Another Irish Musing: Life Imitates...

Have you noticed that when we get away from our normal surroundings or out of our comfort zone:

• We pay attention a little more. 
• We notice things that are not familiar.
• We don't necessarily know what to say or do. 

It is as if our autopilot is turned off, and we are required to Respond rather than React.

This is one reason why I enjoy traveling outside my neighborhood and city -- I am challenged to think and feel!

What do you imitate?
(Photo:  Entrance to Pub-Gallery,
Belfast, Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

An Irish Pub -- of all places! -- helped me to come to terms with expressions of familiarity and differences.  This particular pub had an outdoor art gallery filled with provocative paintings:  that is, the art pieces provoked feelings of closeness and intimacy to what I knew and understood... AND... they invited a new way of seeing or understanding the world.

For instance, as we entered the outdoor patio, the four corners displayed the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Conquest or Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death).  Looking closer at the people on the horses were figures of Kim Jong Un (representing Pestilence), Ali Khamenei (War), Donald Trump (Famine), and Vladimir Putin (Death).

What are you hungry for?
(Photo:  Great Famine Stained Glass Window,
Belfast City Hall - Larry Gardepie)

Whether I agreed with or believed in the artist's message didn't matter: the art was an expression of another person's views that provoked me to think. 

The Belfast City Hall was another location filled with artwork and stained-glass windows.  One window in particular provided color to the Great Famines of the mid-1800s - part of the Irish history that lives on in their stories and ballads.

It was a reminder that our stories and histories intertwine as we live daily what is familiar... AND... move through Life's travels and broader realities. 

How do you add color to this world?
(Photo:  Stained Glass Windows, St. Patrick's Cathedral,
Dublin, Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

The openness to experience and understand another perspective may be part of Life's Goal: recognizing that our limited time and place can only be expanded by listening, dreaming, and accepting Other.

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

 

Another Irish Musing: Seeing Anew

Our Dublin local guide was excited about showing us this one window in a posh neighborhood of Ireland's capital city.  We were in for a surprise!

Apparently, a stuffed lion showed up in this €1,000,000 ($1.7 million USD) flat a few weeks back.  After all, how many people have a lion in the window?!

When do you expect to see the unusual?

(Photo: "How Much is that Doggy
in the Window?" - Larry Gardepie) 

What she didn't expect was the tiny dog in the window.  At first the dog also looked stuffed... a strange juxtaposition against the lion ... but, after a few minutes, the dog suddenly moved!

It made for a fun moment on our final full day in Ireland, the land of leprechauns, faeries, and "wee spirits":  what we expect to see is not always what we see!

How can you see something anew?

(Photo:  Blarney Castle through a Hole
in the Obelisk - Larry Gardepie)

This can be said of each moment of our day:

• We make plans... and then the plans need to change;
• We create To Do Lists... and nothing seems to get done;
• We focus our energy on helping others... and they hardly seem to notice.

Similar to the doggie in the window, the question becomes one of presence and paying attention.  The dog was so focused on people passing by that we misunderstood what we were seeing.  Once the dog moved, our understanding shifted.

Can you reach across what divides?

(Photo: "Hand from the Sea" sculpture, 
Waterford, Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

The "Hand from the Sea" sculpture at the confluence of the Johns and Suir Rivers in Waterford, Ireland, depicts a hand reaching out from the sea and another hand reaching from nature (or the sky).  One is intertwined with seaweed and fish; the other has branches and birds.

It shows that we can come from different parts of the world... intertwined with our familial or cultural importances... and still touch one another.

This is what is important... the newness... the unexpected... the reaching out and touching another being.  It's the meeting where We-They are joined In-The-Moment.

Are you ready to See Anew this week? 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

 

More Irish Musings: Life Among the Ruins

Several friends and their families have been journeying through health issues these past several months:  cancer treatments, hospital stays, rehabilitation... and, for a few, final days.  It's difficult to grapple with mortality, especially since so much of our lives have ignored this all-too-human reality.

We notice the decline in our abilities, and we wonder when we became mortal.  How can we support one another in these moments of vulnerability?

Where do you find support?

(Photo: Round Tower and Headstones,
Glendalogh Monastery, Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

As our tour group traveled south from Dublin to the Wicklow Mountains on our last day in Ireland, I was holding these friends in prayer.  It seemed a fitting reflection on this final day on this journey.  Our destination: Glendalough Monastery, established over one thousand years ago by St. Kevin.  He wanted to live apart as a hermit, but his holiness soon attracted men and women from the surrounding areas who wanted to live in community.

When we arrived, hundreds of people were already walking among the ruins of these monastic grounds.  But, even with all these fellow travelers, the place was peaceful, holy, and contemplative.

What do you seek?

(Photo:  Markers and Headstones,
Glendalough Cemetery - Larry Gardepie)

The grounds were a photographer's paradise!  So many beautiful angles and sights:  moving slowly, changing direction, Noticing Life among the Headstone-Reminders of Life Gone -- flowers, rolling hills, babbling streams, bees and butterflies...  Life among the Ruins!

In the monastery's Cathedral, one step to the left revealed colorful rays of light streaming into the ruins.

Can you step aside and see anew?

(Photo: Remains of Glendalough Cathedral - Larry Gardepie)

Maybe our support for friends and community is the ability to Step Aside... and allow Life to reenter what was considered An Ending.  Maybe in Dialogue, we are invited to set aside our Gift of Talking... and treasure our Ability to Listen.  Maybe in the Silence of Death we notice Messages of Hope.

Over 1,000 years after Glendalough was established as a Monastic City, people still travel there in search of life among the ruins.

Where can we see life and messages of hope this week?

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

 

More Irish Musings: Where is Our Loyalty?

Sitting in an airport waiting for our next flight, I began noticing the artwork around me.  A series of wavy colored beads caught my attention: it looked like an artist's version of the American flag (red, white, and blue).  How creative!  How patriotic!

Then I remembered I was in London Heathrow and the colors were both the colors of their national flag and those of British Airways... Oops!

(Did you know that more than twelve countries have flags with red, white, and blue as primary colors?  United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Netherlands, Australia...)

What catches your attention?
(Photo: Airport Artwork - Larry Gardepie)

What caught my attention and how I connected the information may not have been what the artist or the commissioning benefactor had in mind.  Instead, I took what I knew or understood and filtered or projected another meaning.  Does this happen to you as well?

These thoughts lingered throughout the next week as our tour group traveled throughout Northern Island, and we were introduced to art, landmarks, symbols, and messages of struggle and peace.

What stories do we tell along our journey?
(Photo: Downhill Trek to the Giants Causeway,
Northern Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

For example, visiting the Giants Causeway along the northern coastline between Belfast and Derry-Londonderry, we were introduced to an ancient myth of Irish and Scottish giants who created a causeway (rock bridge) between these two islands.  The giants wanted to prove who was bigger and stronger.  Their focus?  Individual loyalty - who was better.

Scientifically, we now have a different understanding about how these rock formations were created, but it was interesting to ponder how we all create stories... myths and legends... about what we don't know.  This includes what we don't know about other people!

Can our stories bend and change over time?
(Photo credit:  song by Jeffrey Buckley and Elizabeth Fraser)

Now that I am home and celebrating this American holiday weekend, I wonder:

• What stories have we created about patriotism and loyalty?
• How do we seek out and allow new information to change us?
• Can we test the accuracy of these myths and legends? 

As we journey with one another, let us consider an Augustinian way of thinking and living, where we are called:

• To be loyal to Truth (veritas), Unity (unitas), and Love (caritas).

And where:

• Truth provides a common foundation;
• Unity creates a common framework; and
• Love provides a motivation and compassion that allows everyone to flourish.

Happy Truth-Unity-Love Day! 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

 

More Irish Musings: Across the Divide

Is the name of the city "Derry" or "Londonderry"?  That is one of the questions we encountered when traveling in Northern Ireland!

It's a matter of who you are talking to:

• For the Irish Catholics, it is Derry (or Doire, a monastic settlement founded by St. Columba and dating back to the 6th century);
• For the Northern Irish Protestants, it is Londonderry (renamed in the 17th century when King James I settled Protestants into the northern counties).

To be respectful, our tour guide suggested, we should say "Derry-Londonderry" to any locals we meet.  (Derry-Londonderry is sometimes referred to as " The Hyphenated City.")

When are we separated from others?
(Photo: Peace Bridge (2011), Derry-Londonderry,
Northern Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

A fact of life in Derry-Londonderry: the Catholics live primarily on one side of the river and the Protestants live on the other.  Our local guide mentioned that he has many friends who stay only on their side of the river and have never met people from the other side.

In 2011, a new walking bridge was constructed to connect the two sides.  It's name -- the Peace Bridge.  The bridge has two towers which hold up the suspended walkway.  Depending on where you stand on the bridge or either shoreline, the towers look either separated or connected (crossing over).

This is meant to symbolize how close or far apart peace can be depending on where you stand -- and/or -- if you are willing to move.

Can we see when we are connected?
(Photo: Peace Bridge, Derry-Londonderry,
Northern Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

As you enter town, you cross over an older bridge and pass by the Hands Across the Divide artwork.  It portrays two men reaching out to each other -- not quite touching.  Erected in 1992, these statues symbolize reconciliation, healing, and the hope for peace.  (Note:  the Good Friday Agreement that allowed peace after centuries of struggle wasn't signed until April 1998.) 

Hands Across the Divide (1992) and the Peace Bridge (2011) remind us of the hope before -- and the continued process after -- a bridge -- or hyphen -- of respect, understanding, and peace is created. 

What keeps us divided?
(Photo: Hands Across the Divide (1992),
Derry-Londonderry - Larry Gardepie)

I wonder how many hyphens we encounter in life?  Just think of those little bridges that connect thoughts, ideas, and people's names; ways that we allow more than one belief to coexist; or how we try to respect another person.

This week let us look for hyphens or create bridges across the divides that separate and isolate us.

These hyphens and bridges may be more common than we think!  Let us work for Peace! 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

 

Our Dilemma

I looked up the definition of Dilemma this week:  "A situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives."  That makes sense, but then I wondered about our current situation:

• Where the country is equally divided;
• Each side excludes the other in discussions and decisions; and
• We don't listen to or engage in other perspectives.

America finds itself at a crossroads... and possibly, a dilemma... but how do we view the equally undesirable alternatives?

Are you being heard?
(Photo: "No Kings" Rally, San Diego - Larry Gardepie)

I experienced this Crossroads in two different ways this past week:

• I attended San Diego's "No Kings" March (attended by over 60,000 people).
• I posted a politician's speech on my Facebook page.

(I posted the speech not because I agreed with all of it, but the person presented an interesting perspective of what is happening nationally.)

What values do you believe in?
(Photo: Liberty and Justice for All - Larry Gardepie)

Why are these representative of the crossroads we are facing?

• For the march:  it was peaceful; people wanted to belong; opinions mattered.
• For the online post:  some responses were attacks; discussion shut down.

One online comment even recited the Pledge of Allegiance, emphasizing that the United States is a Republic (not a Democracy) and is "One Nation Under God" (Christian).  

Reviewing our almost 250-year history, it can be said that:

• We are a "Republic" AND we are a "Representative Democracy."
• We have freedom to express our religious views.
• "One Nation Under God" in the Pledge and "In God We Trust" on our money weren't officially adopted until the Eisenhower years (1954 and 1956). 

Can we include everyone?
(Photo:  Aerial View of No Kings March, San Diego - Larry Gardepie)

As our country changes and evolves, maybe we need to define Our Dilemma.  It seems that:

• We no longer relate to one another;
• We have lost the elasticity to consider more than two options; and,
• We focus on EITHER-OR thinking rather than BOTH-AND.

If this is true, then we might consider the following questions this week:

• Am I willing to engage in peaceful dialogue?
• Can I seek to understand other perspectives?
• How do I move beyond a "choice between equally undesirable alternatives" to choices of Possibility, Potential, and Opportunity?

These questions are BOTH individual... AND... collective.  Will I (and we) choose to reflect on and share our responses?

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

 

Irish Musings: Living with Barriers

Think of the physical barriers in your life: fences that define what you own or that protect your family; walls that keep people out; or possibly gender or skin color prohibiting you from being hired or promoted.

Traveling through Northern Ireland we encountered a variety of barriers that spoke to the divisions in that part of the world.

But what barriers do we live with... here and now?

Do you see through the barriers that separate?
(Photo: Fences and Faces, Belfast, Northern Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

It's important to notice and reflect on the barriers that we -- or others -- create... intentionally or not... for good reason or not! 

And no matter how much we decorate a fence or a wall, we must remember that it is still functioning as a barrier.  Its objective remains:  separating... dividing... obstructing... retaining.

How do you decorate your barriers?
(Photo: Fences and Flowers, Dublin, Ireland - Larry Gardepie)

This is why I was struck by the stained-glass windows in the Belfast City Hall: they told a story of tragedy (Titanic), heartache (famine), and hope (peace at last).  At the bottom of one colorful window was the following:

"Not as Catholics or Protestants,
 Not as Nationalists or Unionists,
 But as Belfast Workers Standing Together." 

Wow! The honesty to admit the divisions AND be aided by the reality and realization that we CAN live together! 

Can we stand together?  Do we want to?
(Photo: "Standing Together" Stained Glass Window,
Belfast City Hall - Larry Gardepie)

Coming back home, I reentered our American tragedy and heartache - the divisions that no longer allow us to see the individual faces; the labels that keep people out; the barriers that no longer protect... but destroy "the Other."

Our tragedy invites us to ask several questions:

• Are we happy being divided?
• Do we want to stand together, to live together?
• Where is the hope, the peace at last?

These -- and many other questions -- encourage us to overcome our Living Barriers and to become curious about the Other Side of the wall that separates.

We are called to dialogue!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

 

Irish Musings: Barriers Expressed

Travel opens my mind to other cultures and ways of living.  One place that has intrigued me since childhood is Ireland and Northern Ireland:  its history of struggle, violence, and self-determination.

For those of us of a certain age, we can recall "The Troubles" - a polite way of talking about a civil war on an island divided by national identity (Irish and British) and religion (Catholic and Protestant).

The story goes back centuries as various peoples conquered and forced the local inhabitants to follow their laws and beliefs.

Do you see your story in others?
(Photo:  Belfast Murals - Larry Gardepie)

As our tour group traveled around Belfast, the local specialist talked about the struggle for peace and understanding.  We visited areas of the city that have prospered since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.  We also saw murals and other expressions of homeland struggle, and how local lenses interpret their understanding of other struggles around the world.

The war in Gaza is near to their heart as many murals depict the decades-long struggle of the Palestinians for home rule, something the Irish and British citizens of Belfast can understand.

Where do you see hope around you?
(Photo:  Belfast Murals - Larry Gardepie)

Even with 27 years of peace, the "peace walls" that separate the Catholic and Protestant areas of town still exist.  Tourists are encouraged to write notes of peace and hope on these walls -- expressions of encouragement and solidarity with the locals.

Like the Berlin Wall that separated West and East Berlin in a divided Germany, the intent is eventually to tear down these walls.

What barriers separate you from others?
(Photo:  Belfast Peace Wall, dividing
Catholics and Protestants - Larry Gardepie)

Thinking about the tour guide's words, I wondered:

• Is not being at war the same as living in peace?
• What barriers exist in my relationships with family and friends?
• Do I conquer others with my thoughts, words, and actions -- expecting them to live according to my beliefs?

Ireland and Northern Ireland offer us so many lessons on life's struggles, the importance of dialogue, and how to live in peace.  Peace is a lifelong process!

Do we see the barriers we create?  Are we willing to tear them down?
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

 

 

Seeing Beyond

For those who have flown on an airplane, have you noticed the difference in what you can see... whether sitting in the aisle, middle, or window seats?  For example: what you see out the window depends on how close or far away you are from the window:  the closer you are, the more you see; the further away, the view is more restricted.

In a larger sense, our perspective in life also changes by the physical, mental, or emotional distances we are to what is happening.

What do you see from your position?
(Photo: View from the Middle Seat - Larry Gardepie)

Applying this illustration to an even wider context, think about what we are experiencing in the world around us.  There is so much we don't know because we might not have the position or perspective of those closer to the situation.

That is why we rely on friends and various media sources to keep us informed.  Our time- and space-limited beings are curious about what is happening beyond the filters that govern our daily lives.

What have you seen?  What do you know?  What is important?

Is there a difference between what is close up and beyond?
(Photo:  View from the Window Seat - Larry Gardepie)

Continuing with this same airplane-position analogy, as we hurtle through space and time, our views of the clouds and landscape below constantly change.  The same is happening in this fast-paced and interconnected world: each day brings new stories, facts, opinions, and analysis.

How do we keep up and stay informed?  What do we vet or make up?  Are our conclusions up-to-date and accurate?

How do we see ourselves?
(Photo credit:  Banksy Art - Facebook download)

Why is this important?  Whether we realize it or not, the awareness that our positions and perspectives can change -- and are changing -- is important.  It affects how we see ourselves and how we dialogue (or not) with others.

If we can change our position (physically, mentally or emotionally), doesn't this mean that the other person can change as well?

In other words, awareness opens us to See Beyond our current -- possibly limited -- assumptions or conclusions about others.

Questions to consider this week:

• What sources inform and create us?
• How are these sources influencing our image of the world?
  
• Are there Questions Unasked about another position or perspective?

And most importantly:  are we aware of areas where our positions or views may need to change?

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

Clouds Illusions

Recently, we had a "Joni-Mitchell-Clouds-Illusions-type" day -- recall her 1966 hit song, "Both Sides Now."   (Click on the link to listen to the song.) 

The clouds throughout the day were magnificent! 

"Rows and floes of angel hair,
Ice cream castles in the air,
And feather canyons everywhere,
::
But now they only block the sun."

It was one of those days when Creation's Beauty invited us to slow down, notice our surroundings, and reflect on life.

Are your Life Plans all lined up?
(Photo:  "Rows and floes of angel hair" - Larry Gardepie)

Like the clouds, the song speaks to the changes and temporariness of life:  we assume we know what is the next best thing for us... then the Winds of Life blow... and we are left wondering.

"It's clouds illusions I recall,
I really don't know clouds at all."

Is it an illusion to know what's best for ourselves and others?  How do we respond when we don't get what we want?

What happens when obstacles block your dreams?
(Photo:  "But now they only block the Sun" - Larry Gardepie)

The challenge, I believe, is to dream and hope and plan... balanced with a healthy acceptance of floating and adjusting. That is, the willingness to:

• Welcome and embrace the unexpected;
• Adapt and flow with new experiences; and,
• Consider and adjust when previously unseen Truths Emerge.

Maybe that's the purpose of life: to have our dreams AND to evolve our understanding of purpose, values, and connectedness.

What don't you know?
(Photo: "Ice cream castles in the air" - Larry Gardepie)

What is beautiful about Joni's prophetic song is her repetition of the words "Both Sides Now":

"I've looked at clouds from both sides now."
"I've looked at love from both sides now."
"I've looked at life from both sides now"

It's the humble acceptance that we might not know everything right now, we must stay in dialogue with others, and our illusions (assumptions?) might change.

Let's be open to looking at both sides now!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

Experiments with Beauty

Visiting my brother and sister-in law's house a few weeks ago, we all marveled at the roses that sparkled with newly-fallen raindrops.  The beauty and fresh scents triggered memories of Dad's roses and the gifts of flowers given on special occasions.

Each of us can describe individual awe-inspiring moments when Nature's beauty is revealed: newborn babies; a peaceful death; grand canyons; rainbows; baby chicks, puppies and kittens...  We are fortunate that so many moments exist!

Our daily lives and burdens stop for that one moment:  we are transformed by the Beauty Surrounding.

When was the last time you were transformed by Beauty?
(Photo: Red Rosebud with Raindrops - Larry Gardepie)

Then, we get on with life... the moment fades away... and we soon relegate that Transformative Moment to memories.

I wonder what would happen if...

• We sought out Beauty;
  
• We clung desperately to that Moment; and,
• We transfigured how we related to the World?

Do you think this Experiment could work?

Which rose is more beautiful?  Must we choose?
(Photo: Orange Rose with Raindrops - Larry Gardepie)

For example: what would happen if we transferred our wonder and awe to someone we loved or cared for?  As we approached them, could we let go of our Critical Mind and only see Beauty?

Or, another experiment:  can we see the Beauty and Worth of someone where there are disagreements or we experience some distance?

I don't know if this can be done or how to do it... but what would our world be like if we saw the Teardrops Sparking in the eyes of every family member, colleague, or estranged person in our life?

As the bud opens, what do we see?
(Photo: Rose with Raindrops - Larry Gardepie)

Our answers may be found in Creation:  the bud opening; the dewdrop being absorbed; new growth sprouting from rich soil.

Each reveals an action of surrender:

• The bud showcasing what is to come.
• The dewdrop nourishing.
• The soil hosting new life.

Would you like to experiment with me this week? 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting