Resources from Platform - "Don't Worry, Be Happy!"

A member of WES asked today if I would share some of the resources I drew on for this morning's platform, called "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" and addressing the human experience of anxiety and the many different ways that religion tries to relieve us of anxiety.

So...sure! I looked at a lot of sources for this platform, because I wanted to offer a taste of many religious traditions' approaches. I drew from Matthew 6:28-34 in the New Testament, and from the Book of Job and Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible. Both of those traditions, it seemed to me, invited people to see themselves as part of the much larger universe, and to search for a sense of trust as well.

Then I looked at Buddhism and Taoism, drawing especially from the Tao Te Ching in a great translation by Stephen Mitchell. I found so much wisdom in the Tao Te Ching; two phrases that especially resonated were "The Master stays behind; that is why she is ahead. She is detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled.” and “Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.” These traditions call us to let go of the need for control and to try to experience ourselves as both separate from and somehow also one with the whole universe.

At the very end of platform I quoted from Roger Walsh, a psychologist who wrote a really practical (think workbook) guide to spirituality that can appeal to many different theological viewpoints.

So there you have it! Some of what I drew on for this morning's platform. But what I REALLY want to know is what you think about it. How do you deal with anxiety in your life? What practices, resources, and ideas do you have to share?

Who's In Your Family?

You know those family stickers people put on the back of their cars? You can get a little mother, little father, kid playing soccer, baby, even your dog and cat. I find them entertaining to look at while I'm stuck in traffic.

But they get me thinking about how we define family, who we put up there on the back of our car. My daughter, when talking about her family, sometimes includes her grandparents and her cousins, and always includes our cat Mara, who died two years ago. Those people would not all fit in our car, and it would be really bad if we toted around a deceased animal. But in some way that is clear to her, they are part of our family...and I guarantee that if we had family car stickers they'd need to be up there.

So what makes up a family? The people who drive in our vehicle? Our children, grown up and moved away? The friends who join us every year for Thanksgiving? How about single people--they may be the primary person in their car, but their sense of family surely includes folks who don't happen to drive around with them all the time. Who would you need to include in your family stickers?

Fear and Courage

I often say the best platforms are conversations--and this morning a member of WES shared a comment with me during coffee hour that I wanted to keep thinking about and share with you.

First, she had a great quote which basically sums up part of my platform. It's attributable to Susan Jeffers: "Feel the fear and do it anyway." Love it when seven words say what I took 15 minutes to get around to!

But more, I loved what this person said next. She thought--and I agree--that what we're talking about when we talk about being scared and doing it anyway is really courage. Courage is so often seen as getting past fear or being brave without fear, but I think it's much more about experiencing fear and standing up, moving forward, taking a challenge on anyway.

What do you think? What do fear and courage mean for you?

Waving in the Rear-view Mirror

Apparently I do most of my philosophical musings in the car, because here's another post about traffic.

Or perhaps it's not philosophical musings, it's really just moments of annoyance. Although I don't have a terrible commute, it does have the usual hassles of people cutting me off, or zipping over the one-way bridge when I'm clearly the next in line, or obliviously not pulling forward when there's a lot of space in front of them and it would make the traffic pattern so much better.

Ahem.

Why do these things drive me so crazy? They're hardly major transgressions, and I imagine the people doing them are just not aware, or late to pick up a child, or any other number of very reasonable excuses.

I think the trick is that I have to imagine, though...that I don't have a chance to ask the people driving, or really to have a relationship with them at all. We're so much more able to forgive transgressions--large and small--when we have a solid relationship with the person transgressing. And we're better able to understand the context and realize that perhaps it's not a transgression after all!

All of this is what makes me an avid rear-view mirror waver. I wave when I'm let in to a line of traffic, or when I accidentally cut someone off and I'm sorry, or really anytime when I feel a tiny bit of relationship building might be helpful. Want to join me in my waving campaign?