The importance of beauty is in the eye of beholder and the eye is often in the ear. How closely do we listen to what words another person says? Or do we listen rather to how the words are said? Have you ever seen one of those email forwards which go around that are designed to show that we can read a paragraph made up of words without vowels? Apparently our brains just know what to look for in the work structure and, viola, we know what the paragraph says. Emails are often misinterpreted in this manner. Feelings are hurt and people rubbed the wrong way if we are reading an email from a stranger or someone we don’t know well, but how about when we read one from a close friend and think, I can just hear so-n-so saying this? But can we really? We know the meaning of the words, but do we know the tone?
Since we spend much time with the TV on (well, not me personally, but plenty of people do), either in the background or in front of our faces, that the words spewing out of it are easy to ignore. They call this Audible Wallpaper. The minute the tones of voice change, though, or the music changes to a minor key, we refocus our attention on the screen. Is something about to happen? Our heart rate picks up. Our muscles tense. Should we be ready to jump with surprise? Cry? Laugh? Oh, well, it is only a commercial for beer. We interpret the gravity of the war in Iraq based on the timbre and depth of the newscaster’s voice. We certainly don’t have to see them or even be able to make out the words to understand the Gravity Of The Situation.
Do you know what customer service people are taught? That if you smile when you talk the smile pulls on your vocal chords and makes you sound nicer?
Yet, when we talk face to face to someone, do we make an effort to modulate our voice as is appropriate for the subject of discussion? Do we think about the timbre of our voice? Do we lower or raise the pitch? Do we add the vowels? Can our listeners relax and listen to all our words?
Do we smile? How easy is that!
I come to Him with my prayers and petitions and praises and what does He see? Does He see someone who is actively trying to get the big pictures and does He someone who is sees the small stuff? What does He think the big things are? What are the small things? How are they tied together in everyday life? What makes us pleasing in God’s eyes? In a fit of list making (see previous) I thought these things are important:
Service: Being generous to others in thought and word and deed. Using our abilities to express our love.
Honor: living up to our promises. Using our potential. Being who we say we are and who we think we are.
Gratitude: seeing the beauty in all things. Even the difficult and ugly things.
Respect: for ourselves. For each other.
Potential: discovering the gifts and abilities God give each of us. Seeing the potential in others.
Vision: seeing what needs to be seen and is unseen, and hearing what is said and unsaid, and anticipating the future that we can affect today. Planning. Preparing. Being ready.
Devotion: keeping on into tomorrow with service, honor, gratitude, and respect even when the going is rocky and uphill.
Where do we start in trying to see ourselves as God sees us?
What if we start, not by looking with inward and prayer and self-scrutiny, but outward with action? What if we start by taking one thing we know about ourselves today, using it in action now, and then evaluating that action as means of seeing into our self and discovering other possessions?
Decide on one act that is important to you and part of you and work at it for a day. Make it a positive action, not a negative one—don’t ‘not’ do something. Apply your act. Paste it in. Write it on your hand. Hug it. Rephrase it. Spread it around. Voice it out loud. Make it your status. Walk with it. Sleep with it. Then do it a second day. Then a third. Then, at the end of the third day, take an hour and review the action against the ideas of Service, Honor, Gratitude, and Respect. How does the action hold up? Is it pleasing to God? Have others noticed? Does your soul feel that upliftedness of accomplishment?
Do it another day. Add another act. Discover another love.
Begin as you mean to go on.
I have 2 lists:
1. Things my daughter has done that are amazing to me:
learned some or alot of these languages
French
German
Chinese
Latin
Played these instruments:
Viola
Oboe
Flute
Hammered Dulicmer
Lists of amazing things my other kids have done will be next.
2. Feed My Soul Things:
Have a big ole’ garden with all kinds of heirloom veggies in it.
Buy/grow fresh flowers and put them in my kitchen.
Take a walk in the woods every day (or so).
Learn how to sing on key (if it is possible to do so).What do you think the people in your life have done that is amazing?What do and would you do to feed your soul?
