Good morning…
I enjoyed a Friday night movie with a friend, “The Art of Racing in the Rain.” A beloved quote came to mind as I watched Enzo, the dog, resting his sweet head and big eyes on the chest of his family members. Often his dad. Lovingly his mom. Playfully his sister. This quote came to mind from page 217 of When Breath Becomes Air. “At home in bed a few weeks before he died,” recounts author Paul Kalanithi’s wife, “I asked him, ‘Can you breathe okay with my head on your chest like this?’ His answer was “It’s the only way I know how to breathe.”
As we savor Sabbath rest and look back over our week, we settle our head upon God’s chest. Intimately bonded we sense our core truth: “This is the only way I know how to breathe.”
Monday: I truly believe, “Things of God grow organically overtime.” I have seen the Enneagram as a tool in the hands of God growing beautiful things in my life and in the life of people I love. I appreciate you asking the hard question living in your heart, “Sue, are you sure you should be teaching the Enneagram?” I have given you my long answer, but my short answer is this: “Yes, my friend, with the help of God.”
Tuesday: Play — doing things just because they’re fun and not because they’ll help achieve a goal — is vital to human development. Brown believes that play is at the core of creativity and innovation. Play can mean snorkeling, scrapbooking or solving crossword puzzles; it’s anything that makes us lose track of time and self-consciousness, creating the clearing where God’s ideas are born.
Wednesday: With a playful spirit, I watched joy emerge through talks with friends, outdoor activities, breathing in nature. Then texts and emails trickled in, saying how many of you were playing. “Dogs teach us a lot about play.”
Thursday: Here are a few of the benefits you may experience from incorporating more relaxing or pleasurable “doing nothing” moments into your days:
- Restorative—both mentally and physically
- Grounding
- Improves relationships
- Relieves stress
- More productive
- Connects you with your intuition
- Boosts creativity
- Allows time for reflection
- Helps to process ideas and information
I would add to the top of this list: “The art of relaxation teaches tangibly, as we do less, God does abundantly more.”
Friday: Rachelle Williams says, “Think of a washing machine that is crammed with too many clothes. Not much actual washing takes place because there is not enough space to move and churn. This same concept applies to life in general; you can use a little more space to help connect to the pulse of life and enjoy the pleasures it has to offer, no matter how small.”
Saturday: Then she nudged me toward a breakthrough: “I wonder if, because we have a choice, it is that much more incumbent upon us to attend to getting this cadence thing right and to make sure that what goes in the washer is in service to others. Some way of helping others so they can find some breathing room. Is there a a mind, body, soul connection that we can help them find—-a cadence for their life that allows them to find peace themselves? How do we help others find this cadence who don’t have the luxury of controlling their time and their responsibilities?”
There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ…When everything and everyone is finally under God’s rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God’s rule is absolutely comprehensive—a perfect ending! (1 Corinthians 15:21, 28, MSG).
…Sue…
