I have decided to make the month of February a month of gratefulness.
I did this once before, and it really changed my life. It is not an easy thing to do, though. Not only does it involve deciding to be thankful in everything that happens, but it involves also going out of your way to express gratefulness...to others, to God, even to yourself. AND....(drum roll, please)...it involves the cessation of ALL complaining.
What? No complaining? Yep! At least, no complaining to yourself or to other people. You can, of course, pour out your heart to God...be it feelings of love, gratefulness, anger, irritation, frustration, whatever. God is neither offended nor surprised at hearing what you’re feeling inside. In this post, what I’m suggesting is a set of practices that are totally in alignment with human nature and with the breadth of scripture.
Expressing Gratitude (Biblical Examples)
In Psalm 100, we read of David's expressions of thankfulness to God, and in Colossians 3:12-17, we read of Paul's exhortations to bear with each other, to serve God--and each other!--without complaining, and to adopt a heart of gratitude throughout one's life.
Expressing Complaints to Oneself and Others (Biblical Examples)
It is probably not necessary for me to launch into a long diatribe concerning the dangers (and consequences!) of complaining to our friends and neighbors. The Old Testament is replete with example after example of the calamities that occurred to the Children of Israel when they were in the desert for those 40 years and began to complain about their living conditions. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, Moses? So that we could die of thirst out here in the desert?" "We are so sick and tired of manna...why won’t you give us something else to eat?" There's an old Keith Green song called, "So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt," in which he sings of the Israelite's attitudes with such lyrics as, "Well, we once complained for something new to munch...the ground opened up and had some of us for lunch." (Check out the song on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD9W61KZYxk.) Complaining is toxic. Literally. It releases toxins that kill the body, kill the soul, and kill relationships. Consider biting your tongue and talking with God about it in the privacy of your own soul.
Expressing Your Feelings to God (More Biblical Examples)
Throughout the history of mankind, no writer or poet has ever been able to capture the feelings of humanity and life and express them as beautifully as David did in the Psalms. It is absolutely okay to express your feelings to God--even with four-letter words (!!). God is not at all surprised at what comes out of your mouth and heart when you're speaking with Him. He wants you to be open and honest with Him about what you're feeling. Look at the Psalms, they are filled with expressions of hatred, anger, bitterness, and COMPLAINT. Yes, they are filled, too, with exquisite expressions of love, praise, and gratefulness, but...one has to acknowledge that the Psalms are filled to almost overflowing with the intensely messy feelings of the human condition. I urge you to go to the Psalms and to use them to help you give voice to the many feelings you experience inside you. The benefits will be immeasurable.
I wonder, sometimes, if the reason many of us complain so often is, in large part, due to our inability to let surface what we're really feeling inside. Keeping stuff buried is not congruent with the way we were fashioned. We were made to feel and to express what we're feeling. What I'm suggesting in all of this is that as we begin to take our feelings to God and as we begin to express deliberately our gratitude to those around us, perhaps we will find less and less of a need to walk around complaining to ourselves and to each other about what's bothering us in each moment..."It's too hot in here...I can't see the speaker because the person in front of me has such a big head (I wonder if it has it's own weather system?)...Can't that guy see how his texting during the movie is disturbing everyone—ESPECIALLY me?...This lousy class...This lousy job...These lousy people...This lousy house...This lousy country…This lousy life..."
Make the choice, my friends, to express gratitude in everything. This will take some practice. (Believe me, I know this from personal experience!) THAT is why I am suggesting that, while you endeavor to practice these things for an entire month, you focus on one moment at a time. If you slip up (and you will--we ALL will), no worries. Just start back up right where you are, because "right where you are" is always a great place to start. Make the choice, too, to tell God how you're feeling as you’re feeling whatever it is you’re feeling. And make the choice to stop complaining to yourself and to others. Do this deliberately, train yourself to be different, and you will. Do these three things during the month of February, and I guarantee you that your life will NEVER be the same. If not, come talk to me about it, and, together, we’ll thank God for friends who will love and listen to us even when we can’t help but voice our complaints.
Most gratefully,
Dave
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
"What is Prayer?"
I do not yet have a firm grasp on what prayer actually is. Perhaps my limited understanding results from the fact that prayer is, as Richard Foster wrote in Prayer, "always initiated by God." God is the Beginning and the End of all things…including my interaction with Him. All contact with God finds its origin in God Himself; our communion with Him derives from our responses to Him—to something He’s done, to Who He is, or to what we believe we need from Him or want Him to do for us or someone we love. God created us so that He could enjoy relating to us. Even though I do not believe God tries to force us to come to Him, I do believe He’s placed in all of us a hunger to know where we came from and where we’re going. All of us, to a greater or lesser degree, thirst for meaning and purpose in life. We want to be wanted and want to be a part of something bigger than just our own circles of life.
Prayer is, I have experienced, one of the ways God quickens our souls to that for which we hunger, thirst, and long. It is also a medium through which He reveals Himself as not only the supplier of that which meets our needs, but also the cause of those very needs. But what of God’s needs? Does He have any? I do not know. Throughout the scriptures, God uses the image of a banquet to describe the kind of relationship He wishes to have with us. I’ve always wondered why God wishes to be with us so much. Could it be that He hungers for (or, dare I say, "needs?") relationship with us just as much as we do with Him? Again, I do not know. In my mind's eye I can imagine God sitting at the table and enjoying the food, the conversation, and the time just as much as we do.
The “spiritual life” has to do with how God relates to us and how we in turn relate to God. Intimacy takes time and involves great risk from both sides of the equation—God’s and ours. Does God risk rejection with us? It is possible. All my life, I have been taught that God is all knowing. I have been taught also that God is relational. How does one reconcile the “all knowing” part of God with the uncertainties and emotional ups and downs characteristic of relationship-building? If God always knows exactly what’s going to happen, how does such a venue differ from the one where I sit in front of the TV and just watch the same episode of Seinfeld over and over and over again? I picture God looking at us and wondering actually if today will be the day we say our first word, or take our first step, or do any one of a billion other things. I think God delights in just waiting to see what happens next.
Prayer is, I believe, the prime medium through which we relate to God and through which He relates to us. Prayer, while it is a means to an end--THE end being finding and discovering God--is, as Thomas Merton wrote in Contemplative Prayer, an end unto itself as well. More than just finding God, it is, in many ways, a resting in He Whom we have found (or He Who has found us!). It is in this searching and being searched, finding and being found, pursuing and being pursued that our deepest needs and, I think, God’s needs (and I hope--and pray!--that I am not being blasphemous here) are met. For me, the whole theology of prayer is muddy at best. (And, me thinks, God gets a pretty big charge out of such a thing.) Could it be that God, out of the shear possibility of intimacy with us, has chosen to “lay aside” some of His attributes so that He might immerse Himself in the authentic risk of pursuing that which He wants, but does not yet have (and may never have)? He’s done it before. Perhaps He’s more comfortable with paradox, risk, and uncertainty than we are.
I am very interested in any thoughts you might have on this whole subject.
Prayer is, I have experienced, one of the ways God quickens our souls to that for which we hunger, thirst, and long. It is also a medium through which He reveals Himself as not only the supplier of that which meets our needs, but also the cause of those very needs. But what of God’s needs? Does He have any? I do not know. Throughout the scriptures, God uses the image of a banquet to describe the kind of relationship He wishes to have with us. I’ve always wondered why God wishes to be with us so much. Could it be that He hungers for (or, dare I say, "needs?") relationship with us just as much as we do with Him? Again, I do not know. In my mind's eye I can imagine God sitting at the table and enjoying the food, the conversation, and the time just as much as we do.
The “spiritual life” has to do with how God relates to us and how we in turn relate to God. Intimacy takes time and involves great risk from both sides of the equation—God’s and ours. Does God risk rejection with us? It is possible. All my life, I have been taught that God is all knowing. I have been taught also that God is relational. How does one reconcile the “all knowing” part of God with the uncertainties and emotional ups and downs characteristic of relationship-building? If God always knows exactly what’s going to happen, how does such a venue differ from the one where I sit in front of the TV and just watch the same episode of Seinfeld over and over and over again? I picture God looking at us and wondering actually if today will be the day we say our first word, or take our first step, or do any one of a billion other things. I think God delights in just waiting to see what happens next.
Prayer is, I believe, the prime medium through which we relate to God and through which He relates to us. Prayer, while it is a means to an end--THE end being finding and discovering God--is, as Thomas Merton wrote in Contemplative Prayer, an end unto itself as well. More than just finding God, it is, in many ways, a resting in He Whom we have found (or He Who has found us!). It is in this searching and being searched, finding and being found, pursuing and being pursued that our deepest needs and, I think, God’s needs (and I hope--and pray!--that I am not being blasphemous here) are met. For me, the whole theology of prayer is muddy at best. (And, me thinks, God gets a pretty big charge out of such a thing.) Could it be that God, out of the shear possibility of intimacy with us, has chosen to “lay aside” some of His attributes so that He might immerse Himself in the authentic risk of pursuing that which He wants, but does not yet have (and may never have)? He’s done it before. Perhaps He’s more comfortable with paradox, risk, and uncertainty than we are.
I am very interested in any thoughts you might have on this whole subject.
Friday, January 28, 2011
"The Sacred Path of the Warrior"
A Warrior’s Child...
I am a warrior, created in the image of God, the only true Ultimate Fighter. It is my desire in life to follow the path He has laid out for me. It is not an easy path, but it is the best path, and, for me, it is the only path that allows me to be me—ME—in the fullest sense of the word. It is the path with heart, and it is the path on which I can discover and recover my own heart…my male heart…that which was entrusted to me at my birth. My heart is my birthright, and I must do everything within my power to strengthen and build it up so that it can be devoted fully, in its purest sense, to myself, to my loved-ones, to God, and to the mission God has given me to fulfill in life.
The Dare...
Life is dangerous. I can either face that danger head on, or I can hide my head in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. As far as my own personal safety is concerned, it really matters not which option I choose because, in the final analysis, both options will, more than likely, result in my sustaining injuries—sometimes, life-threatening injuries. Let me ask you a question: Which would you prefer? To stumble through life, hiding from and living in fear of any and every thing that could possibly harm you? Or, would you prefer instead to train yourself to be able to recognize your enemy, stare him down, and then throw the full force of your being into warring against him for the sake of yourself, your loved-ones, God, and your mission? Choose you this day, which path you will take. It is my prayer that you will choose the latter path…the warrior’s path…the path with heart. I cannot make the choice for you. You must choose it for yourself, just as every warrior has done so since the beginning of time. The dare I place before you today is the dare to make the choice to be a warrior every second of every day for the rest of your life. Do you have what it takes within you? Do you have what it takes to be an ultimate fighter, forged in the life-giving image of the Ultimate Fighter of all time? I believe you do. Dare to believe it, too. Dare to believe in yourself and in the God Who made you, this God Who moves you and is moved by you, this God Who loves you more than you could ever think or even imagine, and this God Who’s placed His own warring Spirit within you. Dare to allow the warrior within you to rise up and take his or her honored place at the forefront of your life.
Practice...
A warrior’s life consists principally of two things: (1) combat; and (2) the preparation for combat. Training is the warrior’s constant companion. Training flows into everything he does. A warrior practices everything. He practices how he eats, how he sleeps, how he walks, how he talks to others, how he does his homework, how he washes the dishes, how he throws a left jab at an opponent’s jaw, how he thrusts a spinning back kick into an opponent’s stomach, and how he executes a hip-roll to slam an opponent into the ground. There is an old saying, which has become a personal slogan in my life, and here it is: “The more thou sweatest in training, the less thou bleedest in battle.” Train, my friends, and practice—practice everything…practice all the time…even when your distracted, discouraged, tired, or just don’t feel like it. The warrior’s life is a training ground. It can become your training ground as well…your training ground for discovering, recovering, developing, strengthening, protecting, and, ultimately, giving away your heart. As a warrior, you must commit to training as a way of life. Life is the real deal. Live it. Work at it. Practice it. And let life express itself through you in whatever forms it might take.
To Fight or Not to Fight: Listening to Your Fear...
Contrary to popular belief, a warrior is not fearless. In fact, a warrior is afraid every time he confronts danger. A warrior is, though, courageous. Even though he feels and listens to his fear, he pushes through it, draws upon his training (his life of continuous practice), and confronts whatever it might be that is posing a threat to him or to those he loves. Pushing beyond his fear, he courageously moves into action and enthusiastically crosses the threshold of safety into the lion’s den. Listen to your fear. It can teach you a great deal about yourself and about the threatening nature of a particular situation. Listen to what’s going on inside you. This will help you decide when to fight and when not to.
To Fight or Not to Fight: Remembering that Which Matters Most...
What matters most to you in your life? Take some time to think deeply about this question. Your answers will help you decide when to fight and when not to.
To Fight or Not to Fight: A Little Guidance...
Everyone needs guidance. Everyone needs a coach. Mohammad Ali had a coach. Bruce Lee had many coaches. I have (and have had) many coaches. Jesus had many coaches.
Here’s a little guidance from me (a coach of sorts) that may help you in deciding when it’s right for you to fight and, perhaps, when it’s not. Fighting is not about having your way physically with another person (or with a group of people) so that you can obtain something you want but don’t have. That’s not fighting; that’s just being a moral, spiritual, or physical bully, a thief, a murderer, or a rapist. Fighting is about protecting that which you hold most dear: (1) your physical safety; (2) your ability and freedom to be and express who you are genuinely (e.g., your dignity as a person); (3) the physical safety and dignity of those you love; and (4) the physical safety and dignity of those around you (whether you know them or not). If any of the above are threatened, you have every right (and, in many instances, the obligation) to stand up and fight. Part of your purpose in life may well be to do just that.
As I wrote above, everyone needs a little guidance. Some need it more than others. Warriors, especially warriors-in-training (like myself), often need the most guidance. The reason being is that sometimes the very lives of those within the sphere of a warrior’s influence and protection may depend upon that warrior’s success. If he wins, they live; if he loses, they die. History is replete with many such examples of this relationship. If you want to be able to come through when it’s asked—or, at times, demanded—of or from you, you’re going to need to train, and you’re going to need to avail yourself of and submit to the best training available to you. Who in your life is giving you guidance? Are you guidable? There’s an old saying, “When the student is ready, the master will appear.” Who’s your master? Mine is Jesus Christ. Is He yours? As a warrior-in-training, I also avail myself of many of God’s under-masters…those who’ve gone on before me and pointed out the way…those who are a little older than I and who’ve been around the block a few times…those who can help me grow in skill to a much greater degree than I ever could if I were left only to my own devices. Jesus still has disciples. Are you one of them? Are you a disciple of anyone? Humble yourself, and submit to the leadership and guidance of another. Devote your life to soaking up as much as you can from those around you. May everyone—and everything—be your teacher.
Jesus, the Bearded Woman...
Jesus was not mild-mannered during His life on earth. He still isn't. While He may be a perfect gentleman, He is also the most dangerous being anyone or anything could ever encounter. Jesus was and is God-incarnate…God-with-Us. He is the Ultimate Fighter, and He loves the wild and dangerous places in life. As the scriptures indicate, through Christ all things were made and brought into being: snowflakes, hurricanes, kittens, cobras, grass hoppers, deadly spiders, aloe, poison ivy, you, and me. The scriptures also indicate that in Him we live and move and have our very being. This Jesus, the absolute and undisputed Ultimate Fighter of all time, lives inside you and animates every aspect of your being as a person. Jesus was and is drawn to the dangerous. In His life on earth, He picked fights with community leaders, He overturned furniture, and (at least once) He used a whip—that He, Himself, fashioned—to drive a crowd and their animals from the temple in Jerusalem. This same Jesus, the very one who did all these things, lives inside you. In my opinion, I think Jesus was a lot more like Indiana Jones than most of us were taught in Sunday School. I don’t want to be overly dramatic here, but I also don’t want to mince my words. Jesus was and is a warrior. He understands the necessities of war and combat. But, like any true warrior, His strength was, when He lived on earth, under the complete and total influence of the Holy Spirit. His strength was channeled, much like high-pressure water in a fire hose. Be like Jesus. Be like the water in a fire hose…powerful, channeled, and devastating to that which seeks to steal, kill, or destroy. Jesus, the bearded woman? Not in my mind, but you need to decide that for yourself.
Doing Unto Others; Turning the Other Cheek...
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6: 27-31 (NIV)
The above passage is, in my mind, the definitive standard for the kind of person a warrior trains to be. To love one’s enemies, to give freely, to do unto others, to turn the other cheek…these are the attributes and endowments of the trained warrior. And they are qualities that can only be discovered, recovered, and strengthened along the warrior’s path. They are the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work in the regenerated and regenerating heart of the warrior.
I want to be perfectly clear on something that many, I feel—including myself, have misunderstood about the whole concept of turning one’s cheek. First of all, one cannot turn one’s cheek until one has first developed one. By the development of one’s cheek, I mean the recognition and development of one’s own personal dignity, freedom, humanity, and mission as a child and servant of God. Secondly, in the passage above, I believe that the “strike (or slap),” to which Jesus refers, speaks more to that of an insulting gesture than to that of a physical assault. As warriors, we train so that the physical—and often “threatening”—gestures of others more and more take on the appearance of insults rather than that of physical assaults. This is part of the purpose of our training. Because it’s so grueling, the threats of others no longer seem like much of anything at all. There’s an old saying (and, again, a personal slogan of mine), “If, in your training, you’re not pushing yourself to the point of risking death, you’re probably just going through the motions.” Train so that your confrontations with the real deals in life become easier than slogging through another day of your own personal training regimen.
I’d like to propose an analogy to illustrate a little of what I’m trying to drive at here. If someone had a small stone in his hand and was taunting you with it and you had nothing at your disposal to help you defend yourself, would you consider that to be a fairly threatening situation? I would. Okay…What if you, too, had a stone in your hand? Would the situation seem a little less threatening? Perhaps. How’bout if you also had with you a wrist-rocket sling shot that you knew how to use well? If such were the case, I would imagine that the situation would no longer feel nearly as threatening as the original scenario I painted above. That is what I mean when I say that a warrior trains to keep threats to a minimum. His training as a warrior enables him to deescalate threatening situations. To a warrior, that which was threatening yesterday no longer seems as threatening today. That’s the path we’re on. It’s the path that leads ultimately to the ability to love one’s enemy and to truly turn one’s cheek in the face of persecution for your faith. It also allows the command, “Do unto others as they would have you do unto them,” to, at times, morph into a more personal slogan, such as, “You may do unto me that which causes you no harm.” Think about those words for a moment. “You may do unto me that which causes you no harm.” It has been a long time since I, personally, have been in a true physical fight with an attacker. But, had I not trained as a warrior all these years, it is quite possible that I would not be breathing right now or writing these words. The above slogan is now a part of my own consciousness as a warrior; I meditate on it many times throughout the day. One way I can interpret this slogan down to a real world scenario is as follows: Let’s say that I’m in downtown Durham, NC, it’s late at night, and a man I do not know approaches me on a sidewalk. As the man approaches, I think to myself and project (to the man coming toward me) the following thoughts/feelings: “Greetings, my friend. I wish you well in life. Please feel free to pass by unhindered, but do not engage me aggressively. For, if you do, I will be compelled to defend myself. And, while I may be harmed in the exchange, I have no doubt that such a situation will, at best, land you in the hospital. If you try to harm me, you will, no doubt, be harmed yourself.” In the above, I am referring to physical injury, but I don’t think it should stop there. When someone hurts you or me intentionally, the dignity of such a one dies piece by piece. I do not wish such a thing on anyone. But...there may be a time in your life as a follower of Christ when you will be brought to your knees because of your life and faith in Christ. It will be in those moments—those life-defining moments—that we will need to look to (and upon) Jesus, the undisputed Ultimate Fighter of all time, and identify with His own obedient act of allowing His Life to be taken from Him. The Spirit of Jesus in you will guide you in those moments...if you will only choose to submit to Him.
I’m With You...
I believe in you, my friend. You have what it takes. Choose today, and walk the path with me. Stand with me, will you? Be who you are, and be the warrior that resides within you. You have been raised for such a time as this. God bless you. Your friend, Dave.
Note: In addition to the insights of Holy Scripture and many of my martial arts mentors for the last thirty years, I am particularly indebted to the writings of John Eldridge and Richard Marcinko in shaping some of my thinking in this post.
I am a warrior, created in the image of God, the only true Ultimate Fighter. It is my desire in life to follow the path He has laid out for me. It is not an easy path, but it is the best path, and, for me, it is the only path that allows me to be me—ME—in the fullest sense of the word. It is the path with heart, and it is the path on which I can discover and recover my own heart…my male heart…that which was entrusted to me at my birth. My heart is my birthright, and I must do everything within my power to strengthen and build it up so that it can be devoted fully, in its purest sense, to myself, to my loved-ones, to God, and to the mission God has given me to fulfill in life.
The Dare...
Life is dangerous. I can either face that danger head on, or I can hide my head in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. As far as my own personal safety is concerned, it really matters not which option I choose because, in the final analysis, both options will, more than likely, result in my sustaining injuries—sometimes, life-threatening injuries. Let me ask you a question: Which would you prefer? To stumble through life, hiding from and living in fear of any and every thing that could possibly harm you? Or, would you prefer instead to train yourself to be able to recognize your enemy, stare him down, and then throw the full force of your being into warring against him for the sake of yourself, your loved-ones, God, and your mission? Choose you this day, which path you will take. It is my prayer that you will choose the latter path…the warrior’s path…the path with heart. I cannot make the choice for you. You must choose it for yourself, just as every warrior has done so since the beginning of time. The dare I place before you today is the dare to make the choice to be a warrior every second of every day for the rest of your life. Do you have what it takes within you? Do you have what it takes to be an ultimate fighter, forged in the life-giving image of the Ultimate Fighter of all time? I believe you do. Dare to believe it, too. Dare to believe in yourself and in the God Who made you, this God Who moves you and is moved by you, this God Who loves you more than you could ever think or even imagine, and this God Who’s placed His own warring Spirit within you. Dare to allow the warrior within you to rise up and take his or her honored place at the forefront of your life.
Practice...
A warrior’s life consists principally of two things: (1) combat; and (2) the preparation for combat. Training is the warrior’s constant companion. Training flows into everything he does. A warrior practices everything. He practices how he eats, how he sleeps, how he walks, how he talks to others, how he does his homework, how he washes the dishes, how he throws a left jab at an opponent’s jaw, how he thrusts a spinning back kick into an opponent’s stomach, and how he executes a hip-roll to slam an opponent into the ground. There is an old saying, which has become a personal slogan in my life, and here it is: “The more thou sweatest in training, the less thou bleedest in battle.” Train, my friends, and practice—practice everything…practice all the time…even when your distracted, discouraged, tired, or just don’t feel like it. The warrior’s life is a training ground. It can become your training ground as well…your training ground for discovering, recovering, developing, strengthening, protecting, and, ultimately, giving away your heart. As a warrior, you must commit to training as a way of life. Life is the real deal. Live it. Work at it. Practice it. And let life express itself through you in whatever forms it might take.
To Fight or Not to Fight: Listening to Your Fear...
Contrary to popular belief, a warrior is not fearless. In fact, a warrior is afraid every time he confronts danger. A warrior is, though, courageous. Even though he feels and listens to his fear, he pushes through it, draws upon his training (his life of continuous practice), and confronts whatever it might be that is posing a threat to him or to those he loves. Pushing beyond his fear, he courageously moves into action and enthusiastically crosses the threshold of safety into the lion’s den. Listen to your fear. It can teach you a great deal about yourself and about the threatening nature of a particular situation. Listen to what’s going on inside you. This will help you decide when to fight and when not to.
To Fight or Not to Fight: Remembering that Which Matters Most...
What matters most to you in your life? Take some time to think deeply about this question. Your answers will help you decide when to fight and when not to.
To Fight or Not to Fight: A Little Guidance...
Everyone needs guidance. Everyone needs a coach. Mohammad Ali had a coach. Bruce Lee had many coaches. I have (and have had) many coaches. Jesus had many coaches.
Here’s a little guidance from me (a coach of sorts) that may help you in deciding when it’s right for you to fight and, perhaps, when it’s not. Fighting is not about having your way physically with another person (or with a group of people) so that you can obtain something you want but don’t have. That’s not fighting; that’s just being a moral, spiritual, or physical bully, a thief, a murderer, or a rapist. Fighting is about protecting that which you hold most dear: (1) your physical safety; (2) your ability and freedom to be and express who you are genuinely (e.g., your dignity as a person); (3) the physical safety and dignity of those you love; and (4) the physical safety and dignity of those around you (whether you know them or not). If any of the above are threatened, you have every right (and, in many instances, the obligation) to stand up and fight. Part of your purpose in life may well be to do just that.
As I wrote above, everyone needs a little guidance. Some need it more than others. Warriors, especially warriors-in-training (like myself), often need the most guidance. The reason being is that sometimes the very lives of those within the sphere of a warrior’s influence and protection may depend upon that warrior’s success. If he wins, they live; if he loses, they die. History is replete with many such examples of this relationship. If you want to be able to come through when it’s asked—or, at times, demanded—of or from you, you’re going to need to train, and you’re going to need to avail yourself of and submit to the best training available to you. Who in your life is giving you guidance? Are you guidable? There’s an old saying, “When the student is ready, the master will appear.” Who’s your master? Mine is Jesus Christ. Is He yours? As a warrior-in-training, I also avail myself of many of God’s under-masters…those who’ve gone on before me and pointed out the way…those who are a little older than I and who’ve been around the block a few times…those who can help me grow in skill to a much greater degree than I ever could if I were left only to my own devices. Jesus still has disciples. Are you one of them? Are you a disciple of anyone? Humble yourself, and submit to the leadership and guidance of another. Devote your life to soaking up as much as you can from those around you. May everyone—and everything—be your teacher.
Jesus, the Bearded Woman...
Jesus was not mild-mannered during His life on earth. He still isn't. While He may be a perfect gentleman, He is also the most dangerous being anyone or anything could ever encounter. Jesus was and is God-incarnate…God-with-Us. He is the Ultimate Fighter, and He loves the wild and dangerous places in life. As the scriptures indicate, through Christ all things were made and brought into being: snowflakes, hurricanes, kittens, cobras, grass hoppers, deadly spiders, aloe, poison ivy, you, and me. The scriptures also indicate that in Him we live and move and have our very being. This Jesus, the absolute and undisputed Ultimate Fighter of all time, lives inside you and animates every aspect of your being as a person. Jesus was and is drawn to the dangerous. In His life on earth, He picked fights with community leaders, He overturned furniture, and (at least once) He used a whip—that He, Himself, fashioned—to drive a crowd and their animals from the temple in Jerusalem. This same Jesus, the very one who did all these things, lives inside you. In my opinion, I think Jesus was a lot more like Indiana Jones than most of us were taught in Sunday School. I don’t want to be overly dramatic here, but I also don’t want to mince my words. Jesus was and is a warrior. He understands the necessities of war and combat. But, like any true warrior, His strength was, when He lived on earth, under the complete and total influence of the Holy Spirit. His strength was channeled, much like high-pressure water in a fire hose. Be like Jesus. Be like the water in a fire hose…powerful, channeled, and devastating to that which seeks to steal, kill, or destroy. Jesus, the bearded woman? Not in my mind, but you need to decide that for yourself.
Doing Unto Others; Turning the Other Cheek...
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6: 27-31 (NIV)
The above passage is, in my mind, the definitive standard for the kind of person a warrior trains to be. To love one’s enemies, to give freely, to do unto others, to turn the other cheek…these are the attributes and endowments of the trained warrior. And they are qualities that can only be discovered, recovered, and strengthened along the warrior’s path. They are the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work in the regenerated and regenerating heart of the warrior.
I want to be perfectly clear on something that many, I feel—including myself, have misunderstood about the whole concept of turning one’s cheek. First of all, one cannot turn one’s cheek until one has first developed one. By the development of one’s cheek, I mean the recognition and development of one’s own personal dignity, freedom, humanity, and mission as a child and servant of God. Secondly, in the passage above, I believe that the “strike (or slap),” to which Jesus refers, speaks more to that of an insulting gesture than to that of a physical assault. As warriors, we train so that the physical—and often “threatening”—gestures of others more and more take on the appearance of insults rather than that of physical assaults. This is part of the purpose of our training. Because it’s so grueling, the threats of others no longer seem like much of anything at all. There’s an old saying (and, again, a personal slogan of mine), “If, in your training, you’re not pushing yourself to the point of risking death, you’re probably just going through the motions.” Train so that your confrontations with the real deals in life become easier than slogging through another day of your own personal training regimen.
I’d like to propose an analogy to illustrate a little of what I’m trying to drive at here. If someone had a small stone in his hand and was taunting you with it and you had nothing at your disposal to help you defend yourself, would you consider that to be a fairly threatening situation? I would. Okay…What if you, too, had a stone in your hand? Would the situation seem a little less threatening? Perhaps. How’bout if you also had with you a wrist-rocket sling shot that you knew how to use well? If such were the case, I would imagine that the situation would no longer feel nearly as threatening as the original scenario I painted above. That is what I mean when I say that a warrior trains to keep threats to a minimum. His training as a warrior enables him to deescalate threatening situations. To a warrior, that which was threatening yesterday no longer seems as threatening today. That’s the path we’re on. It’s the path that leads ultimately to the ability to love one’s enemy and to truly turn one’s cheek in the face of persecution for your faith. It also allows the command, “Do unto others as they would have you do unto them,” to, at times, morph into a more personal slogan, such as, “You may do unto me that which causes you no harm.” Think about those words for a moment. “You may do unto me that which causes you no harm.” It has been a long time since I, personally, have been in a true physical fight with an attacker. But, had I not trained as a warrior all these years, it is quite possible that I would not be breathing right now or writing these words. The above slogan is now a part of my own consciousness as a warrior; I meditate on it many times throughout the day. One way I can interpret this slogan down to a real world scenario is as follows: Let’s say that I’m in downtown Durham, NC, it’s late at night, and a man I do not know approaches me on a sidewalk. As the man approaches, I think to myself and project (to the man coming toward me) the following thoughts/feelings: “Greetings, my friend. I wish you well in life. Please feel free to pass by unhindered, but do not engage me aggressively. For, if you do, I will be compelled to defend myself. And, while I may be harmed in the exchange, I have no doubt that such a situation will, at best, land you in the hospital. If you try to harm me, you will, no doubt, be harmed yourself.” In the above, I am referring to physical injury, but I don’t think it should stop there. When someone hurts you or me intentionally, the dignity of such a one dies piece by piece. I do not wish such a thing on anyone. But...there may be a time in your life as a follower of Christ when you will be brought to your knees because of your life and faith in Christ. It will be in those moments—those life-defining moments—that we will need to look to (and upon) Jesus, the undisputed Ultimate Fighter of all time, and identify with His own obedient act of allowing His Life to be taken from Him. The Spirit of Jesus in you will guide you in those moments...if you will only choose to submit to Him.
I’m With You...
I believe in you, my friend. You have what it takes. Choose today, and walk the path with me. Stand with me, will you? Be who you are, and be the warrior that resides within you. You have been raised for such a time as this. God bless you. Your friend, Dave.
Note: In addition to the insights of Holy Scripture and many of my martial arts mentors for the last thirty years, I am particularly indebted to the writings of John Eldridge and Richard Marcinko in shaping some of my thinking in this post.
"Death: The Gift of a Life Well-Lived!"
Recently, I, as well as several of my friends, have experienced the death of either a family member or a friend, and it has got me to thinking about death and dying and my own death. As I think upon these things, I am reminded of a concept Henri Nouwen touched on in Life of the Beloved, wherein he wrote of how our death can be a gift to those around us—but only if we've lived well.
Those who live well, leave something of themselves with us. It is a part of the legacy of their lives. And, when they die, we remember those parts, savor them, and even make them a part of who we are. In their having lived well, we experience very little confusion about their lives when they die. We miss them (of course!), and we feel great pain and loss, BUT...we feel it all within the context of a great "knowing:" THE KNOWING that we really knew them, THE KNOWING that they knew us, and THE KNOWING that we know of The Place to where they have gone. And just as they leave a little of themselves with us, they take a little of us with them. In this really cool exchange, a part of them still remains here with us, while a part of us goes on with them, creating a bridge between us and them, here and there, now and then. Our continued (and eternal!) experience of them and their continued experience of us becomes a magnet that pulls us ever onward toward a grand reunion that awaits only our final arrival someday there in that place.
In all of this, death can become a friend and joy of sorts: A friend or family member has finished their race, and now they’re waiting for us to eventually cross our finish line as well. Truly, God finds pleasure in the deaths of His saints. May we begin to do so, too, while we live well as the Spirit empowers. Peace…
Those who live well, leave something of themselves with us. It is a part of the legacy of their lives. And, when they die, we remember those parts, savor them, and even make them a part of who we are. In their having lived well, we experience very little confusion about their lives when they die. We miss them (of course!), and we feel great pain and loss, BUT...we feel it all within the context of a great "knowing:" THE KNOWING that we really knew them, THE KNOWING that they knew us, and THE KNOWING that we know of The Place to where they have gone. And just as they leave a little of themselves with us, they take a little of us with them. In this really cool exchange, a part of them still remains here with us, while a part of us goes on with them, creating a bridge between us and them, here and there, now and then. Our continued (and eternal!) experience of them and their continued experience of us becomes a magnet that pulls us ever onward toward a grand reunion that awaits only our final arrival someday there in that place.
In all of this, death can become a friend and joy of sorts: A friend or family member has finished their race, and now they’re waiting for us to eventually cross our finish line as well. Truly, God finds pleasure in the deaths of His saints. May we begin to do so, too, while we live well as the Spirit empowers. Peace…
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
"Engineering and Leonardo da Vinci"
“Leonardo [da Vinci] took an artist’s vision into science. He understood that science, as much as painting, has to find the design of nature in her detail. He gave science what is most needed: the artist's sense that the detail of nature is significant.” – Jacob Bronowski
“Problems cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them.” – Albert Einstein
“[We are] struggling to draw right conclusions from observation of matter in motion, because we haven’t acquired the ability to translate dynamic effect back to cause.” – Jeff Tennant
“The pursuit of beauty and the pursuit of truth are not incompatible.” – George Sarton
It has been said that an engineer is one who seeks to solve a problem by tinkering with science to produce a functionally efficient solution, be it the harnessing of geothermal energy from thousands of feet below the earth’s surface to the placing of a human being on the moon. As engineers, we must first and foremost do well to observe the many natural phenomena and corresponding scientific explanations that inform our technical expertise. But as human beings, our observations should never end there. A sunset can be described mathematically, but does such a description capture the essence of a sunset?
To observe rightly, we must draw from both the scientist and the artist within us…from the mathematician and the poet, from the pragmatist and the visionary. For only then will our faculties and senses work together synergistically to observe the world around us more completely. Without such observations, we will never see the problems we encounter correctly or in the right context, nor will we conceive of real and lasting solutions that harmonize naturally with our environment.
The practice of engineering is and must be a conscious blending of both art and science (the da Vincian principle of “Arte/Scienza” [see Note]); and its principles must be exercised in the context of an entire system, where all elements are part of One Unified Whole, including the principles and practices themselves (the da Vincian principle of “Connessione” [also see Note]). Anything less is beneath us as human beings created in the image of a creating God.
Note: For an expanded discussion of these and other da Vincian principles, I recommend Michael Gelb’s book, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day.
“Problems cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them.” – Albert Einstein
“[We are] struggling to draw right conclusions from observation of matter in motion, because we haven’t acquired the ability to translate dynamic effect back to cause.” – Jeff Tennant
“The pursuit of beauty and the pursuit of truth are not incompatible.” – George Sarton
It has been said that an engineer is one who seeks to solve a problem by tinkering with science to produce a functionally efficient solution, be it the harnessing of geothermal energy from thousands of feet below the earth’s surface to the placing of a human being on the moon. As engineers, we must first and foremost do well to observe the many natural phenomena and corresponding scientific explanations that inform our technical expertise. But as human beings, our observations should never end there. A sunset can be described mathematically, but does such a description capture the essence of a sunset?
To observe rightly, we must draw from both the scientist and the artist within us…from the mathematician and the poet, from the pragmatist and the visionary. For only then will our faculties and senses work together synergistically to observe the world around us more completely. Without such observations, we will never see the problems we encounter correctly or in the right context, nor will we conceive of real and lasting solutions that harmonize naturally with our environment.
The practice of engineering is and must be a conscious blending of both art and science (the da Vincian principle of “Arte/Scienza” [see Note]); and its principles must be exercised in the context of an entire system, where all elements are part of One Unified Whole, including the principles and practices themselves (the da Vincian principle of “Connessione” [also see Note]). Anything less is beneath us as human beings created in the image of a creating God.
Note: For an expanded discussion of these and other da Vincian principles, I recommend Michael Gelb’s book, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day.
"The Wisdom of No Escape: The Practice of Staying on the Spot"
Today, my heart is aching just a bit, and I thought that, in an effort to stay with my feelings, I might take a moment or two to jot a few things down. Writing has always been so meditatively therapeutic for me. For some reason, the practice of expressing my innermost thoughts on paper seems to help me stay with what’s going on inside. And this “staying,” always seems to help me feel better.
Nothing in this life is wasted. Nothing. All of it is used. Without exception. While the complete utility of suffering is something that largely transcends my understanding, I have come, in recent years, to view suffering as something to be befriended rather than shunned. Life is our greatest teacher. If I didn’t learn what I needed to learn previously, life will provide additional opportunities. Suffering is, I think, crucial to the awakening process that needs to occur in all our lives. In the book of James, James wrote that when trials and tribulations come, welcome them as friends. Befriending suffering? That’s a pretty radical thought. The interesting thing I’ve discovered, though, is that turning from discomfort always seems to increase the discomfort. Always. The exits we take in life are what life uses to discern where we are and what we need. Resisting suffering always results in more suffering. Non-resistance however, will, eventually, lead to a reduction in suffering. Turn toward the pain, lean in to the sharp things, let life nail you right where you are, and new dimensions to living will arise. This is the wisdom of no escape. I write of this from personal experience.
Life on earth is not fair. In many ways, it is one great big battle, and things more often than not do not turnout the way we might want. But the present moment is as it is, and, in the end, things will work out just the way they should. Life is good, and we are all a part of that goodness. Life is lonely, but we all share that loneliness together. Amazingly, I have discovered that embracing the unfairness in life, not resisting it, not even labeling it as “unfairness” can help us stay present, which, I think, is the true secret of happiness. Life is a battle, and we are all warriors to one extent or another. I call myself a warrior…a tender-hearted warrior…for the battles I fight are mostly on the inside…the battle for peace, the battle to deescalate my own aggression, the battle to be happy, the battle to live and be in the here and now. With all that is within me, I urge you to stay in the "here and now" and to fight the good fight. Be kind to yourself, engage your wisdom mind, rise above your thoughts, and make peace in and with the present moment by keeping an open heart and by not shutting down. “Peacemaking” begins within your own soul…with your own choice to receive peace, to BE happy. Being happy takes discipline. It is, perhaps, the greatest discipline one can ever hope to master. Become a master of your own happiness by BEING happy…all the time. Then, from that place, allow your happiness to bring peace to those around you. Be happy, my friends…all the time…without a reason in the world.
When Jesus hung on the cross, He participated in our sufferings and took upon Himself death itself. The good news is that it didn’t stop there. No, in exchange for death, He gave us life in return. I believe that He is the only One Who’s ever been able to do that fully and completely. As a human being who loves Jesus and wants to follow in His footsteps, I want Him to continue His ministry through me. I want to do some of the things He did. Rather than shunning those things that make me feel uncomfortable and hoarding that which feels pleasant, I want to take unto myself at least some of the pain and suffering in the world around me and give back the love of God. There’s a very interesting scripture passage that has fascinated me for many years now. It’s found in Isaiah and Jeremiah…
“So they will be called ‘oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD,’ that He may be glorified.”—Is 60:21; Jer 17:7, 8
When we breathe, we breathe in air (that which gives us life), and we breathe out carbon dioxide (that which brings us death). It is a biological representation of what each of us does emotionally and mentally…we want to take in good feelings, and we want to get rid of those things that are causing us pain. For most of my life, I’ve been captivated by the ways of nature. Right now, I’m thinking particularly about trees. Trees are pretty amazing. Among many of the functions they serve, very interestingly, they take in carbon dioxide (that which kills us) and exchange it with oxygen (that which gives us life). To be an “oak of righteousness,” I must, as a planting of the Lord, take unto myself that which takes life and give away that which gives life. I must do the opposite of what I naturally want to do.
There are many who suffer in this life. Let us join together and become a forest of oak trees, tender plantings of the Lord, breathe in the sufferings of those around us, and exchange it with the peace and love of God. May the breath of God flow through you, and may it give life wherever it goes—not just to your suffering brethren, but to all creatures who suffer in this world. As someone wrote a very long time ago, “I am a hole in a flute, through which the breath of Christ flows. Listen to the music.” The ears of my soul are open, and I can hear the music of the souls all around me as well as those who've gone on before. And it sounds pretty incredible. And--wouldn’t you know it?--I’m already beginning to feel a lot better. Stay with it my friends, go to the places that scare you, and don’t forget to breathe…
Note: In addition to the authors of Holy Scripture, I am indebted to the following authors, who have helped me in my thinking on some of these things: Pemma Chodron and Dan Millman.
Nothing in this life is wasted. Nothing. All of it is used. Without exception. While the complete utility of suffering is something that largely transcends my understanding, I have come, in recent years, to view suffering as something to be befriended rather than shunned. Life is our greatest teacher. If I didn’t learn what I needed to learn previously, life will provide additional opportunities. Suffering is, I think, crucial to the awakening process that needs to occur in all our lives. In the book of James, James wrote that when trials and tribulations come, welcome them as friends. Befriending suffering? That’s a pretty radical thought. The interesting thing I’ve discovered, though, is that turning from discomfort always seems to increase the discomfort. Always. The exits we take in life are what life uses to discern where we are and what we need. Resisting suffering always results in more suffering. Non-resistance however, will, eventually, lead to a reduction in suffering. Turn toward the pain, lean in to the sharp things, let life nail you right where you are, and new dimensions to living will arise. This is the wisdom of no escape. I write of this from personal experience.
Life on earth is not fair. In many ways, it is one great big battle, and things more often than not do not turnout the way we might want. But the present moment is as it is, and, in the end, things will work out just the way they should. Life is good, and we are all a part of that goodness. Life is lonely, but we all share that loneliness together. Amazingly, I have discovered that embracing the unfairness in life, not resisting it, not even labeling it as “unfairness” can help us stay present, which, I think, is the true secret of happiness. Life is a battle, and we are all warriors to one extent or another. I call myself a warrior…a tender-hearted warrior…for the battles I fight are mostly on the inside…the battle for peace, the battle to deescalate my own aggression, the battle to be happy, the battle to live and be in the here and now. With all that is within me, I urge you to stay in the "here and now" and to fight the good fight. Be kind to yourself, engage your wisdom mind, rise above your thoughts, and make peace in and with the present moment by keeping an open heart and by not shutting down. “Peacemaking” begins within your own soul…with your own choice to receive peace, to BE happy. Being happy takes discipline. It is, perhaps, the greatest discipline one can ever hope to master. Become a master of your own happiness by BEING happy…all the time. Then, from that place, allow your happiness to bring peace to those around you. Be happy, my friends…all the time…without a reason in the world.
When Jesus hung on the cross, He participated in our sufferings and took upon Himself death itself. The good news is that it didn’t stop there. No, in exchange for death, He gave us life in return. I believe that He is the only One Who’s ever been able to do that fully and completely. As a human being who loves Jesus and wants to follow in His footsteps, I want Him to continue His ministry through me. I want to do some of the things He did. Rather than shunning those things that make me feel uncomfortable and hoarding that which feels pleasant, I want to take unto myself at least some of the pain and suffering in the world around me and give back the love of God. There’s a very interesting scripture passage that has fascinated me for many years now. It’s found in Isaiah and Jeremiah…
“So they will be called ‘oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD,’ that He may be glorified.”—Is 60:21; Jer 17:7, 8
When we breathe, we breathe in air (that which gives us life), and we breathe out carbon dioxide (that which brings us death). It is a biological representation of what each of us does emotionally and mentally…we want to take in good feelings, and we want to get rid of those things that are causing us pain. For most of my life, I’ve been captivated by the ways of nature. Right now, I’m thinking particularly about trees. Trees are pretty amazing. Among many of the functions they serve, very interestingly, they take in carbon dioxide (that which kills us) and exchange it with oxygen (that which gives us life). To be an “oak of righteousness,” I must, as a planting of the Lord, take unto myself that which takes life and give away that which gives life. I must do the opposite of what I naturally want to do.
There are many who suffer in this life. Let us join together and become a forest of oak trees, tender plantings of the Lord, breathe in the sufferings of those around us, and exchange it with the peace and love of God. May the breath of God flow through you, and may it give life wherever it goes—not just to your suffering brethren, but to all creatures who suffer in this world. As someone wrote a very long time ago, “I am a hole in a flute, through which the breath of Christ flows. Listen to the music.” The ears of my soul are open, and I can hear the music of the souls all around me as well as those who've gone on before. And it sounds pretty incredible. And--wouldn’t you know it?--I’m already beginning to feel a lot better. Stay with it my friends, go to the places that scare you, and don’t forget to breathe…
Note: In addition to the authors of Holy Scripture, I am indebted to the following authors, who have helped me in my thinking on some of these things: Pemma Chodron and Dan Millman.
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