Fair weather

I'm thinking about charitable assumptions, communication, and community.

I don't think I've worried all that much in the past about the fact that almost everyone disagrees with me somewhere in my world view.  Growing up liberal in South Carolina, a very conservative state, it's just the way things were.  Mostly people were nice enough to me, although some people called me an n-word lover.  I understood it was meant as an insult, I just wasn't sure how it was an insult.  Like a lot of insults in my life, if it's true it's not going to be hurtful.  Sorry.

I heard a vlog about conservative and liberal religious folk and their approach to the Hebrew Scripture or Old Testament.  He said that conservative people looked to the laws and liberal people looked to the prophets.  I find that to be true.  I also wonder why there is a rift there. Prophets are just as harsh as the laws... more so, often. Laws are complex and arcane, difficult to follow under the best of circumstances.  People who follow them tend to drop some (I mean, there are a few hundred of them) and lift up others.  They wear tattoos and polyester blends while being outraged by men lying with men. And liberal people looking toward the prophets aren't usually all that gloomy, which you'd think we would be considering the prophesies.

I heard a Ted Talk about communication.  He says that liberals look for values like fairness and equality while conservatives look for patriotism and purity.  It made sense to me that there are different basic values, but I wonder if those are the ones that matter.  I've heard conservative pundits use the term "empathy" with a vicious sneer. I've heard liberals use nationalism with the same tone. I look at supporters of the president and it doesn't look like patriotism or purity are their thing.  Sure, I've heard respect the office of president, but I discount it from people who posted photos of President Obama and his family depicted as monkeys and worse.

I talked to a friend yesterday who said his conservative friends think Democrats and liberals are mean, ugly people.  Democrats and liberals think the same about Republicans and conservatives.  We also feel that we're doing the heavy lifting in trying to bridge the gap.  I don't know if conservatives feel that way.  It feels like they think we're "human scum" and not worth speaking to.  On the other hand, "deplorables" is not the most helpful label in the world.

I am not further along in my thinking.  I'm still saddened and confused by perfectly nice people who turn into hateful monsters when faced with people of color and people of different faiths or nationalities.  I wonder how they see me.  Lost and soulless? Without conviction? And yet I see myself as a very moral person.

I have babbled enough for this morning.

Changing my environment

I am sitting in a hotel in Nashville.  The sun seems to be coming up.  I can tell because the grey cloud cover is sort of glowing. 

Bob the husband is at a tax conference downstairs.  I am grateful that I no longer go to tax conferences. 

I have told everyone that I am here to write, but really, I'm here to be quiet. I'm here to spend time with Bob and by myself. I'm here to give my ears a rest.

And when my ears stop ringing from the needs and wants and sadness and happiness of others, I hope to hear what I can do … really do, not just want to do … to BE for other people.

I made my peace globe, which will be unveiled on Monday, November 4.  I'll give you a hint:

OK, that's more than a hint.

I love Teresa Avila.  Our Godly Play story said that she laughed for God.  "May God protect me from gloomy saints." She also said, "The closer we get to God, the simpler it becomes."  And like a lot of people my age and not my age, I am looking for simplicity.

Love.  Light. Dark. Rain. Sunshine. Anything that blooms. Anything that sings. Big hugs.

I want to be a center of peace in my people's ravaged lives.  Joy, solace. Love. A hand up. A pat on a back. Love.

The Vision Thing

I'm thinking I need a vision thing.  What do I want my environment to look like?

I don't mind the people and the animals, really.  I just want less stuff.  I want to be able to cook and write and sit and talk and be.

I want a kitchen table big enough to feed everyone and strong enough to hold the crafts and homework and long talks that will go there.

I want my windows as clear as possible, so the sun can shine in.

I want light (not necessarily white) walls and wood floors.

I want comfortable furniture.

I want pictures and paintings and sculptures that mean things to us.  Not too much.  Enough.

I want color.

I want the house to smell of fresh air and coffee and lemon verbena.

I want my yard to be a great living space.  I want a table and chairs.  Maybe an arbor.  Plants to eat and anything that blooms.

I want the yard to have native plants that attract bees and butterflies.

I want a hammock chair.

My Climate Change

When one has been away from one's blog for two years, one is expected to give an explanation.

Wow.  Time flies.

Yes, I don't want to talk about the last two years. I'll say that right now, I find myself in a place I didn't make for myself (completely) and wouldn't choose for myself.

Oh wait, let me start again.  I am grateful for what I have today.  I have a husband I love dearly and usually like a whole lot.  I have three sons and three grandsons, whom I love endlessly and mercilessly.  I have enough stuff to keep all of us and a few others comfortable.  I have a new church family that is warm, kind, and curious, and perfectly willing to let us in without asking us why we need to be there.  I have old friends and the best close and extended family I could want.

What I'm looking to change, though, is my climate and my environment.  Personally and in my home.  A home that currently houses five or six adults and three or four children, as well as seven cats and two dogs.  And it's a mess.  It's full of things that we don't want or need.

In the past twelve years, we have collected our own junk AND other people's junk.  Moving and need a place to leave your furniture "for a little while?" Come on over.  We have two full rooms (I mean FULL) of mostly other people's crap mixed in with our own crap.

And so, step one of my personal quest to improve my environment is to clear out the crap.

Have I mentioned we are on the Hoarder's Scale?  No dead bodies, I don't think... maybe some lost animals.  Yarn.  Beads.  Furniture you wouldn't sit on. Clothes I don't remember owning. Folger's coffee containers that would be really cute if painted and labeled to hold stuff.  Toys.  Books that have molded. Did I mention the yarn? And about twenty of any kitchen gadget, since we can't find it and have to go out and buy one.  I'm thinking we could be wealthy if we quit replacing stuff we already have.

So let's see how we do this week...