A Bigger Invitation

I believe the invitation is to a wide and gracious space, one of continuously unfolding creativity, camaraderie, and intentionality.

I believe the gift of life blossoms freely and generously, with few guidelines beyond relentless self-giving love and protective justice on behalf of those with less.

Those whose roots deepen and spread will develop branches that reach further and higher. Those who embrace life’s pruning complications and set-backs will reemerge with stronger, richer foliage going forward.…

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Boundaries

When the boundaries which kept us safe in our imagination’s youth begin to constrict, constrain and choke, we are tempted to consider them enemies to resist, fairy tales to debunk, or doctrinaire scripts against which to rebel.

But we would be mistaken.

They were the guardians of that which needed a safe place to develop, learn, practice, and refine.

What happened next was not that they grew small, but that we grew big.

When one …

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Competence

Competence is but an interim illusion in the lifelong process of learning, growing and maturing.

The illusion only turns deceptive when mistaken for reality.

Insisting on the outcome of making a difference for the better… bring on the next lesson.…

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Blessed

My overarching reality is that I am blessed.

Difficulties within that larger reality do not color the blessedness, but, in fact, are themselves colored by the blessedness.

The larger reality colors the smaller one.…

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Contentment in Tension

Contentment and aspiration make for uneasy bedfellows.

My aspirations make contentment difficult for me. They pull on me. Draw me. Cajole me. Accuse me. Inspire me. Call to me. Judge me as not enough.

Both positively as a motivating vision to help create a better world and negatively as a condemning judge mocking my desire to achieve what is at first glance out of reach.

Contentment is both a choice and one outcome of discovering …

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Moments

I don’t remember when I began viewing my life through the lens of moments… but the shift was transformative.

The Moment of Now by Rolinda Stotts

Moments as opposed to professional achievements. Moments over and against social status or acclaim. Moments versus accumulated wealth.

A close friend recently caught me using “failure” language to describe past experiences of mine that didn’t result in the culture’s definitions of success.

Looking back, though, my life has been …

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Misread Judgment

Maybe I am not being judged so often as I am being experienced.

Some people respond to their disappointing experiences with judgment, to be sure, but some—maybe many if not most—are responding more simply to the experience itself.

If I don’t follow through on extending a previously mentioned invitation to a night out, the experience may well be quite disappointing without necessarily involving any judgment that I am a flake.

Their experience of disappointment, in …

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What Can I Do For “We”?

What can I do for you?

At first blush it may appear that I am a generous person wanting to extend a kindness.

In reality, though, I am a quiet person who attracts people who need me to change so that they can stay the same. I find myself somehow being other than I am in order for you to feel more comfortable being who you are.

This isn’t working for me anymore.

I realize …

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