Monthly Archives: January 2017

Undefended

If you want to see war, you will see a war everywhere. If you’re looking for dead ends, every turn will continually produce no outlet for possibility. If you want pessimism, there’s plenty to be pessimistic about. And if you want cynicism, there’s plenty of opportunities to be cynical. You don’t have to look far for this to be true.

However, the same can also be said for another way.

A better way.

If you want to see love, you will always find an opportunity to see great love lingering in the mundane. If you long for peace, moments for peacemaking will consistently present themselves via serendipity.

Whatever it is we seek, eventually we find it.

If you’re seeking a war, there’s probably one happening in your chest.

If you’re seeking love, then your heart has probably been transformed into a jukebox that is pumping beautiful ballads.

Question…what do you want to see?

In the end, we will only see the world in whatever the posture of our heart is, from moment to moment. And how we see, in the world, is how we will be in the world.

As we drop our weapons, which can often be loaded with opinionated bullets, we find ourselves undefended and open handed. It’s at this time that we find our hands are now prepared to catch and receive the truth that is being presented to us everywhere and all of the time.

And then, and only then, can we beautifully regift that truth back into the world and for the good of those we’ve been entrusted to lead and befriend.

The moment, this one happening right now, holds such holy potential to both heal old wounds or create new ones. Show me someone that is undefended and I’ll show you someone that is ready to heal the people, the moments, and the stories their life crosses paths with.

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Being, Doing, and Having.

We tend to find ourselves in one of three camps…

  1. Have – Do – Be
    1. “Once I have_____ I will then get to _____ and finally I will be_____.
  2. Do – Have – Be
    1. “If I could just _____ I would have _______ which makes me _______.
  3. Be – Do – Have.
    1. “I am loved and enough so my story’s potential is limitless and everything I could ever want is here and available in this moment.”

Two of these are cuffs on the hands of our hearts and souls.

One of these breaks the chains.

 

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Eyes

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once said, “To try to see more and to see better is not, therefore, just a fantasy, curiosity, or a luxury. See or perish. This is the situation imposed on every element of the universe by the mysterious gift of existence. And thus, to a higher degree, this is the human condition.”

Could this all be a school in learning to see?

If it is, may we all learn to welcome facts before fiction and may our assumptions be self corrected by grace.

“Let me see” just may be the most expansive, holy, redemptive, and opportunistic prayer and posture we can approach all of our lives with.

Eyes ends with yes.

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The Best of 2016 Let The Music Play Podcast

Dearest music maker,

I am so grateful for you joining me on the journey of making music with our lives. 2016 was a wonderful and beautiful year for Let The Music Play Podcast.

I remember the first time I ever interviewed someone twelve months ago. I didn’t know how to work the recording device and had no idea how much of an art form interviewing someone is. Nevertheless, I kept hitting record and asking my heroes, mystics, authors, artists, sages, and philosophers about the music they make with their life, relationships, and careers.

In this episode you will find a few of the highlights from the past year’s interviews. Enjoy!

And a BIG thank you goes out to Ryan O’Neal of Sleeping At Last for providing the music playing behind all of this wisdom shared!

Godspeed,

Ashton

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Words hiding in words…

Passion hides in compassion…as does compass.

Light hides in enlighten.

Be hides in begin, being, and better.

Maybe hide isn’t the right word here…especially once we’ve been given eyes to see them. Maybe rest is the appropriate feel and vibe for this conversation.

Heschel told us “words create worlds”.

It looks like they also unveil worlds within the worlds they create.

 

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