Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Joy and Noticing

Joy

I just don't see as much of it as i would like to - not as much of it in my own heart as i'd like to, and definitely not much of it at all in our world.

give me a situation, too many times i can find the problems within it - i can pick it apart and tell you what can be done to fix it - but too often i don't celebrate...

strange,

it's not that there's nothing to celebrate

 pretty much everyone i know has enough to eat - 

has decent access to education - 

has clean water - 

has the freedom to come and go and move about where they want to - 

has clean laundry and warm houses (or apartments) - 

has a deeply rooted sense of our common humanity and importance of love -

yet it seems that my (our) focus is just not where it should (could) be

there seems to be a voice in the back of our minds that is always telling us that we need something - to search, to critique, to argue, to wish, to aspire, to get, to go

sometimes it sounds like marketing voices - convincing us...

but more often it sounds like some broken parts of our souls, trying to fill in some strange gap.

problem is that what we use to fill in the gap seems to turn to liquid as soon as the gap is filled - and before we know it, it runs out and leaves the gap just as empty as it was to begin - so we clamor for more - assured by our world that there is a filler out there somewhere

The answer, i have found, is in noticing.

Noticing.

Noticing that what is really important is right around us.  there is joy to be had in cool air, and rustling leaves, in the smile of a friend, in food to eat and a warm blanket, in the smell of laundry and the change of seasons.

You see it seems there is another voice in the back of our minds - it the voice of the One who made us - and the cool the air, and the leaves and beauty of the seasons and the sense of smell delighted w the smell of laundry and the warmth in our hearts at the love of a friend - there is a beauty that we miss because the noise of our world drowns out the joy of His love - expressed all around us.

At More than more, we are determined to shove against the voice of the more of go and get and instead to pay attention and notice the loveliness of the More of joy all around us.

We are determined to provide a place where some people who are all on this same path can hang out and talk about what it looks like to notice - to remind each other once every other Thursday what is really important.  

We would love to have you join us!

our next time together will be Dec 7th (tomorrow), 645-800pm, at McAllister Recreation Center- just off 20th and Schuyler in Lafayette.  There will be free childcare thru 5th grade and there are plenty of activities at the center for older kids.

in the meantime, 

keep noticing...

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