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Jan 27

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Ordering a big life

‘Think Global, Act Local.’

It’s now a famous tagline, and a helpful one in the face of what can feel like a continual media barrage of international tragedies – a reminder that a good place to start in making the world a better place is often just up the street.

The gentleman who first coined this phrase is somewhat less well-known than his maxim, however. It was one E.F. Schumacher, an economist, thinker and communicator from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Schumacher saw economics not as a science of mathematics, statistics, extrapolation and competing variables. Rather, he interpreted economics as a medium for understanding and implementing the values and philosophy of a society. Want to know what a nation thinks is important? Watch what they do with their money.

The same as any of us really.

His ‘meta-economic’ analysis naturally led him into the area of government, and political commentary, and his observations in this arena only cemented what he had already discovered in his original field of study – that neither shaping an economy not governing a nation can occur in a vacuum of values.

“When we come to politics, we can no longer postpone or avoid the question regarding man’s ultimate aim and purpose. If one believes in God, one will pursue politics mindful of the eternal destiny of man and the truths of the gospel. However, if one believes that there are no higher obligations, it becomes impossible to resist the appeal of Machiavellianism: politics defined as the gaining and maintaining of power so that you and your friends can order the world as they like.”

- E.F. Schumacher

 

When I thought about it, though, I realized, it’s not just politicians. It’s all of us. It’s life. Whenever we forget the eternal value of those around us, and our responsibility to each other by carrying well whatever we’ve been entrusted, it’s too easy to simply go about ordering our world ‘as we like’. To think first of our own comfort, safety, tastes and enjoyment.

 

How we think of our homes, our budgets, our time and even our words will be affected by what we consider are our obligations to others and to the implications of the gospel we are trying to live out.

 

It’s a challenge. Ordering our world the way we like it comes so very naturally! And, well…we like it the way we like it.

 

One thing I notice when I find myself giving in too much to that tendency, though – when I become too focused on what suits me, or simply get too absorbed with my schedule and concerns – is this…there’s a shrinking. Instead of being present and engaged, I’m removed or distracted. Instead of opening up my arms, my heart and my world, I find I’m closing in on myself. Though it can be easy, it’s also…stifling. And not carrying well my own ‘ultimate aim and purpose’.

 

But when my heart is open, my expectations flexible and my words focused on the value of others, I experience the bonus of a wider, more free life. And that, in turn, makes me better at acting for good – globally, and locally.

Jan 26

The Thanks of a Grateful Nation

In his State of the Union yesterday, Obama bookended his speech with expressions of appreciation for the men and women of the US armed forces, and the sacrifice they make. That may be, and likely is, a savvy and targeted communication decision, but is also an expression of the what Americans often refer to as ‘the thanks of a grateful nation’.

For a nation birthed from armed conflict, perhaps there is a particular awareness of what is owed to those who have given even their very lives so others might live in freedom.

As today we celebrate our own nation, I am reminded of how very much we have to be grateful for as a nation. For despite payroll debacles and character assassinations and accusations of back room deals, we are, indeed a lucky country. Very lucky.

We have infrastructure. When a natural disaster comes our way, we actually have communications systems, and emergency services personnel, and relief resources.

We have clean drinking water and the ability to sustain agriculture. Though the cost of food has steadily increased over the last few years, the fact is it doesn’t cost a days wages to buy bread.

We have a democratic system in which the people do get to vote out the leader of the country at the end of the term if we’re not happy with their work. For all the drama of our government over the last couple of years, there’s no military junta in Canberra and people do vacate the desk when the other candidate gets more votes.

I have SO much to be grateful for.

I’m celebrating Australia Day today like probably many others – with a BBQ, friends and swimming. And as that meat sizzles and my friends kids play with the dogs and splash in the pool, I want to remember to be especially grateful for all of it.

I don’t know why I got so blessed to be born in Australia. But I’ll be giving thanks that I was. To one who gave even his very life so I might live in the greatest kind of freedom.

A free heart in a free country – yes, I’m so very grateful for that.

 

Jan 25

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Thin places, both seen and unseen

After the fall of Rome in A.D. 476 sent the Roman Church into a period of decline, alternative expressions of the faith community began emerging on the fringes of Christendom, in places like Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In contrast to the strongly hierarchical structures of the central Roman church, great emphasis began to be placed on things like community, mystery and interconnectedness.

One of the concepts that emerged from this Celtic Christianity is the idea of ‘thin places’ – a place where the veil between heaven and earth is lifted, or thinned, and we become especially aware of the presence and glory of God.

The poet Sharlande Sledge put it like this–

“’Thin places,’ the Celts call this space,

Both seen and unseen,

Where the door between this world

And the next is cracked open for a moment

And the light is not all on the other side”

You’re probably familiar with the experience. It’s often easiest to sense these ‘thin place’ moments when we find ourselves encountering the beauty, vastness or power of creation – a snowy tundra, a sparkling ocean, grand mountain ranges. The earth in all its wildness can often serve to strip away the noise of our everyday minutia and remind us that we are a part of a grand narrative, in which forces beyond our control play a starring role.

I went on a road trip a while back – 2 weeks, just me and the road – down to the bottom of Australia and back. It was glorious. Vast expanses, rolling hills, lakes, rivers, mountains and forests. Me, God. Solitude, silence and Spirit. I loved every minute of it, and it was a beautiful thin place experience.

But these exceptional encounters of nature don’t have to be our only thin places.  We can find a thin place in a piece of music that reaches into our soul and connects us with the heart of the divine in a way that transcends words.  It may be in a moment when we cultivate gratefulness in our souls to an extent that we are overwhelmed by a sense of being cared for and held by the One who so tenderly loves us.  Further, since, if we are believers, the Spirit of God in fact dwells within us, we can find these thin places whenever we choose to align the Spirit within with the Creator Spirit – connecting heaven and earth, as it were.

So it is that we can cultivate thin places not just on our holiday times of rest and reflection as an ocean stretches out in front of us, but in our homes, as we determine to align ourselves with heaven as those who extend hospitality in a way that reflects that heart of God. In our relationships, as we unwaveringly commit to both truth and love, self-sacrifice and interdependence. And in our hearts, as we fix our eyes each day on the one who, once and for all, removed that veil, between heaven and earth.

“In a thin place there is an immediacy of experience…In this hallowed space and time heaven and earth for a moment are one…it opens the door to the threshold of the sacred” – Sylvia Maddox

(Photos credit – celticchurchesintl.com and author’s own)

Jan 24

Why art is like planting a tree

 

I admit it – I’m a bit of an arty type.

When it comes to art, I can be all about ‘what does it mean?’ and ‘how does it feel?’ and I’m not above totally overlooking that a poem or a song doesn’t really make sense if it ‘resonates’ with me. Yes, I’m one of those.

So a while ago I was hanging out with a bunch of other arty-types – chatting, eating, laughing…Creating stuff and talking about how God, and the way we see him, influences the stuff we create.

As the evening had worn on, eventually we had found ourselves all settled in, on couches and cushions – chilled, and waxing a bit philosophical.

We’d been riffing on art, and hope, and how the two are inextricably linked up in all kinds of interesting ways.

Someone proffered an idea – “So, is art the highest form of hope?”

This was an interesting thought. We tossed it around a bit, back and forth, until we found ourselves circling back to the reverse. No, not quite, we decided, but in a way, as someone there put it, “Hope is the highest form of art.”

Our reasoning was this – when we as christians create art, we do so because god’s art, creation, is inherently hopeful… ‘as surely as the sun will rise…’

Art, like planting a tree, is intrinsically hopeful, because it implies that there is something worth saying, something or someone worth influencing. There will be a tomorrow and it could be better and this could be the change.

Or, put another way, there is a God who is the author – the artist – of Hope. When he gifts us with artistic ability we use for his glory, our creativity worships him, and highlights his nature, which is Hope-filled.

It was a great discussion – totally arty, totally unsupportable by scientific facts…and full of hope.

Jan 23

What do you want – really?

Wanting is knowledge. Someone asks us what we want and we say, Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know what I want. But the truth is we do! We do know what we want! It’s just (isn’t it?) that what we want isn’t the thing we ought to want or want to want or are supposed to want or think we want. It’s what we want.
- Cary Tennis

Whether it’s work, or relationships, or money, or any other area of life where our heart and our head don’t always see eye to eye, wanting is a powerful force.

Wanting has the power to propel you through grand obstacles in order to secure the object of its desire. It has the power to paralyse you, as you vacillate between contrary inner voices of wisdom and longing. And it has the power to take you down, stranding you at the bottom of a pit of remorse.

We do well to respect the power of wanting.

What we must ask ourselves, about what we want, is what kind of wanting it is, and what we ought to do with it.

1. Embrace

The first kind of wanting is that which is the desire for something completely positive and achievable for our lives. You want to learn an instrument, take up running, read more, ask out that girl? Great!! You go! You play, you run, you read, you ask!!! Carpe Diem!

Acknowledge that this is something you want, not something being thrust upon you by some external force, and then own the power of that wanting! Decide that this is your life, this is what you want, and that therefore you’re not going to let you and your own amazing ability to rationalise or procrastinate get in the way!

You want it? Go, do!

Embrace the wanting!!

2. Acknowledge

There is another kind of wanting, which, though it may or may not also be for something positive, it is somewhat bigger. What might best be labelled scarier.

You actually don’t know whether this wanting is achievable.

The worst part is that these kind of wantings are usually somewhat vague, by nature of their bigness, and so often stay undefined. We want in their general direction, more than we want them in specifics.

And so the wanting remains unaddressed. It tugs at the corners of our heart and mind, refusing to be dismissed altogether, but not powerful enough to drive us to action so long as it remains only in our peripheral vision.

We must acknowledge these wantings.

We must sit down and really think, really dare to think, what is at the heart of this wanting?

Is it that you want to move to France indefinitely, or would a one-year transfer do the trick? A summer? What is that tug really telling you that you truly want?

Is it that you do want a relationship with that person who for whatever reason you don’t feel is (or know for a fact shouldn’t be) an option for you?

Is it that you understand all the risks of starting your own business, and you can’t decide whether or not they outweigh the benefit of doing what you know you want to try?

Because wanting something doesn’t always mean you should go for it. For these kind of wantings though, the bigger wants, the possibly ill-advised wants – you still need to move on it. In one direction or another. You can’t stay wanting and undecided forever. It will kill you.

You need to acknowledge what it is you actually want. What would address that vague but powerful pull on your heart?

Ok. Now you know. Now you can decide what you’re going to do about it.

If, once you honestly admit to yourself what you want, the truth is that you know that isn’t the best thing for yourself and the people around you – that your want would be destructive, or wrong, or selfish – then you can accept that too. And you can stop carrying around a want that’s keeping your heart tied up, when it could be casting out for new dreams instead.

If, however, it’s something positive, and wise, and healthy, but just unbelievably freaking scary that you could utterly fail at – then you know what you have to do.  If it’s just fear of rejection, or failure, or change, that’s keeping you from your wanting – well, that’s no way to live.

Jan 21

“…the mad chase of evanescent profits”

As America approaches their presidential election, and the world faces an uncertain economic climate, it is interesting to see what incoming President Franklin D Roosevelt had to say at his inauguration in the midst of the Great Depression -

 “The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they have cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and our fellow men”

I can imagine advisers telling him; urging him; pleading with him over these lines, that the American people who were struggling to secure food and shelter did not want to be told it would all be worth it by a man living in comparative luxury. And perhaps they were right.

But this was a man who would become the only President to win four consecutive US elections. He stayed in power for 16 years.This was a man who knew the true heart of his people.

He knew that beneath what they did or did not want to hear was a nobility of spirit which resides within each of us that bear the divine image; a spirit which wants to be told what it knows to be true – that we are made for more.

More than money or material gain.

We were made to make a difference. Our days should be be measured by something worth more than wages.

Jan 20

‘She’ll be back tomorrow’

Tonight I was talking with another writer over the fact that there is always this internal resistance, something that holds us back from our art, that must be broken through in order to go ahead and do what we know is in us to do. I think it applies to all artists, really – to anyone, even, who feels something inside them that they want to accomplish in and for the world.

One of my favourite books on the subject is Steven Pressfield’s ‘The War of Art’, which talks about how important it is to recognise that all artists feel the resistance, and then to go ahead and just do your stuff anyway!

 


“Resistance knows that the amateur composer will never write his symphony because he is overly invested in its success and overterrified of its failure. The amateur takes it so seriously it paralyzes him…The professional loves her work. She is invested in it wholeheartedly. But she does not forget that the work is not her. Her artistic self contains many works and many performances. Already the next is percolating inside her. The next will be better, and the one after that better still…Where it fell short, she’ll improve it. Where it triumphed, she’ll make it better still. She’ll work harder. She’ll be back tomorrow.”

- Steven Pressfield, ‘The War of Art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles’

 

Jan 19

How to contribute to the decline of public discourse!

Healthy debate – who needs it?

The pursuit of truth and clear communication? Pedantry!

Clearly, the issue of importance is the passion one exerts during discussion, rather than the consistency and internal logic therein.

For this reason, I bring you 8 easy ways to disregard reasoned and respectful discussion, and employ what the longstanding tradition of rhetoric has historically classified  as ‘Logical Fallacies’…

1. ad hominem

Everyone’s favourite go-to in order to lower the level of public debate, and a sure way to get heard even though you’ve nothing of substance to say – attack the speaker instead of the argument! Infer that whatever flaw you point out – real or imagined – undermines the truthfulness or logic of their argument. The great thing is, it’s so much easier to do this than actually prove that what they’re saying isn’t true!!

How to use it: “Senator Jones’ point about health care reform can’t possibly be valid since he hasn’t released his tax records and therefore must be hiding something”

For Bonus Points – If you really want to strike a blow against rationality, make a circular ad hominem argument – “Your argument sound idiotic to me, therefore you must be an idiot, which means I don’t need to listen to your argument”

2. Strawman

Another very popular way to ensure healthy debate is derailed is to create a strawman argument. Basically, you present a caricature or over-extrapolation of the other person’s argument, then explain why that position (and not their actual one) is flawed.

How to use it: “President Obama’s health care plan basically wants to provide free health care for all treatments of all ailments to all people forever. That won’t work because….”

3. post hoc ergo procter hoc

Latin for “after this, therefore because of this”. It means to imply or specifically state that because B follows A, B must have been caused by, or somehow associated with, A.

How to use it: “All I know is that I never had any trouble with my daughter talking back to me when John Howard was in power. The fact that she was 9 months old when Rudd won is beside the point.”

4. Begging the Question

Now, though this phrase is commonly misused to mean ‘raising the question’, it actually means to imply an unproven conclusion in one’s premise (similar to circular reasoning – though the two tactics can differ), and is a super-handy technique in advancing a flawed but seemingly persuasive argument. That is, you need to use an assumption for which you have no evidence, as evidence for your arguments conclusion. Simple, and sure to obscure the discussion!

How to use it: When discussing someone who has 4 attractive and successful children, but of whose family life you have no actual evidence - “Mr Thompson would be great for this position as Minister for Families because he’s such a great father”.

5. Cherry Picking

Use all the evidence you can that backs up your point of view, and don’t even mention any of the evidence that contradicts it.

How to use it: “I have eaten as much sugar as I want for 20 years and I’m still skinny and healthy. Therefore sugar can’t be a cause of disease or obesity”

6. False Analogy

Everyone loves a good analogy. Find a good false one, and people will buy into your argument without even realising it doesn’t make sense! Establish a similarity between two things, and then extend that similarity beyond it’s supportable bounds.

How to use it: “Children are like plants. You can’t force their growth. All you can do is provide the right environment, the right nutrients, the right care and attention, and then trust that they will respond to that, and grow into all they are meant to be. And both children and plants need their own space. You can’t plant two trees right next to each other and then expect them both to be able to grow to their full size. One will stunt the other. In the same way, it is obvious that making two children share a room will inevitably lead to a situation where it is impossible for both children to develop healthily.”

7. Appeal to motive

Similar to ad hominem, you can use the appeal to motive tactic by highlighting a relevant attitude, connection or belief of the person or organisation in question to undermine the credibility of their conclusion. This will appear terribly convincing, without actually requiring you to demonstrate any actual flaws in their conclusion, when in fact both the connection and their conclusion can be simultaneously true.

How to use it: “The pharmaceutical company paid for this study about whether or not morphine is effective in relieving pain. Of course the study proves that it is – they are going to make money selling morphine. Therefore the study must be flawed.”

8. No True Scotsman

Let’s finish with a fun circular reasoning fallacy, shall we! This term comes from the following classic example – If Ian asserts that all Scotsman are brave, and you provide an example of a Scotsman who definitely isn’t brave, then Ian will counter by saying that that man is No True Scotsman. In other words, the argument depends on a definition that applies only to things that support the argument.

How to use it: Self-explanatory!

So there you have it – forget nuance, take the pressure off from applying intellectual rigour to your argument…just reach for one of these easy, fundamentally flawed tactics, and see how low you can drag the standard of public debate!!

*Note: Yes, this is tongue-in-cheek

Jan 19

Roundup – 19/1/12

Interesting links of late -

The Phone Stack –  Interesting idea! “It works like this: as you arrive, each person places their phone facedown in the center of the table. As the meal goes on, you’ll hear various texts and emails arriving… and you’€™ll do absolutely nothing. You’€™ll face temptation – maybe even a few involuntary reaches toward the middle of the table – but you’€™ll be bound by the single, all-important rule of the phone stack. Whoever picks up their phone is footing the bill.“

Richard Waghorne – The last two blog posts by this guy on his site are a very interesting perspective. A really well-articulated and cohesive viewpoint always gets my attention, and the fact that he is a 28 year old political analyst in London currently completing his PhD and a gay man arguing against gay marriage makes it even more intriguing.

Subtergenekon and Other Crimes – A very troubling situation seems to be arising in Turkey, with mass arrests of journalists for no clear reason -  “Right now in Turkey journalists in the courtroom being asked ‘why did you write news?’ Not a joke! Real!…Relatives, friends of arrested journalists are trying to have a word in the court after months of isolation.” 

9 Keys to Reaching College Students – “Students are not dumb; nor are the college professors filling their minds five days a week. These students are being challenged with deep questions, and simplistic answers not only fail to persuade them, but actually make them more skeptical of Christianity. So take them deep, and do it often…Furthermore, teach the hard stuff—like what the Bible teaches about gender roles, sexuality, and divine punishment.”

Martin Luther King Jr. on ‘Meet the Press’ in 1965, 5 days after the March from Selma to Montgomery. The interviewer asks his thoughts on the fact that former President Truman has called his march ‘silly’ and capable of achieving nothing. Fascinating to watch a panel of interviewers who are so clearly trapped in the mentality of their time and demographic and simple don’t see what is unfolding on their watch.

Thanks to Kurt Williams for flagging this great recording

Jan 18

The Risk of Compassion

 

“Compassion means to lay a bridge over to the other, without knowing whether he wants to be reached.”

- Henri Nouwen

Sometimes we can see a need, or a hurt, or an injustice. Sometimes, we might only catch glimpses. We are all so very good at hiding our shadows.

But still…we see the edges of the bruise, whether they lie on a wrist, or a heart. The signs are there.

And we are moved with compassion.

And at that moment, we are faced with a choice. To let that compassion move us to sympathy, to empathy, or even to tears…or to take a risk, and let it move us to action.

Because it is a risk, this business of doing unto others. We cannot know how others will react.

They may be touched; they may be appreciative; there may be tender words of thanks and warm embraces.

Or there may not.

They may be dismissive; they may be offended; there may be angry words of indignation and cold stares.

You don’t know. It’s a risk. But that doesn’t mean you don’t know what the right thing to do is.

Compassion is an offering of a connection; of an honest exchange; of an acknowledgement that we all takes turns on the ups and downs of the see-saw of life.

Compassion should not be intrusion; it should not be the application of ignorance given false credibility by resource; it should not be an attempt to simply feed our own sense of self-worth.

Compassion should be our real reaction to need – whether that’s for clean water, or community. And real compassion is risky.

Because when you offer compassion, you offer a connection to your real self. And when you do that without knowing how it will be received and responded to, you take a real risk.

But it is a risk none of us can afford not to take.

All of our hearts depend on it.

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