Point to Live By.

"If you believe an industry is so unsafe or dishonorable that you wouldn’t offer up yourself or spouse/child (real or hypothetical) to work in it, then you shouldn’t use the products of that industry."
-Carolyn Hax

How incredible,
that we have the ability to both dream of things that have never been and to see them become a reality.

How crazy is that?  To imagine things that are not "real" in a tangible way, yet with a small bit of daring and belief, can be pioneered into existence...and that in YOU, God has created that potential.

There are obvious OCD behavior traits that I display on a frequent basis, one of them being my grammar nazi tendencies that are mostly directed towards my own writing, specifically when it comes to spelling.  I do blame this on my mother and grandmother who had very little tolerance for poor grammar (even though I definitely see how I've become lazy in remembering rules over the years...good thing they don't read my blog).

However, their encouragement to pay attention to details prepared me for new worlds.  It's crazy how quickly we forget to give credit to the foundational things in life, like learning basic math, how to tie a shoe, how to make a simple meal, etc etc.  Without the basics, there would be nothing to build upon.  

One of those worlds is a fascination with how letters strung together in a specific way create a word, and how that word has a denotation that can be found in every dictionary, yet to each person that word may have a very personal and emotional meaning, giving it various connotations.  

Sometimes I like to take this fascination that I have with connotations and how they say something about a person, and just brainstorm what comes to mind when using different words.  

For example, simplicity.  

The quality or condition of being easy to understand or do. The quality or condition of being plain or natural

But when I think of simplicity... here is what comes out: 

I believe that word, in my own connection with it, actually has a smell, a taste.  It's an ivory bar of soap that floats in water.  A campfire.  Garden herbs.  Rich flavors and colors that you can taste and see because you are present.  It feels like a picnic lunch.  catching the sunrise and sunset, and each time standing in awe of the newness of it all.  it's wearing out a pair of hiking boots or wearing out your favorite album because you've had every song on repeat for the last year. the waves of the sea.  watching a sailboat elegantly glide across water, reaching a new destination.  having a lord of the rings movie marathon.  and building a fort with your siblings before that movie marathon. watching the sound of music for the millionth time.  breathing in fresh air. a hard work-out and the shower that follows.  conversations with strangers that change your life.  conversations with close friends that touch your heart.  laughter because of goodness that gets into your soul.  A good, real cup of coffee with a spot of real cream.  de-cluttered rooms.  generosity.  Living with your heart fully engaged in the journey, exploring but never leaving your roots.  It's the staples of life, like ketchup, ranch dressing and hot sauce.  It's going to a youth camp in Mexico where you are living life with people who speak a different language, yet you still feel right at home. It's rejoicing in the journey so fully that bitterness, unforgiveness and anxiety have no chance at cluttering your heart, yet still living with such a clear and honest heart that you are aware of the very real fact that those enemies would love to destroy you if given permission.  It's the deep, big question conversations.  And the short, fun ones too.  The total enjoyment of an ice cream cone, even in the middle of winter.  It's pixar movies and unpolished, honest writing.  

The list could probably go on and on.  And if I asked someone else what they think of when giving life to the word simplicity, it would probably be a completely different list.  

you should give it a try, even if you think I am crazy and OCD.  :)  

This may be a biased opinion coming from a former journalism/film student, but I think stories bring hope in a way that few things could challenge.  The fact that everyone has a story is, or at least can be, a unifying factor, presenting the chance for people from every background to partake in a greater appreciation for humanity, life, individual challenges and victories at every level.  To hear someone else's story is to be invited into something bigger than yourself.   Listening presents the chance to be changed into something more than what you were before being invited into a portion of the mystery of another's life.  What an honor.

Which makes me wonder how high the stakes are in the pursuit of an authentic, genuine life.  A listening life.  A fully engaged life.  It seems logical to me that if a story holds in it the potential of being a transforming agent to those who observe it, who are welcomed into it, there must be serious obstacles to living from the heart in a way that is fully present and wide awake.

It takes courage to tell your story, which to me, really means that it takes courage to live it well.   It takes courage to stay engaged, especially in the times of dullness, where it would be so much easier to surrender to the numbing effect of routine instead of allowing even what is mediocre to transform and inspire.