…listened to with an eager ear…
…heard with a humble heart…
…received into a gentle spirit…
…and courageously responded to with hands of love…
…then something beautiful can start to replace what’s broken down…
…unity can trump uniformity…
…and connection can cure competition.
Don’t forget to ask.
Don’t forget to listen.
And don’t forget to let your hands do the talking.
…are you stuck because it’s safer there?
Unstuck would mean freedom, right?
And freedom would mean exposure, right?
And exposure would mean you would be seen, right?
Here’s some gospel creamer for your life’s cup of coffee to be sipped all of your days…
…we want to see you.
…we need to see you.
…and we won’t be the same without you.
So be free. If you need a permission slip, consider this it.
Expose us to the never-ending you that’s alive in the temporary you.
If life is a lesson in learning to love, then it appears we need that to be individually mirrored in approximately 7.4 billion ways.
Alas, no one has ever tried to be you before.
So try yourself on for size.
We’ll all say it fits.
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.
We tend to find ourselves in one of three camps…
Two of these are cuffs on the hands of our hearts and souls.
One of these breaks the chains.
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.
Ashton.Gustafson 