Our Wonderful and Crazy World

People seem to have formed a Love-Hate relationship with social media these days: a need for connection, community, and caring words when tragedy strikes -- versus -- unchecked verbal attacks, misunderstandings, and misinformation.  Some days I want to disconnect and retreat into my own world!

There are several Facebook sites that draw me back into common unity, though:  Danny Hale, an Hawaiian photographer who shares beautiful photos and peaceful videos of the islands; Banksy Arts Fans Forever, celebrating the artwork of "Banksy" - an English-based street artist and political activist; and Family Circus Comics, celebrating life through the eyes of the young and innocent.

Each offers a brief escape from this troubled world -- reminding me how beautiful, creative, and good we can be.

How are you tethered to Love?
(Photo credit:  Girl with Balloon - 2002, Banksy)

Banksy's artwork was originally viewed as graffiti.  But then, as people looked more deeply, his messages became iconic.  So iconic that people would pay thousands of dollars for one of his graphic works.  (If you haven't heard about his "Girl with Balloon" picture that was partially shredded after being sold at auction, click here.)

Messages matter: whether being approved or shredded by others.  Sharing who we are and who we want to become is part of our social DNA.

What do you teach others through your words and actions?
(Photo credit:  Teach Peace, Banksy)

For me, I am deciding how I might survive this craziness:

• What is my life's message: honesty, integrity, kindness, caring, support.
  
• Where is this message rooted: faith, love, community, inclusion, peace.
  
• How will I explore this message: dialogue and listening, challenging conversations, service to others, acceptance of differences.
  

Each of us must answer how much hatred, bigotry, racism, and misogyny we are willing to accept... so our Life Message becomes important.

When will you engage your message?
(Photo credit:  If Not Now, Then When?, Banksy)

Are we happy with the daily news stories?  If no, why?  If yes, why?  Let's talk about what we are seeing and experiencing!

 

Are we aware of good news in our communities?  If not, why not?  If yes, what is happening?  Let's re-balance our focus to share the Wonderful... and not just the Crazy!

 

Mahatma Gandhi's invitation is critical today:  "Be the change you want to see in the world" and its often-quoted variation "Be the good you want to see."

 

Our Crazy World needs the Wonderful-in-You!  Where shall we begin?

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

Fragile Bubble Ideas Bursting

Cartoonists will use a bubble with words to display the characters' thoughts.  In our western culture, we have been taught to read left-to-right and top-to-bottom, so we read the frames of the comics and the thought-bubbles in that order.

Knowing the Rules helps us understand the sequence of ideas that is conveyed by the artist.  But that doesn't always work in the Real World!  Everything isn't always in sequence and orderly.

Try to read a comic strip from right to left or beginning in the middle:  you won't understand the comic's intent!

To many people who don't know us or our mind-set ("rules"), our thoughts may seem like soap bubbles that are created and float away.

How fragile are your thoughts?
(Photo:  Bubble Man, Sydney, Australia - Larry Gardepie)

Like a wave crashing on the shoreline, thoughts make their mark and then recede, leaving afterthoughts that soon fade away... or not, depending on the force of impact and duration!

Ideas, thoughts, and assumptions are similar.  They are fragile and momentary... until they solidify into conclusions and ideologies forced onto others: misunderstandings and misconceptions that burst forth and mark that other person.

Are there ideologies crashing against your values?
(Photo: Crashing Surf, Kona, Hawaii - Larry Gardepie)

Like it or not, we are living in a world of competing -- or warring? -- sides, each trying to destroy the other's way of thinking.  The issue I find with this approach?  Dialogue to understand another perspective is missing.  We are living in a Take No Prisoners approach!

To be successful in dialogue, we must honor and respect our values and what is important AND, at the same time, respect and honor the other person and their thoughts and ideas.

Are we being called to live with purple bubbles?
(Photo: Glass Spheres, ms Zaandam - Larry Gardepie)

I am struggling:  it seems like we have limited the coloring of our Fragile-Bubble-Making understanding of life with only Reds or Blues.  I am left wondering if we are missing the point of life:

• Transforming ourselves into something better;
• Balancing our views away from extreme positions;
• Seeking a way to move from Either-Or thinking to Both-And.

Is it possible to create rules that expand our understanding -- the convergence and mixing of all ideas -- while honoring and respecting both.

What would happen if our fragile thoughts and ideas were marked with a new Way of Being:  Respect, Honor, Kindness, and Acceptance.

Your thoughts?

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

Looking Up!

Have you ever noticed how you walk?  That is, do you look down, watching where you are going?  Do you look ahead and acknowledge people passing to your right and left?  Or do you look up and around your surroundings, taking in the world around you?  You may do all of these... and more!

The real question, though, is "Have you noticed?"

What do you see?
(Photo:  Iolani Palace staircase, Honolulu
- Larry Gardepie)

Several years ago, I was walking down a work corridor, looking down at the terrazzo-colored floor.  A work colleague, knowing my Catholic seminary background, saw me walking along and suggested that I was practicing the "custody of the eyes."

For those unfamiliar with this phrase, it simply means "controlling what you allow yourself to see."  What an interesting observation and projection this colleague made of my actions!

How often do you look up?
(Photo: Palm Treetops, Hilo - Larry Gardepie)

In all honesty, I was walking along noticing the many breaks in the terrazzo siding -- where doors once existed and were now replaced.  I was wondering about the offices in this building, how they have changed over time to meet the needs of the people passing through their doors -- some long gone and replaced by others.

It's easy to observe and make conclusions about other people's actions and motives.  We all do it!  How often, though, do we take the time to wonder, consider other meanings, or even ask?

What do you miss when you don't look up?
(Photo:  Winter Flowering Tree, San Diego Zoo
- Larry Gardepie)

For those of us of a certain age, our parents and teachers encouraged us to pull out a big, heavy book called a "dictionary" to look up words that we didn't know or understand.  (There are variations of these tomes online, and many applications allow you to highlight a word and its meaning pops up on the screen.) 

Looking Up is an important skill that is often overlooked.  That is,

• Seeing beyond what is normally accepted.
• Searching for understanding and clarity.
• Noticing what is new and different.

As we notice how we walk through this week, let us look up, refocus our attention, and engage on what is important.

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

Journey of a Lifetime

Over my lifetime, I have had several mentors, spiritual directors, coaches, and role models who have challenged, inspired, and supported me.  Let's take a moment to recall -- and offer a word of thanks -- to those people who have walked with us and encouraged growth and understanding.

One of my earliest role models was a newly ordained priest who described us as Pilgrim People on a Journey Together.

Who has inspired you on your journey?
~ ~ Click on image to enlarge ~ ~
(Photo credit:  Pickles, Brian Crane, 12/08/24)

He described how there would be times in our lives when we would need people to walk alongside us as friends and colleagues... sometimes walking in front of us to lead us... other times to walk behind us to encourage us.  There might be times, he said, when we would need to be carried -- and to be be ready to carry others -- when too exhausted to travel alone.

These images of a Common Unity (community) who is conscious of a Shared Journey, our Vulnerability, and our Need for assistance and direction have stayed with me throughout my life's travels.

How have you prepared for your journey?
(Photo: Ancient Travel, ms Zaandam - Larry Gardepie)

I believe this message from my youth is even more relevant today as we experience:

• Separation and Division... we are called to work towards Unity.
• Hatred and Discord... we are called to remember Love and Kindness.
• Struggle and Strife... we are called to work together for the Common Good.

We don't have to live in a world that doesn't care... we are called to Care!

Where has your journey taken you?
(Photo: Settlement of Oceania, Bishop Museum,
Honolulu - Larry Gardepie)

Our Journey of a Lifetime invites us to:

• Walk alongside... by listening;
• Walk in front... guiding and listening;
• Walk behind... encouraging and listening!

As we carry -- or are carried -- we listen.  We listen for and identify with the message that we don't have all of the answers, we don't have to be right all of the time, and our truth is incomplete without the other.

 

Thank you, Jim, for reminding us that we are Pilgrim People... on a lifetime journey together!
 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting