Roundabouts

I watched "Enlighten Up!" today; it's a documentary about a young man who is a yoga newbie and a woman documentary maker who is not a yoga newbie - it is a story about seeking. I don't remember which guru the young man was talking with, but he asked about how does one obtain happiness. The reply was, Be yourself. Be your true self. Try to get rid of what you are not, get rid of the things that unnecessarily wearing on yourself. Happiness is not outside. Happiness within ourselves. And  later the guru said to the young man, you will have to question yourself; where is, where can we get that happiness.

Later in the morning I opened up my book, and Chapter 7 begins with "...the Hebrew phrase translated "straight paths" actually says something more complex and more interesting then the translation would convey. It literally means "roundabout ways that end up in the right direction."

And I've been thinking lately about the phrase "fake it until you make it" and practice praying, pray the confusion, the hurt, the fear, the worries, the thankfulness, the love, pray even when you doubt, maybe especially when in doubt.

I don't know if I'll ever become the priest I hope to be; I don't know what my future will bring; I know what my hopes are for my children, my wife, myself, my world. I don't know the end results of these hopes, but I do know that if I don't live into them then the possibilities for amazing will pass me by.

Many of the guru's spoke of practice and time, the northern Indian guru's spoke of loving God, you don't need to become a pretzel to find what you seek, but you need to love in order to find.

The young man needed tangible proof, tangible results in order to believe in transformation through yoga, he needed this perhaps faster then yoga could provide, the woman needed the young man to believe that yoga would lead to enlightenment, looking vicariously through the lens of another to find her own seeking heart.

I often feel guilty for wanting God to provide tangible proof, for needing this...then I get torn by Jesus' words to ask and you shall receive. It is my hope that my "roundabout ways" end me up in the right direction.

Very Good Weekend

Had a very good weekend. On Saturday we got the errands done early and after lunch we went bike riding. About a mile in sonshine's chain popped off due to him trying out some bike trick. I did't even have my pocket knife with me, but luckily I was able to get the chain back on with a little help from the wife - next time out the tools are coming too :) Then on the way back we stopped at a place called Charlie's were Patsy Cline was crooning to the waves and we swung under the trees eating our newly purchased treats.

Today was a bitter-sweet day for my church...but we had a boat trip around the big lake to honor a person leaving us. Thanks to some very generous members the trip was free for kids and at a way reduced rate. So, we had a blast...sitting up on the top deck with perfect weather, good food, lemonade, friends, and family.

It was quite simply a beautiful weekend.

A Very Good Read and A Sense of Peace

So, yesterday I found a free pdf download of a book called "The One Minute Manager"...it is well worth the read, and it reads quickly. I've already finished it but will go through it again much slower. So thanks to Lee for pointing out a time management lecture that led to a reference to the book.

I have an interview tomorrow for a help people run errands, sit with them, cook for them type job...wish me luck. I'm actually pretty excited about the job - it feels like a right fit.

A co-worker of mine has some work coming for me. I don't know how much nor for how long nor when exactly, but it doesn't matter - I won't be saying no.

If I get both of these jobs, then things will be so tight as to still grind a little, but we won't go into debt - at least that's my hope.

We're adjusting, I'm adjusting...I'm finally at the point where the thought of all this doesn't reduce me to tears. I'm finally able to say, and mean it - I haven't come all this way, given up my family's home, moved them away from family, just to quit upon arrival. "This" will not be my brick wall.

I've gotten to this place with the help and love of my family and friends - all I can say is thank you, and maybe one day I can give back what you've given to me.

Tibet

I recently watched a documentary about Tibet - it left me very sad...

...this wasn't the documentary but it has much of the same information:



...injustice, oppression, pain - no translation needed:


http://www.savetibet.org/

For more than 50 years the Tibetans have suffered at the hands of the Chinese government. In the last several weeks as Tibetans have stood up to their rights, thousands of Tibetans, including Buddhist monks and nuns, have been detained, arrested, interrogated or tortured and more than a hundred are reported to have been killed.

Join me and ask President Bush to stand up for the people of Tibet. The Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet need your help!

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