Some random ramblings in my head:
People! No matter where I came from, and where I go - people always come first! In the hustle/bustle of life (i.e. life as a full-time worker and graduate student, living away from family etc), I became less intentional in maintaining friendships. Would love to do better in this area. Actually, would love to learn how to love people well. Especially family. Those who know me best and that I care for the most.
Pipes and Flexibility: The American culture is very much a go-getter/I-can-do-all-things culture. We're constantly bombarded by where we need go, what we need to do, and how to get 'ahead' in life. Perhaps this is ubiquitous across many cultures, but never did I feel the pressure to achieve so much in life and have dreams to shoot for the moon, until I moved to America. Amazing, since you hear stories of folks with a bit of stoic will-power, who really can do anything that they put their mind to. Goals and dreams are good things to have. They give people (me?) much-needed structure for daily living (smile). That being said, flexibility, patience and the ability to sit still is a skill that I still am learning to practice.
Listen! While loving life, laughing myself silly, and simply living life to the fullest, I forget sometimes that sitting still is a good thing. Simply listen to the humdrum of life around you. What do you see? What do you hear? I lived in Boston for the past two years, and was pretty busy for the most part. However, I had my little thinking quiet spot - I call it my Carrie Bradshaw desk. It was my desk in my room overlooking my street, where I could see the neighbors' houses around me and and the Boston skyline in the horizon to my right. My space to think and reflect. While I love skylines of cities, I also love green and blue. Being in a small town at my mother's home. The simple rhythmic motion of my comfy reclining chair overlooking trees outside and blue Florida skies, while catching up on reading, often puts me in a reflective mood. Out of one of those reflections comes this age-old adage: Listen more. Do less. Talk less. Listening gives me the ability to learn. To learn about myself. To learn about others. To realize that dreams cannot live in pipes made of steel, but of things pliable and malleable. To learn how to take those dreams and goals from yesterday and have them fit into today with everything that Today can throw at you.
So, I leave you with this last bit of randomness - yes: I love people, live to the fullest and laugh often. BUT..I cannot do any of those things, without loving God first. Hmm...that's the next set of explosions that are happening in my head. What does it mean to know love God? What does it mean to know Him who is Absolute Truth in a relative world? (smile)
