Water is integral to our lives. It refreshes and sustains us. But water can be dangerous. It can move us to an unknown place. The increase in extreme weather due to global warming will bring us face to face with the power of water – as Australians are tragically experiencing this week.
We are mostly water. We need fresh water to live. Every human is entitled to clean water, whether or not they can pay for it, by virtue of being a human being.
Of all the water on earth, only 3% is fresh water, and just 2% isn’t polluted beyond use.
Watch this video to see quickly what happens in the life of a drop of water.
As a culture we are obsessed with maintaining physical health. Although, paradoxically, we don’t provide access to health insurance for millions of people. Yet we know very little about practices for maintaining good mental health.
This recent New York Times article by Oliver Sacks highlights the importance of maintaining good mental health – and ways to do this. Exercise your mind. At my house this means reading, meditation and conversation in place of TV. We have no TV. Most TV shows are junk food for the mind.
Another tip for good mental health is to be around joyful, creative people. I try to fill my life with people who can model plain speaking, honesty, integrity, generosity, truthfulness, kindness and compassion. For me, being with people who embody qualities I would like to have makes it easier for me to see what this looks like everyday.
Mental health also means worrying less. As an adult I need to take care of myself and let other adults do the same. I can only control my own actions and reactions. I can’t control the actions or reactions of others.
An inspiring book by Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements, highlights four simple (but not easy) practices that will help maintain good mental health: always do your best, don’t take it personally, use impeccable speech and lastly, don’t make assumptions.
What do you do to maintain good mental health, increased joy and experience more happiness in your life?
The door to our townhouse needs painting. I would like to do something fun, welcoming and inviting. The doors of Dublin will serve as my inspiration.
Photo Doors of DublinPhoto Doors of DublinPhoto Doors of DublinPhoto Doors of Dublin
Have you ever seen the doors of Dublin? On a visit to Ireland with my daughters a number of years ago we saw them. They are truly amazing. Dozens of, otherwise boring, brick brownstone houses have their front doors painted brilliant, high-gloss colors.
Walking along those streets I saw a story behind each colorful door. Shiny brass hardware, softly lit windows, palladium windows, fresh white trim paint, planters and small front gardens beckoned. Rosemary bushes in planters infused an savory, astringent scent. Giant hydrangeas bloomed in shocking pink and blue. Climbing roses lingered on the brick facade.
The doors serve as a symbol of Irish hospitality which is exceptional. Everywhere we went people opened their homes to us. We experienced Irish hospitality first hand. This included, of course, freshly baked Irish brown bread. It is a quick bread that doesn’t use yeast. But it is warm and delicious, especially topped with local butter.
Painting a door a fun, bright color is inviting, it is welcoming and it is all about hospitality. Like Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18:1-8, we are wired to connect, to invite, to welcome others in. Our culture is extremely xenophobic – meaning we have great fear of strangers. In fact we even call strangers “aliens” as if they are from another planet!
However, for other cultures and for Christians, it’s about hospitality. For an excellent film about hospitality, I recommend the movie Babette’s Feast. I will share much more about Babette’s Feast in another post.
Afterall, as with Abraham and Sarah, strangers are God in disguise. Mary and Joseph seeking a place to rest. God comes to us in the stranger. In connecting with those who are not like us we become more of who we are meant to be. We develop our personhood. We are not called to be individuals – but persons. God lives in each of us. All is a gift from God. Therefore, what we have is also theirs. Turn it inside out. Invite others in!
When people wonder why I’m so interested in voluntary simplicity and minimalism I can explain that the less stuff I have, the more deeply I can enter into my life. Or I can remind people of the smaller environmental impact of living with less. Of course there’s always the realization that wealth is not about having more but about needing less. Needing less brings great freedom.
“Over the past year, I’ve heard many a critique of minimalism – mainly by people who think it’s nothing more than counting items, decluttering closets, or living out of a backpack.
My answer: minimalism is so much more than that. Minimalism is determining when you have enough, so you can do something extraordinary with the excess.
That may mean working fewer hours so you can spend more time with your kids; buying less stuff to preserve more of the Earth’s resources; or, like Toby Ord, spending less money on material goods and donating more to those in need.
In short, living with less means you have more to give.
That’s the beauty of enough – and that’s how minimalism can change the world.”
To quote theologian Sallie McFague, “We all live more simply so that others can simply live.”
Philosopher Peter Singer wrote a very interesting and compelling book about the same idea: The Life You Can Save. He uses memorable stories to captivate the reader. I recommend it.
Meanwhile, my life’s about to become even more simplified. This year I am moving to another level of simplicity. Check in tomorrow to find out what it is.
In a previous post I mentioned that I was searching for a word to focus on for the new year. That word will be romance. The idea of romance and our great life romance has been appearing in many ways.
I think we are constantly being romanced, or seduced if you will, by reality or life itself. A book that explains this well is The Sacred Romance by John Eldredge and Brent Curtis. For me, reading this book was another opportunity to fall more deeply in love. Once we experience this joy we want to share it with others. It’s no accident that we speak about people as being “in love” – because literally they are. We are steeped in it or stuffed in it. Unfortunately we are not often aware of this.
Falling in love with life is a transformative experience. Although this experience creates more joy it also provides clarity. Our connectedness with others and with creation can be felt more intensely. Systems of injustice, discrimination or economic bias can be seen more easily as well. Just as those in love focus on the other, central to this romance is the idea that our well being depends on the well being of others.
The artist in me seeks ways to create environments that attract and invite others. The pictures in this post show two examples of romantic rooms. While busier than my taste, they do evoke that feeling of romance – of the richness we feel on the inside.
Using items we already have I may try and replicate key elements of this look. Just like romance, these rooms have many layers and textures – rugs, pictures, books (my favorite!) woods, leathers, glass, fabric. However, colors are minimal or neutral emphasizing the layers and textures. The bedding is white, for example. The sofa is a neutral sage or gray. There is a sense of organized clutter along with a sense of calm. They are rooms I would want to spend time in, alone or with others.
Working in retailing taught me that the entire world is a stage or theatre, if you will. Creating a more romantic environment is one step to inviting romance into my life. Continuing to work for the well being of others will be another.
As the year unfolds I will continue to focus, watch and incorporate the idea of romance. Come along with me . . .
