lazy

Lazy. It’s a seriously loaded word. it carries the worst connotations of sloth (one of the seven deadly sins) and indolence, with maybe a hint of malice. It’s usually applied in two ways: either I’m feeling lazy which is a gentle, indulgent excuse to sit still for another ten minutes, or she is so lazy, which means, “she’s wasting other people’s resources because she can’t be bothered to be a contributing member of society.”

On this, I have a fairly unpopular opinion. I think lazy is generally not what we really mean.

finally crying

I was finally able to cry today, not from reading one more CNN overhyped account of remote devastation somewhere that is not here, but from reading a blog post by a young couple who was visiting there and has survived. Being real sometimes requires simplicity, directness, personal experience. There are many, many aid organizations taking donations; money is the most helpful. Try Doctors Without Borders or the UU Service Committee. Give anything you can. But first, bear witness. Read the stories. Cry the tears. Know and be present in spirit with the people. We are one.

getting clear

There’s a lot of clearing out at New Year’s. There’s house cleaning, closet clearing, and Boxing Day, which was traditionally not the day when people beat each other up, but instead the day when one’s old things were boxed up to give to those who needed them. For those who like them, there are resolutions: to get thinner, exercise more, spend less.

And if we take these days of rest to listen closely, intently, to tune in, we start to hear that still, small voice speak up and we can almost take dictation on what to let go.

For me, it always starts with the food.