A Diminished Vision

The more we try to say, the less we truly add and so as we try to define God we instead diminish him.  We limit the limitless trying to squeeze it into the narrow space required by our insecurity.  The result is a smaller, rather than a grander, God.

The Difference

We act as though the technique will make the difference, as though knowing how would be the solution, but it is really simpler than that.

Revision

I had written, "we need to trust."  I read it later as, "we need to rust," which may also be true.

Too Much Theory

We may rely too much on theory and too little on ourselves.

Too Little To Share

I have been fortunate in those who have loved me even though my response has not always equalled theirs.  Too tentative and lacking in faith, I have been a more wary recipient with too little to share.

Friends At Work

Why do people we work with think we should also be friends?  Why can't the relationship remain focused on the job?  Is it, I wonder, a more universal phenomenon or is it more common here, an American experience?  Why are we so insecure that the prospect of work being a working relationship does not meet the perceived entitlement?  Does the value of working together diminish if we cannot carry it beyond into friendship, and why is that the case?

Something Else

After we have looked at all that is reasonable and considering what others may think, say or believe, we realize it is the "something else" that defines each person and provides significance to that life.

To Simplify Life

If we would simplify life, we would do well to give up our resentments as well as our possessions, since those resentments are at least as restricting and holding on to them stands in the way of satisfaction.

After Three Hours

What was interesting for an hour became all too familiar in two, and just silly be the third.

Less Profound, More Cliché

Perhaps the more profound we become the less we have to offer.  It is the triteness of our profundity emerging.

Today May Be Enough

He wishes some days there were more time, but realizes too that no matter how much might be available it might not be enough.  There would be more to do, more to realize, more things to be written, read, or thought about, and that would always be so.  That being the case, time -- or at least its length -- may not be the issue after all.  Today may really be enough, and more might add only length and that would be of insufficient value.  Were it to end at this juncture, it would be no less complete.  It is already full today.

Music

Listen to the music rather than analyze it and at some time permit awareness to replace even the listening.

College Night

At college night it was satisfying to be with James and to hear him express interest in art and writing.  So much more valued than a focus on things that could only make money.

Play

Stop competing.  Instead, just play the game.

Talk of Problems

The more they talk of problems they have, or have had, and even of those they anticipate having, the farther they are from ever being well, despite the intensity of the conversation.

Looking for Questions

Life is not unlike "Jeopardy."  We are given answers and look for questions to match them, whether we need to or not.

Driving Nails in Concrete

Mike had said you can drive nails into concrete if you believe it is possible, and if you hit them with an expectation that it will occur.  A similar expectation would be worth having for other jobs as well, and for other aspects of life.

Faith in Therapy

Therapy is essentially an act of faith requiring that therapist and client believe in its capacity to alter aspects of life that have to this moment been intrusive and sometimes destructive.  The belief that change can occur makes it possible, enabling both participants to invest in the process.  Without faith on either side of the exchange nothing can occur, other than confirming the basis of non-belief.

Talkers vs. Thinkers

The talkers felt compelled to talk, which left no time for thinking.  The thinkers had no inclination to talk, being content within themselves despite what they said.  They were, unfortunately, sharing the same space and so neither could be entirely satisfied.  The talkers required listeners.  The thinkers called for silence.  Left long enough, each could feel offended, taking as personal affronts the presence of one another.

Truth Value

When someone says "honestly," "truthfully," "to tell you the truth," or "in all honesty," it is reasonable to assume that what follows, and much of what preceded, was of dubious value.

Questionable Skills

They were skilled at what they did.  It was, however, a question whether there was an actual need for what they were doing.

Only Dreams

Unfortunately, dreams at times are only dreams.

A New Creed

He has gone through the creed, crossing out the parts that, though true, are not essential to his own faith, and which on occasion might obscure what he sees as the "center of the core."  It was a much abbreviated statement and seemed better for the change.  It might be something each of us could try.

Only Grateful

I am no longer amazed by the goodness of my children.  Only grateful.

Beyond the Door

You might really have been there.  This time when it seemed you might be just beyond that door I wondered would I need to look and decided that, no, that like other times your presence seemed more real I would be satisfied in knowing it will be all right, but there is no need to know, and if there were no assurance would actually be there.

Needing Laughter

We will always need a capacity to giggle at ponderous notions and intense people.

Isaac's Sadness

I wonder was Isaac saddened to think his father would more readily listen to God than to his child.

God's Heart

When we can more readily think of God in his kindness and acknowledge his care more easily than we do his power, and when we can see our own goodness instead of any potential for wrong, then we will have seen into God's heart, and our own as well.