Social Exercise

I rejoined the Ventura Vegan meet-up group and they are having a 5 year anniversary celebration this Saturday and I figured I'd sweeten the idea for Dana by saying that she can make vegan cupcakes to bring. I'll tell her she doesn't have to be vegan to go.

I prayed a lot about this and well, although I certainly don't presume to judge for anyone else, C.S. Lewis' words from that interview:

I cannot speak for the way God deals with others; I only know how he deals with me personally (http://good-report.com/5040/part-2-from-the-archives-c-s-lewis-the-final-interview-may-1963).

Basically, I feel guilty every time I eat meat and that's simply the way it is. I don't feel that Dana or you or anyone else, necessarily, is sinning by doing the same (unless you were eating duck liver pate or veal or one of those live fish dinners that the Chinese royalty loved or babies - some things, naturally and spiritually, are just flat out wrong). But, I guess I have what St. Paul called a "weak conscience" in 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 - so for me, if I feel like I'm sinning, I'm probably sinning.

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

I suspect there are a lot of things like this. I can, for instance, drink a glass of wine or a mug of beer without a qualm; yet, many people would feel strongly that they were sinning.

I do ask for your prayers - I know from past experience that it's very hard for me to keep away from eating meat - which I do feel is likely a sin for me. Otherwise, I doubt that I would feel guilty every time I bit into a steak.

I DID have a good time at the one gathering I attended and I talked to people. I know that it's SO easy for me to find excuses not to go to these things - I suppose socializing is a bit like exercise and I'm terribly out of practice. I am going to have to commit to going and if Dana gets to back and feed appreciative vegans yummy cupcakes - well, I think that will tempt her to not drag her feet too much. At any rate, I'd best stop using her as an excuse not to be social, I owe her an apology for doing that a bit too often.

Last Day of Lent

Of late, my migraines have gotten bad again. It is hard to be thankful for the pain aspect of this mixed blessing - especially when it's spring break for your daughter and you have a day full of planned outdoor activities in sunshine that's bright even through two pairs of sunglasses. But I am thankful. I got good reports during this morning's biometric screenings for work and the nurse thought it likely that I ate a very healthy diet. Perhaps some of us require a stick (and being hit in the head with it) rather than a carrot. Still and all, I'd really like to give the carrot approach a try.

Speaking of carrots - I remembered today that Maundy Thursday, not Holy Saturday, is the last day of Lent. Therefore, I have no more obligation after today to keep Lenten promises. I may still post here - or I may wait and make an Advent promise. I know for certain that my Food Journal - which resulted in no weight lost whatsoever - will bite the dust with my fervent thanks.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Of late, I have been searching for a spiritual community and I plan on visiting a new community this Sunday. Thinking and praying about that reminded me of the theme song to television sitcom Cheers:

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name. 

 

I don't think that this place for me will be a corner bar and I'm thankful for that. However, finding a place where you fit is very important. I enjoyed the sermons at the last place I visited; however, I had the uneasy feeling that should people there get to know me and should I get to know them, that it wouldn't be a good fit - I was far too different from the opinions displayed on bumper stickers and even the models of cars in the parking lot screamed that this was not a place where I fit in.

We are social animals and fitting into a community is an important element of our happiness. I've belonged before and hope I find a community in the mundane, physical world to match the virtual communities I have found.

My Favorite Inactivities

The question becomes, what happens if you hit the wall? Because we've all got experience with this. You're working on a creative problem, and then all of a sudden that feeling of progress disappears ... What you should do then — when you hit the wall — is get away from your desk. Step away from the office. Take a long walk. Daydream. Find some way to relax. Get those alpha waves. Alpha waves are a signal in the brain that's closely correlated with states of relaxation. And what scientists have found is that when people are relaxed, they're much more likely to have those big 'A ha!' moments, those moments of insight where these seemingly impossible problems get solved. So when you hit the wall, the best thing you can do is probably take a very long, warm shower. The answer will only arrive once you stop looking for it (http://www.npr.org/2012/03/19/148777350/how-creativity-works-its-all-in-your-imagination?ft=1&f=2&sc=17).

Yesterday, a friend posted a photo of her dog sleeping in the sun and she stated that sleeping in the sun was one of her dog's favorite activities. I replied that it was one of my favorite inactivities too. The thing is, I thought, that we are so focused on activities in our culture - even our relaxation time is carved into a series of activities and to do nothing is a waste of time. This is so much a part of our culture that while activities is a word - inactivities is not. I decided then and there that today's blog would be on our need to have favorite inactivities and to indulge in them.

Serendipity often has its way in my life and today I listened to the news story on creativity quoted above. It seems that creativity - productivity - all those accomplishing ivities are tied into having and indulging in inactivities. What do you like to do when you're doing nothing at all?

Building Trust

I was offered two on ground classes at the local university I wrote about in prior blogs. One class I had already turned down because i would be teaching in the valley when Dana got out of school. The other one would conflict with faculty meetings at the school where I work full time.

As always, turning down work unnerves me and a migraine is looming (it's bad news, I suppose, when dealing with a supervisor provokes migraines as predictably as too much cheap wine provokes a hangover). Still, it was HARD to write that email. I think perhaps that faith may be a gift but trust is like a muscle you strengthen through practice.

Play Date

Dana met her friend Sivonne and Sivonne's grandmother (who is visiting from Alameda) at the mall. Kathy (Sivonne's grandmother) is a divorcee with a good career and around my age. We were the same size and ended up shopping together and it was so much fun to hang out with a woman my age who had similar taste, interests, and experiences. I realize that we all - whatever our age - need play dates. Now I just have to figure out where and how I can meet divorced mothers in their fifties for mall dates. I may actually discover I enjoy shopping.