do by Wallace J. Nichols. When I saw the book, I have to admit I was a little intrigued. Even though it is Jamie and not I who spends much of the day in or near water, I really wanted to read what this book had to say. Anything that seems to offer me an opportunity to live better piques my interest, and so I was really curious what Mr. Nichols might have to say.

The book did not follow the path I had expected. I expected to learn more about how Jamie's job in the pool was simply adding to her joy and helping her to care for others better (but, with or without the book saying so, I know that it is). What I found was an amalgamation of different threads. Mr. Nichols clearly has a deep love for our liquid planet, and rather than just writing a book about why we should work to preserve and protect our waterways, he wrote a book that looks at strong data to make his argument. Personally, I love the angle he takes. Unfortunately, it is a little too easy to be written off as an 'environmentalist' or 'sentimentalist' when a person talks about taking steps to be a good steward of the created world. Unfortunately, the truth is that more and more of us are losing a sense of connectedness to the world around us. And not just to the world around us, but to the creatures, even the people who live around us. We are growing more isolated and more stressed, and we are starting to diminish our care for other things all in the name of efficiency.

Mr. Nichols' book shows us that there is, not surprisingly, a connection to our mental wellness and the time we spend in the creation. Not only is there a connection to our mental wellness based on time in creation, but, our time near water brings even higher levels of brain activity in the places where we need it most. Time spent on or near water has been shown to help rehabilitate those with PTSD and even people who are struggling with addictions. And yet, so few people make time to spend in or near the water.

One thing I was not clear about, but I assume there is at least a corollary relationship, is whether it matters if the water is from a "natural" source like a river or ocean, or if my wife's time in the pool is equally beneficial. My guess is that it is less beneficial, but that it is definitely better than being away from water altogether.

The book ends with what I believe is a tangent from the main thesis, but it is still a powerful point of connection. Mr. Nichols carries blue marbles with him when he speaks, and gives them to his audience. As he shares data about our blue planet and how spending time near the water benefits us, he takes his listeners down a different path with the marble. He encourages listeners and readers to reflect with gratitude for all of the memories we have made in, near, on, or under water, and then to think of one person for whom we are grateful. As we bring the person to mind, he suggests giving them the marble, and telling them how grateful we are for that person.

While it seems a tangent, I believe that it is an important gift to carry for this reason. When we are grateful, not only are we mentally better, but one small point of gratitude can help us to bring our entire life under the sway of gratitude. When we are thankful, we are more considerate, and that level of consideration extends toward every person or thing we encounter. By associating his audience's gratitude for a person with a blue marble that represents the earth, one cannot help but feel a bit of gratitude for the life we have been able to live on this blue planet, and to develop a "blue mind" in the process.

I recommend the book for anyone who cares about our planet and our waterways, and even for those who don't. Because if one doesn't care, maybe taking a look at all of the benefit we glean from this watery world might nudge one to a greater sense of gratitude and care for the gift of water.

May we each find some space to sit near, on, in, or under the water in the days and weeks ahead, and, as a result, may we find ourselves filled with gratitude, hope, peace, rest, and refreshment, so that we can bring our very best selves to this world around us.

Reflection: Tending The Fire And Tending Our Spirits

Yesterday evening, Jamie and I decided to take some of the brush that had been slowly accumulating around our house over this summer, and burn it. So, we pulled out a small portable fire pit we bought on clearance last summer, and began to build the base of the fire. Memories started flooding my mind as I first gathered small twigs for kindling, and took a few seconds to light this bundle. And as the kindling was consumed, I quickly started adding larger sticks until we had a small, strong blaze going. At the same time, the sun was slowly setting over the hills to our west.

Gathering sticks and adding them to the strong fire, I thought back to many memories and lessons learned from starting and tending fires from some of my tribe's ancient ceremonies. I thought back to the importance of a clean fire, and how the fire itself consumed, refined and purified. I reviewed and relived the process of methodically building the fire and tending the fire so that it didn't go out and so it didn't blaze out of control. I remembered occasions where an old fire would be stamped out, so that a new and fresh fire could be built, as a symbol of a new start, a new year, and of leaving the past.

After the fire was built up, and the brush began to burn down into a peaceful and deep bed of blazing red coals, it brought me back to many memories of tending fires for sweat lodges and other occasions, and the high degree of care and contemplation that always surrounded these activities in the past. Sitting together by the fire, Jamie and I took time to pray. We prayed for ourselves to grow in our love for Creator, our care for His creation, and our capacity to serve our fellow humans. We prayed for growth in capacity and discipline. We prayed for friends who are going through incredible challenges. And at the same time, we soaked in the rhythm of the day. We watched the sun slip silently behind the hills and daylight transition to dusk. There was something amazingly restful as the last moments of "the weekend" disappeared, and we gave ourselves a small space for reflection.

Just as I learned during my younger days that tending the fire demands extreme care, respect, and discipline, tending our spirits also demands the same. After our time by the fire in quiet reflection and savoring the tranquility of the fireside peace that probably all of our ancestors have enjoyed, I found myself refreshed and energized for the week ahead. Now I realize that we probably don't have enough wood around the house to enjoy a quiet moment by the fire every evening, but we could cultivate a habit of tending our spirits into our daily and weekly rhythms. And, this tending is critically important work! Without tending our spirits we run the risk of letting the interior fires grow dim, or we could let our lives run out of control.

It seems like every one I run into feels incredibly busy and tired and that there's very little space in life for reflection. Surely, it wasn't always this way. As each of us lives out our calling faithfully in this world, it is quite easy to erase margins and lock ourselves into both a sense of apathy (that this is just the way it is) and complacency (content to be on cruise-control with our lives), but this will rob us of incredible joy, and in many ways rob the world of each of us bringing our very best selves into our work, family, and community.

May we each carve out space in our schedules for rest, for reflection, and for tending our spirits. And by so doing, may we keep our inner fires steady burning and bring our very best into each day.

Reflection: A Whirlwind Couple Of Weeks And Maintaining Focus On Goals

Like the photo above, the last couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur. I have almost constantly on the move. To give some idea, I have been in five countries, four different time zones, and in 20 different towns including four national capitals. Much of this time I was in areas with poor internet connections, and when I did have good connection it was very limited in duration. In spite of best intentions to keep up the practice of blogging, I have fallen a bit behind in my goal, but the goal is still there. And that's exactly what I'd like to write about today--keeping focused on goals. Although the past couple of weeks have been quite full, it doesn't change the fact that I want to write more consistently. It just changes the rhythm of that writing a bit. In fact, it changes the rhythm of a few aspects of life, from fitness and faith to sleep and and diet.

I believe in the modern era, it is quite easy to be distracted and deterred from goals. Maybe it has always been that way, but I can only reflect on what I have witnessed in my lifetime. I have watched as television increased from 13 channels to hundreds of channels of highly specialized entertainment. I have witnessed the computer emerge from a tool for basic word processing and electronic mail to millions of websites and and endless array of media from the written word to photo, music, and video. In addition, there seems to always be something happening--sometimes it is a really good thing and sometimes it is a tragedy, but regardless, the changes disrupt rhythm.

This kind of disruption and distraction requires something of us if we ever want to get anything done. All of us, were created for a purpose, and I believe we have an incredible contribution to make to this world. But to accomplish that purpose, we need to develop some muscles that distraction can either work to weaken or it can be the very training ground needed to see our goals through. Here's how I see it. Distraction gives us the opportunity to develop our resolve, to refine our intentions, and to hone our will.

I don't think it is incredibly difficult to come up with goals. Many people set goals each year at New Year's and at other times, but we don't necessarily stick with those goals. Sometimes our circumstances become overwhelming or our goals are unrealistic. But in my experience, most of the time, when folks don't attain their goals, there is a lack of while or intentionality to blame. Sleeping an extra hour is much easier than working out. Driving is much easier than walking or riding a bike. And then there are the little distractions that emerge. Every week, we all receive various communications that require mental energy for processing and responding (emails, phone calls, videos, links, texts, bills to pay, etc.) and have various forms of entertainment vying for our attention (games, movies, sporting events, etc.). At the same time we have our goals to accomplish.

What I have found to be helpful is to carve out some time during each week to rest, reflect, and reset. In the Bible, this time is called sabbath. According to the Torah, observing a sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. In our modern world, it seems like the only one we feel a freedom to ignore. If we choose to completely ignore. If we choose to ignore the commandment about stealing or murder, we run the risk of going to prison. If we choose to ignore the commandment about sabbath, we run the risk of wearing ourselves out. Sabbath does not protect us from distractions and sabbath does not help us stay disciplined with regard to our goals. It is quite easy to spend a time of sabbath distracted as well as any other day.

But, in my experience, what sabbath has helped me do is create a moment during the irregular rhythms of the week to reset. But even sabbath requires a degree of intentionality. If I am not resolved to spend a period of time to rest and refresh myself, I will allow distractions to saturate and deter me from my goals. I even try to instill a little mini-Sabbath into each day. If I don't do this, I find myself constantly in a state of reacting, and it seems much like I'm swimming upstream against strong currents making little progress.

Separate from this foundational practice of rest and refreshment, I strive to make time each day to review short-term goals, and each week or month to review longer term goals. This practice of review helps me to keep focus, see where there may be challenging patches, and keep moving forward toward goals. But, even with these practices in place, without resolve, determination, and discipline, goals are not realized--but these practices help to strengthen that resolve and determination. If we are disciplined in these basic goals, it helps us to increase our capacity for realizing other goals.

As each of us enters a new week, we know the distractions will be coming. We know there will be crises to encounter, hiccups in our schedules, and other disruptions to overcome. May we each work to strengthen our life rhythms, our resolve, and our intentions so that when the distractions come, we will be ready, we will be focused, and we will continue to move forward taking ground toward our goals.

Movement

It's been a few days since I last blogged, and what really stinks about it is that there has simply been SO MUCH happening and I haven't been able to really document it. The photo above was taken while I was riding from downtown Morgantown out to Chestnut Ridge Church for a few meetings last wednesday. Although I took the photo last week, I hadn't uploaded it to the web until this morning.

So why the bus picture? Well, there are a few reasons. One of them was that last night, I was talking to a new friend who had been reading my blog before we ever connected face to face. Among the many subjects we discussed, one was the idea of environmental sustainability. The bus photo gives me an opportunity to remind me and challenge us all to be considering greener ways of going about our days. When I ride the bus, I can read, study, listen to messages and music, talk with strangers, and more, and I don't spend money on gas (or burn extra fuel) in the process. Also, I'm able to walk to the bus-stop, and that means great exercise. We all need to exercise, so why not be productive at the same time!

But that's not the only reason I chose the bus image. I also chose this image because it conveys a few other concepts I've been thinking about. The last few weeks of my life have been defined by movement. In fact, I would argue that much of each of our lives our characterized by movement. The bus relates to that motion of life.

But even amid the flurry of activity, there is a deep desire in our soul for stillness. I believe it's not only a craving, but it's truly a need of our souls. There is something about stillness and rest that refreshes and restores. The Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel talked about a Hebrew idea called Sabbath. He said it's not just rest so we can keep moving, but rather, it's the destination. While we are compelled to move, the discipline of rest reminds us that our life isn't defined by movement.

It's frighteningly easy to let life get out of rhythm and fail to take moments to rest. It's frighteningly easy to let inertia have it's way and to not stop moving. But our inmost being needs rest. My hope is that you and I will be able to find intentional space for rest and refreshment. And that when we are in motion, we'll use public transit or other green options when available. ;)

Have a wonderful day!

Movement

I took this picture during my last night in Amsterdam on a mission trip earlier this year. It's a really good shot, but could have been a great shot with a better fastened tripod. :(

As I think about my life over the past few weeks, I feel like this blurring movement has been a theme. It seems like our culture as a whole is constantly moving, and that there are very few places in which we can find stillness and serenity. The other day, I was spending time with my dad (who is doing remarkably well physically!), and I just noticed that even in his life it seemed like there was a phrenetic pace happening.

It's like there is so much going on for people these days that there is little time to think, to reflect, and to plan the next move. Sometimes I think we spend more of our time and life reacting to the events of the day than planning long term for the future.

Right now I'm entering a mode where I'm fighting back the reactions to the events of the day in order to be with people and in order to plan for the future. It's a difficult process, and it's a process that is becoming all too familiar for folks in the west.

What is it that causes us to have to fight away the little things that tear away at our limited resource of time? How did we find ourselves in this predicament of a million little commitments and side projects.

As the weekend approaches, I plan to continue fighting, keep on moving, and learning rest amid the frenzy.

Hope you can do the same.

Superhero Family Photo

Superhero Family Photo, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

I took this photo on Thanksgiving day while on a long hike with all of my siblings but one. My brother Chuck and his family weren't able to make it in for the holiday because they live in California.

My dad and sister walk every day. Willie walks every day that he visits my dad. ;)

It's incredible what walking does for a person. You know, I think the reason why so many folks are stressed and feel isolated so much of the time is because they have a hard time disengaging from the busy-ness for a bit and just walking.

i know I have that problem. I take some time out from time to time (like going to the WVU game), but that doesn't really cut it. Walking and talking or simply just walking and thinking--those help me to relax.

I used to take long drives, but I stopped for a couple of reasons. Gas prices tripled over the last three or four years, and it probably isn't the best stewardship of limited natural resources.

Plus walking is just good exercise. My dad and sister are in great physical condition because they walk. And Willie's health is improving as a result of his visits.

I hope you can take some time to disengage from the busy-ness as the year rolls to an end. Go for a walk. Breathe the air. Uncloud the mind. As I write this I realize, I'm in need of a walk myself . . .

Ploughing through life

This week has been very antithetical to the way I strive to live my life. I've had my nose to the grindstone, and I've had very little opportunity to relax this week. I am very glad that while I do set a pretty steady pace for life, I am able to make time for reflection.

One thing I have noticed in the world of the rat-racers I've felt myself dwelling in this week. Lot's of stuff gets done, but the quality is questionable. I am thankful that God has equipped me to survive and be able to overcome in the midst of the rat-race, and at the same time, I am looking forward to spending some time with my soul group in the woods during the early afternoon.

Life has seasons, and right now I am anticipating the season of soaking in the songs that abound in the wilderness, and connecting with a couple of close friends who have had similar weeks.

Heading back into the cold north

From the weather I've been enjoying, it appears I am in for a rude awakening upon my return to Morgantown. It is supposed to be down to 32 degrees tonight.

My period of fun in the sun is coming to an end. Amazingly in the middle of all of the class and conference time I've also been able to catch some waves read 5 books, and write three essays. Unfortunately I haven't been blogging as much.

My apologies.

It is interesting to note that blogging provides an opportunity for reflection and introspection. While I haven't blogged, my time floating on the waves also gave time for introspection, and I realized something. I have been missing out on that space. Even while on my rental board it took me a good two hours before I could really slow down and connect with the water. Sometimes everything just feels so rushed.

I do look forward to sabbath rest coming soon. It's important to slow down, and to connect with the would in which we find ourselves.

a little vacation

Over the last three days, I took my parents on vacation. Sometime in the next few days I am hoping to post some comments and pictures of these events on this space. In the mean time, I just had this thought this morning, and figured I would write it.

Over the last couple of years I have been thinking about the uniqueness of ministry as a career. In some ways, people in ministry have a hard time taking time to rest and relax. (Believe it or not, I'm one of them, but I am learning!)

Eugene Peterson said it best when he said that we pursue this kind of career because we want to be involved in what God is doing in our world, but then as we get involved in our career, we start to believe what we are doing is indispensable--that God needs us. We relegate God to a position of helper, and we pursue our careers to change lives for God.

It's really pretty absurd. I was just reminded of this thought process this week when I left town. I came back to 13 voice mails, and even more emails. I started thinking about how I would be able to get all of the stuff done that needed to get done this week. I wondered who would take care of all the needs of our church. It was then that I realized--God will take care of all of the needs of His church. God will get all of the stuff done--somehow. I'm sure I will play a part in what He is doing, but "He must increase, and I must decrease."

Some might think this is justifying laziness. I mean nothing of the sort--every one of us has a personal responsibility in the loving, inclusive community called the church. Sometimes we just need to keep things in perspective--it's God's church and God's ministry, not ours.

Anyhoo, I felt like there was comfort for me to find in that revelation this week.

Do you believe God is taking care of your personal ministry, or is it all up to you, and God has been relegated to the sidelines?

Operation Waterhouse Cleanup

From 8AM-5PM today seventeen of us participated in a massive cleanup effort in the building we were recently granted--the waterhouse. We scrubbed about 90 years of muck off some of the woodwork, and completely cleaned out a kitchen facility (among other projects). It's really cool because as a result, not only do we have a cleaner facility and a better organized space, now there are at least seventeen of us who have a greater sense of appreciation and ownership for this great building.

It was a long and tiring day, and we were confined to indoor activities as a result of the rain that hit, but we have an even greater sense of community as a result.

We have a wonderful facility and location, but it needs a ton of work. It's pretty exciting just to think about the improvements we made today. There's something really cool about manual labor and sweating and seeing tangible results at the end of the day--I really enjoy it.

I am looking forward to a much needed Sabbath rest tomorrow!

When do you take your sabbath?