Noun: Endings

Endings are always hard.
I am done musing about nouns for a while
I thought I would list some things that have encouraged me during this series.

Lists
List are always good in my opinion. I love a list.
I like grocery lists, to-do lists, favorite lists, wish lists, love lists, whatever. It is always fun to look over your list and check off what you have actually done.

Focus
It has taken me a while to pinpoint what I need to talk about on here. I thought I wanted to muse about library stuff or ethics but I think those things are only part of the big picture. I like ordinary domestic life and the small pockets of bliss that come with the mundane. I am not a hard nose newsy reporter and that is okay.

Imperfection
Imperfect is a thing we like to avoid. Sometimes I blog badly. I take bad pictures or say stupid things. Sometimes, I erase those mishaps and sometimes I don't. Life is like that sometimes it can be made right and sometimes it won't ever be "right". Living in the gaps is hard but good for your character. We are not robots and we shouldn't aspire to be nick free.

Love
Nouns help facilitate my nerdiness and my word lust. It is hard to find the right word and even harder to say something about it. I find it works best when I speak of those who love me and whom I love. Touching on the tender spots in life make me grateful. Gratefulness awakes love.

Happy Tuesday!










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Noun:Being

I had a wonderful and busy weekend. I caught up with some dear ones, went to the baptism of my best friend and did a lot of homework.

This Fall has been amazing. I have really managed to notice and abide in life. There is something beautiful at work in the world. It is like the beacons of love are blazing loud. I hope you are cozy and full of joy this season.

I am wondering-what are people thinking about GIFTS. I find myself, not really caring about them. I want to get people things that they will really love but I am not in deep NEED of anything or CRAVING anything in particular.

My Christmas wishlist, besides world peace and full bellies for all- is short. I want to learn to make fresh gingerbread cookies, bake a nice loaf of bread, sing carols and spend time with people I love.

Noun: Gratitude

It has been a bit busy around here.
Today, I feel so grateful. Life has offered me many opportunities this year.
I am basking in the sweetness and challenges that I have been privileged to swim in.

What are you grateful for these days?

Noun:Rest

Rest. Means many things-a cessation of motion, tranquility or ease. What does it mean to rest? We are a culture that measures worth by production/output. Is it counterculture to rest? Should we always be striving to be better? To look better? Feel better?

In the church, we talk about resting in God's love. In being your broken self and knowing that that you are met where you are. I think that it is ironic that spiritual teachings (usually) rally on resting in love or God and culture does not. There is a infinite tension it seems. I don't think we humans were put here to do but to be.

If there is no place that is safe? If there is no place where people feel that is okay to be themselves-how can we function as a society? We can't and that may be ammunition to our deep wounds as individual, as a nation and as a global world.

Noun: Music

Rejoice Always!
This is my November mix. I reoriented it and hopefully you enjoy.

Noun: Sunrise

On a much chipper note- today, I saw the rising sun. I have not seen a sunrise in a while. This is surprising because I do get up at 5 a.m. and I have been doing so for a while.

It was magnificent to gaze into that bigness. The sunrise is something we take for granted. We assume that one day we will catch it. The truth is it always there and we are always missing it.

Are there simple things that could enhance your happiness that you miss-sunsets, a bowl of strawberries, the smell of dirt? Do one small thing for your happiness today.
No ideas- here are some.Feel free to add more(small happy actions) in the comment section.

Small List of Happy Actions
sing along with a song
take a bath
play in the leaves
call your best friend
paint
make a mix
rearrange a room
clean the bathroom
give something away
bake something yummy
write in your journal
write your prayers
be still

Noun: Community

To me it seems that -masks and strangers are very related. I am not certain how to articulate this thought. I believe that community, deep community, is something that combats the tendency to disassociate yourself from others.

Most of our sharing is very superficial. People know us but they don't know us. You can look at anyone's Facebook, LastFm or Myspace and feel you know something about them. You can interact with someone on a daily basis and feel you know them. Is that true?I think knowing comes with being known. If no one knows you as you are-then can you know anyone as they are?

I know a lot about other people but what do they know about me?If there is no reciprocal vulnerability, can that relationship be communal? I find that most people assume I am a certain way. A way that may be a little part of my nature(the part that looks the best) but that is not me. As I forge in community, I notice that there is a peace when people know you as more than information facts. When someone knows your heart and vice versa something real takes places.

It makes me happy to contemplate these things because they are real. They are the fruit of life. Community, if it is authentic, can guide us towards the light. We we made to live in the light.