Mystery.
Difficulty.
Challenge.
Obstacle.
Uncertainty.
Have you noticed how often we avoid these?
What if they’re inviting us to a become a better us?
Ashton.Gustafson
Pause by the orchid. Listen to the bluebird sing. Be love.
Category Archives: Change The World
Gifts and Gratitude
Rain that wakes you up in the middle of the night, the smell of coffee even before you experience the taste, the regrouping period after a laugh attack, and the orchid that calls your name when you walk in the local market…these are the recognized gifts of those who are awake to the grace peppered over their moments. If we can stay in such a state of awareness, we will turn every corner with holy and eager anticipation.
As you approach this week be on the lookout for the small, the mostly overlooked, and even the moments you would typically avoid (getting out of bed at 3 am to watch the rain).
Gratitude opens the gate to the garden of our souls. And if that garden is available and can receive the seeds, sun, and rain it needs to flourish then you just may find the theme of life that every human is longing for.
Our job is to open the gate and part the veil to make the garden available. It’s Another’s job to provide the seed, sun, and rain.
To be open and available with a grounding ‘Thank you’, truly, is a WONDERful place to point your days.
Episode 30: A Conversation with Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborne Co-Founder of the Simple Way.
Shane Claiborne is a co-founder and board member of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped birth and connect radical faith communities around the world.
Claiborne graduated from Eastern University and did his graduate work at Princeton Seminary. In 2010, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Eastern. His adventures have taken him from the streets of Calcutta where he worked with Mother Teresa to the wealthy suburbs of Chicago where he served at the influential mega-church Willow Creek. As a peacemaker, his journeys have taken him to some of the most troubled regions of the world – from Rwanda to the West Bank – and he’s been on peace delegations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been seen on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s also given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame. Currently, Shane speaks regularly at denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe.
Shane joins us in Episode 30 at Let The Music Play as we take a look into the wisdom and insight gained from living a life powered by love and grounded in simplicity.
You can stream and download all other episodes of Let The Music Play in iTunes or at AshtonGustafson.com.
The quest for beauty…
…begins with beautiful questions.
Ask away.
Answers will vary.
Original > Copy
There’s never been another you. To own that reality is a choice.
It’s also choice to become a replica of what has already been.
Nevertheless, in all of our individual originality, we do all rhyme with Love.
One love…in billions and billions of never-before forms.
This is our story.
This is our song.
Ashton.Gustafson 