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"Imagining a new reality means we need to study the current reality"

August 15, 2022

Anthony told me a about "4,000 weeks – time management for mortals" (Oliver Burkeman) and I started reading it. Did you know we only have about 4,000 weeks in our lifetime? That's it! How totally crazy does that sound? That beckons us to think about what is important in life. I especially noticed that as I am getting older. I want to make my life count, want to invest my time well, do things that matter.
Richard Rohr talks about the second part of life (Falling Upward), the first part often focusing on accomplishments, raising a family, finding our place in society and the second part of life he talks about the deeper part of life, what matters to us now, how we leave this world, what impact we had had.

I was at a conference last week and one of the speakers talked about our need for each other. That it really takes all of us to work together for the betterment of our world. She talked about 3 things: Hospitality, Solidarity, Mutuality.

Hospitality – the importance to welcoming people. In California we are often in a hurry, we run from one place to another, never having time to actually engage deeply with people. Michigan (I was there for a wedding) is so different, open door policies, a meal after church, ice tea just to hang out together. I want to be able to be hospitable, inviting people into my house, into my life, into my heart.

Solidarity – that we need to stand together. We might have very different understanding of things, but we still need each other, walking with each other, supporting each other. The media makes money on creating division, we need to find a way to walk together, accept each other's differences and learn from each other. It reminded me of the story of several blind men touching an elephant and everyone having a very different understanding on what the elephant was really about, each only touching a small portion of the animal, but the elephant was all of it and so much more.

Mutuality – the understanding that we need each other. While our world is complex and pushing us into opposite corners, we need each other. You have knowledge, skills, expertise that nobody else has and the world would not be the same without you in it. The same is true of every person you encounter. Our world is better because of our differences.

So as we seek to make our world a better place, as we imagine a new reality, let's make sure that we first look back and understand our current reality and then move forward towards a new better reality by offering hospitality, living in solidarity and celebrating mutuality.

Then make your 4,000 weeks count! (well, most likely it is less than that!) at this point.

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