Monday Musings - how to be less stupid

I read this article last week, mostly because of the awesomeness of the title (warning, if you do read it, there is some mild language) and I loved one of the first lines that Altucher wrote:

Subtraction, and not Addition, is what makes the window to the brain more clear.

Fantastic.

Most of us would argue that if we could only learn more, add more knowledge to our memory banks, develop broader expertise, that would make us smarter.

However, I totally agree that it's likely a bit of spring cleaning is in order and we need to de-clutter.  If only we could all let go of the list of things Altucher suggests we subtract (love that he only came up with 9... I'm sure we could all add many more to it), who knows how much smarter we would become.  As we let go of other people's expectations, guilt, regret, the need to control - imagine the creativity, excitement, sense of freedom we would experience.  There is definitely a lot of clutter in my mind that could do with some clearing out to create extra room for healthy thinking...

I also know that for me, I'm far more productive and effective when I have less that I need to focus on.  When I try to be all things to all people, when I try to stay on top of everything, I'm actually far less capable.  As the genius folks at Steam Whistle say... we all need to try to do one thing, really, really well.  (Clearly they do marketing well, because I didn't even need to look that up...) 

Our church family is focused has the concept of simplicity at the centre of who we are - that "we value uncluttered lives (yep, that's the official wording!), which free us to love boldly, give generously and serve joyfully".  Whenever I unpack that with people, I'm quick to remind them that the value of simplicity is about far more than just living on less money so we can give more away (although that's part of it).  It's also about subtraction - having fewer relationships, fewer responsibilities, fewer things that are demanding our attention and resources, so that we can be more generous with what is left - the key people in our lives, the priorities we want to set.

Obviously there are many things that pull for our attention, but I wonder how much more healthy, effective and excited we would be if we were able to take some time to remove some of the clutter and junk, get rid of some of the areas of our lives that are actually not that important and put our priorities in their right places.  I know I could benefit from being a little less stupid...

What do I need to de-clutter in my mind - others' expectations? guilt? regret? resentment?
What do I need to let go of, so that I can have a greater sense of focus on what's important?
What areas of my life can I simplify and cut back, so that I can be more generous?

Monday Musings - the importance of boredom

I came across this short article over the weekend and was fascinated by the thought that maybe boredom is a good thing.

I agree with the author's premise that back in the day we used to get bored pretty regularly, but that was the spur to all sorts of exciting adventures and a greater sense of appreciation for what was happening around us.

We've put some pretty clear boundaries in place for our kids - 1 hour of screen time per day (they can choose whether that's TV, Wii, computer, etc - Josh does get an exemption to be able to watch NBA highlights over breakfast though ; ) ) and I'm actually encouraged to say that often our kids do get bored and we tell them to go and find something to do.  And do you know what... they do!  There's not much of a more awesome sound than hearing the two of them playing together - whether that's with their lego, stuffies, old boxes, cars... so great.

Personally, I'd go further than the author of that article does and say it's not just the internet that's the problem.  I think it started with TV, then computers, then the internet and now smart phones and laptops.  I hear all the time that people are so busy, but I'm more and more convinced that we just feel busy, because we never switch off - our phones are always telling us about how many emails we've missed, facebook updates we haven't read, tweets we haven't been inspired by.  I actually wonder if the feeling of busyness is directly related to the amount of time we feel bored - if we're bored often enough, obviously we have spare time, so we don't feel busy.  However, if we never feel bored, we assume we must be busy.  All the time.  But if that is simply boredom being alleviated by distraction, rather than by doing things that are productive, should we be complaining...? 

Now, I'm not a techno-hater by any stretch, but it is healthy for us to reflect on how often we're bored - and when we are, what our default is.  I know for me, TV is the old faithful boredom-killer/distractionado (especially with Netflix... mmm, TV and internet together...), but I think next time I'm bored, I'm going to choose to go and sit on our porch and be bored for a while and see what happens.  What about you?

When was the last time I was bored?  What did I do to stop being bored?
When was the last time I thought "I wish I had more time to...?"  How much has my boredom-killer/distraction become a re-creation-killer?
What can I do to choose to get to a place of boredom - and creatively find a different way to fix it?

Monday Musings - how quickly things can change

Palm Sunday.
  The Last Supper.
    Betrayal and Desertion.
      Good Friday.
        Death.

Easter Sunday.
  Life.
    Victory.

I've been reflecting these past few days on the journey of Holy Week - the time of year when we follow the footsteps of Jesus to the cross and then his resurrection.

It's really an incredible story - Jesus comes into Jerusalem, welcomed as a celebrity, as King, as Messiah.  People are cheering for him, letting a donkey walk on their coats, waving trees.  I picture the atmosphere of a ticker tape parade after a sporting team wins a championship...

As the week rolls on, Jesus takes his closest friends aside and gives them a set of amazing intimate experiences - washing their feet, breaking bread with them, sharing his heart, his vision, his sadness, his love.

The crowds disperse.  One of Jesus' close friends betrays him.  One of his closest friends denies even knowing him.  The crowd turns on him.  He's left alone.  Mocked.  Tortured.  Then killed.




But we know that's not the end of the story.  From death, comes life.  From hopelessness comes hope for eternity.  From the giving up of all power comes ultimate victory.

As you prepare for this weekend, I pray you are able to enter into this incredible story and experience it in new ways, being reminded again that there is nothing God is unable to restore, to make right, to make whole.  You.  Me.  Our circumstances.  Our world.

He is Risen.  He is Risen indeed.

Where am I making time to reflect on the Easter story this week?
Which part of the story do I most need to allow God to speak to me through this year?
Where is God already at work, bringing something back to life in my world this week - even if it seems impossible or unlikely?