Perpetual Becoming
Paying Attention to the ProcessAnother Year
Momentum and secession in a double helix.
Growing in one sense like a new limb.
Also falling as a departing leaf.
Not quite old, but true youth a foreigner.
Bursts of freedom salted with beckoning commitments.
Assured of change, and yet how much?
Voices clamor for attention in the midst evolving devotions.
Largely unfettered but moorings stand ready.
Not wanting in any real sense.
Thankful yet discontent with stillness.
Striding with new legs – known previously, but differently.
Another year.
I’m a Dunce
I feel this little guy’s pain. It’s been a couple weeks and I have not posted. I feel like I’m in the corner with the giant hat writing “I will blog today” which turns into “I will blog this week” and all the while hoping it does not further evolve into “I will blog this month.”
I’m not entirely sure what it all means. One thing I know, a professional blogger I am not. This is not a devastating fact in the least, as that’s not at all what I’ve been attempting here. However, I do feel like for whatever reason I hit a slump in my rhythm of posting – one that I would like to climb out of. Chalk it up to life getting busy, inspiration and time to write passing each other like two ships in the night, or laziness – either way I’ve assigned myself to virtual detention to atone for my transgressions.
So, that’s it for now. This post has probably been as much for me as for anyone else who will read it (so I apologize if you’re feeling like you want those 45 seconds back), but I’ve punished my self, and I’m hoping I learned my lesson…at least until the next time 
.
One Small Step For [Wo]Man…
One giant step for social media? We didn’t land on the moon, but I think it’s a big win all the same, let me explain:
For the last 12 days the site has been dedicated to raising money for World Vision through the Chicago Marathon on October 11th. In a little over a week we raised $1,000 – I think that’s something to celebrate.
I’ve been so encouraged and inspired by the generosity of Perpetual Becoming readers. I’m also not surprised. As I’ve interacted with many of you both online and off I know this is simply who you are. That being said, please allow me to say THANK YOU! It has been fun to raise this money together, I feel tons of support going into the race, and it was a great birthday present.
It has also been a reminder for me of the positive power of social media and technology. There is plenty of material out there pertaining to what social media is and what it isn’t; the pros/cons, positives and pitfalls, etc.
I acknowledge the common critiques that include narcissism, voyeurism, consumerism (and other isms ) – and I think the potential danger of these by-products is real. I also think there exists an equally compelling list of positives. Read the rest of this entry »
A Race, A Birthday, and Where You Come In
If you’re a regular reader of Perpetual Becoming you know I’m running the Chicago Marathon this fall. The time is rapidly approaching (the race is on October 11th) – I can hardly believe it. If you want to read more about some of thoughts I’ve had along the way you can here or here.
I’m also using this race to help raise money for the humanitarian organization World Vision. Now, I want you to hear me on this. I’m under no delusions that running a race will solve all of the social injustices in Africa or anything of that nature (we talked more about this issue in Aid vs. Trade) – but I do think it’s a chance to leverage a challenge I’m undertaking and the resources represented by people like you and me (read wealthy compared to the majority of the planet) to support things like providing clean water to those who need it and feeding people who are hungry.
So, who doesn’t like a contest and/or a reason to be involved in something like this? I’ll answer for you, no one! That being the case, I’m going to give you one.
This Tuesday is my birthday, and for my birthday I would like you to consider sponsoring me to run the Chicago Marathon with a donation to World Vision. By the end of my birthday I would like to be well on the way or have met the fundraising goal of $1,000.
I’m going to put up the first $50 now and the last $50 when we make it to $1,000 – I think it’s only fair if I ask you to give that I give also. I’ve got 100’s of friends, family members, and acquaintances on Facebook, Twitter, and this site – all this would take is 18 of you to give $50 – let’s be honest most of us would never even feel that. So, please consider my entirely shameless request for a birthday gift and donate here.
A Little Less Talk…
You know the rest of the phrase.
I haven’t posted yet this week. Life happens, it’s been busy, but that’s only part of the story. One of the things I’ve realized is that I’m a brilliant talker. Not brilliant in the sense that I claim to be amazing – but rather that sometimes I do it and think it is enough.
Well for me, that’s not entirely true – I tend to write more naturally than I speak, but the point is the same. This week I’ve been taking stock of where my action needs to catch up with my talk.
Two statements that I encountered in the past week or so have been the impetus for these thoughts:
“Causing significant change is different than just being brilliant.” ~ Bill Drayton founder of Ashoka
“Enthusiasm felt for a virtue is by no means tantamount to the possession of that virtue” ~ Dietrich von Hildebrand. (Ben gets the gold star for identifying the quote for me – see comments)
I won’t quit talking – and I hope you wont’ either; it is an essential element that leads us to our actions (or inactions – sometimes that’s the better choice). I do however want to make sure it’s not the only thing I’m doing.
How Well Do You Know Your Food: A Counterpoint
Since there was some great discussion a few weeks ago on Perpetual Becoming around the documentary Food Inc, I thought it only appropriate to highlight a counterpoint that ran in the LA Times today. Charlotte Allen pulls no punches in her Op-Ed piece entitled “Keep Your Self-Righteous Fingers off my Processed Food.“
I heard Allen on NPR this morning discussing her column. Her counterpoint appeals to the the many financial benefits our current food system has provided consumers – especially in the current economic climate.
I’ll let her piece speak for itself, but I do think if you care about this issue you should read it, it will only add to your ability to consider these things from an additional perspective. And at the very least she has written a provocative and entertaining response.
After you’ve read it, chime in. Is there a place for Allen’s argument against some of what Pollan et. al. propose? Where do you agree with her? Where do you disagree?
Questions
** Warning: Post Requires Reader Interaction **
Very few things are as formative as a thoughtful (often times provocative) question. It is the type of question you can’t get away from, it seems to follow you to work, to leisure time, sometimes even while you sleep.
These aren’t necessarily questions that you’re afraid to answer, but they do cost something, they deserve honest deliberation – they force us to stop and deal with them. I am convinced it is by asking/being asked these types of questions (more than having the answers) that we begin to gain healthy, critical access to the world around us – and perhaps equally important – to our very selves.
I am thankful for the people and/or situations that have introduced these types of questions into my life, and provoked the wrestling that always comes next. It is a priority of mine to be surrounded by people who will continue to speak into my life in this way. Often (if not always) profound, these questions are not necessarily complex. Many times it has been something as simple as, “Do you have to continue doing ____ that way?”
So, to kick off the week we’d all like to hear from you:
What’s a great question you’ve encountered recently? Were you the one asking or the one being asked?
What’s a question you have avoided asking or need someone to ask you?
Band-Aids
For several weeks now I have been unable to escape the thought that there can be some potential pitfalls to spending our time and energy only on “big” ideas. As I’ve written previously, I find those types of ideas inspiring and alluring, and I assume that they are pushing me towards great growth or contribution (or at least it feels as though they are). Honestly, I would love to take part in creating one some day. I also think we would all do well to realize that in and around these ideas there also exists a subversive force that distracts, and does so brilliantly.
Many great minds have written about this. If you’ve read sociologists like Malcolm Gladwell or business gurus like Seth Godin they are consistently beating this drum, urging us to consider the little things that can make a big difference, and that most big ideas didn’t necessarily start out that way. Gladwell has a brilliant example in his conclusion to the Tipping Point:
“[Band-Aids] should not be considered a term of disparagement. The Band-Aid is an inexpensive, convenient, and remarkably versatile solution to an astonishing array of problems. In their history, Band-Aids have probably allowed millions of people to keep working or playing tennis or cooking or walking when they would otherwise have had to stop.”
We resist that Band-Aid solution though don’t we? I know I do. There’s something in me that says this type of solution is not quite up to par. Gladwell goes on:
“The Band-Aid Solution is actually the best kind of solution because it involves solving a problem with the minimum amount of effort and time and cost. We have, of course, an instinctive disdain for this kind of solution because there is something in all of us that feels true answers to problems have to be comprehensive, that there is virtue in the dogged and indiscriminate application of effort, that slow and steady should win the race…something that is not always possible.”
I think a lot of us feel this tension when we come in contact with a problem like poverty – it was evident in our discussion two weeks ago. Sometimes in our quest to avoid putting a Band-Aid on something we set out with a solution that is not sustainable, or maybe worse we become so paralyzed we do nothing at all.
I had coffee with a friend last week and she was feeling this tension. We discussed the Aid vs. Trade idea, and she shared some ideas for addressing the poverty in her neighborhood and around the world. She also felt this pressure that her ideas were too simple, too relational, that she needed to come up with something that was seemingly more grandiose.
I am thinking more and more that perhaps Band-Aids have gotten a bad wrap. A simple, scaled idea doesn’t have to be synonymous with a cheap/worthless one. After all if you get a “boo-boo” what’s the first thing you’re checking your medicine cabinet for?
Metaphors and Marathons – Part II
This is the second installment of a post I wrote awhile back, if you need to get caught up click here.
As of tomorrow I will have completed week 10 of 17 and over 220 miles of training for the Chicago marathon. In the first post I said that for me running this race was not only about physical gains, but also learning from the metaphor saying, “I had always thought of this metaphor in terms of the race, but I think that I’ve missed it. I’m coming to realize that the true test (and true lesson) is in the training.” This statement has rung true even more than I expected.
I expected to learn things about myself along the way, and many of those things I anticipated. It took several weeks to build the habit and feel ‘normal’ about running almost every single day. I was very aware of that inner struggle between discipline and sloth or cutting corners; especially on days when I ‘just didn’t feel like it’ or had something I’d rather spend my time doing. It’s been incredibly rewarding to have remained committed and see it pay off, even though I have a long road ahead.
Perhaps the biggest lesson I’m learning was one I didn’t anticipate at all – my lack of patience. After all this is a RACE right? In my mind races are about pushing hard, going fast, and beating the competition. What I didn’t realize is that this is a very different kind of race. As my runs have gotten longer (I now run for hours on Saturdays) I’ve become aware of a potential fatal flaw in my approach – my lack of patience.
It manifests itself very simply; I start every run too fast. It feels great, I’m loving the pace, enjoying the weather (reference my aforementioned default to push hard and ‘win’) – but what I can’t see is that in my shortsightedness I’m making a decision that will come back to haunt me in about 10 miles. I’m learning that this race is about finishing well even more than it is about starting well.
It’s a simple idea, but I feel as though it’s given me a lot of food for thought (as well as some necessary adjustments to my training in the 7 weeks I have left to figure this out). As I’ve reflected on it, I think I approach life this way at times as well. There’s no shame in pushing hard – but I need to know where I’m going and pick the appropriate pace to actually get there. For a default “pusher” like me, that often requires patience.
What metaphors have emerged for you in the last couple months? What are they teaching you?
A Deep Breath
November 24, 2009 at 9:18 am · Filed under Commentary, Life
Ok, so maybe I’m not about to have a Costanza moment, but I have been truly busy the past several months, and the pace is definitely going to continue through the end of the year. Now, I know what you’re thinking…”So what, aren’t we all?” Well yes, in fact I think most of us are.
That’s why this morning I’m thinking about the holiday on Thursday and the need to take a deep breath. Even as I write this post I’m preparing for my day ahead and I’m thinking about everything coming in the week ahead. As I talk to friends, colleagues, family members I know you’re all in the same boat.
I’m not sure what it will look like for you, and I’m still trying to figure out what it will look like for me – but stop, everything coming at us is still coming, but it’s not here, yet. Sure, it will be. Should we be preparing and planning? Yes, probably. Is that all you/we should I ever do? I hope not – it seems to me that there should be a whole lot more to life than planning.
That’s it, not deep, hardly profound – but I know I need to stop and take a deep breath, and if you’re anything like me you may be in need of that exercise as well.
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