EB means being prepared, on time, organized, flexible and humble; seeing the humor in everything; exercising a tolerance for adversity, uncertainty and discomfort; and putting the needs of the group and others on the same level or above one’s own needs. It’s a tall order but while on expedition it has magical results.
Petzoldt said it’s not the challenge of the environment that defeats expeditions but the quality of the interaction among the participants. This is borne out in research and experience. Successful courses at NOLS are committed to expedition behavior."
~ from the January 2010 issue of The Lutheran in an article entitled: "Packing for Your Faith Expedition" by Jeffrey D. Louden.
As the new year begins so continues our life journeys. How we approach our journey and/or our expedition can help us to grow, learn, move forward or on the other hand stall, or be stagnant. It is our choice how we want to prepare or what principles we want to use to help guide us.
In the reading from 1Corinthians 12:1-11 we are told that we all have gifts to share. Each gift is different but important. As I begin my New Expedition for 2010 I know I will travel this year with a variety of people with a variety of gifts. I know that if all those I am travelling with freely share their gifts and abide by expedition behaviors 2010 will be a magical expedition.
Sharing one's gifts freely and openly is a choice, one that is often uncomfortable and unpredictable. First you need to identify your gifts and secondly you need to use them and that is not always easy. Even if you know what gifts you have been given -- whether wise counsel; healing the sick; simple trust or clear understanding -- any of these can be difficult to share. All gifts are meant to be shared from a place of love. Out of love sharing becomes easier.
I discovered a famous poet songwriter Leonard Cohen in his song The Land of Plenty speaks to this idea of journey, love and gifts.
What do you think of the lyrics? How is your New Expedition going so far?
The Land Of Plenty
Don’t really have the courage
To stand where I must stand.
Don’t really have the temperament
To lend a helping hand.
Don’t really know who sent me
To raise my voice and say:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.
I don’t know why I come here,
Knowing as I do,
What you really think of me,
What I really think of you.
For the millions in a prison,
That wealth has set apart –
For the Christ who has not risen,
From the caverns of the heart –
For the innermost decision,
That we cannot but obey -
For what’s left of our religion,
I lift my voice and pray:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.
I know I said I’d meet you,
I’d meet you at the store,
But I can’t buy it, baby.
I can’t buy it anymore.
And I don’t really know who sent me,
To raise my voice and say:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.
For the innermost decision
That we cannot but obey
For what’s left of our religion
I lift my voice and pray:
May the lights in The Land of Plenty
Shine on the truth some day.
As I continue on my expedition this year the EB that I most want to remember is seeing the humor in everything. I think laughter can help everyone get through anything and I am hoping for more laughter on my expedition. Which EB do you want to strive to embrace this year? What are your hopes for this year? How are you going to discover your gifts and share them?
I hope you will join us on Thursday night on our Skype call just contact "bythewaycommunity" and join us live at 7pm January 14th. Or if you can't join us Thursday leave a comment.
3 comments:
That list expedition behaviors is a treasure I'll keep handy. I think of myself as being strong in some of those qualities, and I've seen how they have helped me on my "quests". A couple of those qualities I don't have at all, but I've been able to see those gifts in others, point those gifts out to them, and not get worked up that I don't have them! God gives us the gift of each other!
I read the lyrics a number of times. Really fascinating. It says to me that when we have a strong message to give the world, we don't have to know everything in order to start sharing it. He's honest and humble about what he doesn't know. He's going to speak the truth that he DOES know: that we in the land of plenty need to let the light shine on us so we can SEE the wealth that we take for granted... and not just keep going back to the store for more. That new awareness can open our eyes to what God is doing to change us, how Christ can be raised inside us.
Sometimes I question who God is and why I feel so compelled to go on this journey of faith. I don't need to be certain about who God is. I can be ok with mystery and still sense God's power without totally understanding it. I can take all my questions with me on my journey, and still speak out the truth that is in me.
I love the idea of EB. "Expedition" is a great way to think of the adventurous journey I'm called to be on. The focus on flexibility, on being ready for whatever situation God puts us in, and finding humor and joy in it seems right for now.
My friend Todd Hiestand posted a quote from Ed Friedman, the guru of systems theory, on his blog the other day. To me it speaks to our situation as Jesus-followers and as the church:
“The universal ingredient and force which permeates all of life – namely change – is changing for the faster, and this means that it will become more and more necessary for each of us to be more resilient and flexible, more spontaneous in dealing with the new and unforeseen, and it will become less and less easy to find security and stability by just adopting the traditional customs and ideas and attitudes of the past.” (From the book: What Are You Going to Do With Your Life?)
Oh, by the way, Friedman said this in a high school baccalaureate address in 1964. I guess this questing and adapting really is an ongoing process, if we choose to engage it.
We had a great Skype conversation on Thursday. We had people from three states.
We reflected on the gifts listed in the Bible reading and reflected on how these are not simple to identify in ourselves and others. I wondered if these gifts might be ones we have for a moment in a given situation but may not always have? What gifts do you see in yourself or in others.
As we discussed Expedition Behavior we noted that being flexible and prepared can sometimes be in conflict. How do you practice being both while you move forward on your journey?
I hope you have an opportunity to listen to the song by Leonard Cohen it is haunting. It is interesting to listen or read the words and assume there is hope behind the words and it is very different if you assume the opposite. What was the motivation in the poem to share the truth to keep communicating?
For me, I struggle to identify my gifts and to know when to use them. As far as Expedition Behavior I am having fun trying to incorporate more of these behaviors into my faith journey.
I look forward to reading your comments or speaking with you on skype, we skype every second and fourth Thursday of the month at 7PM, our skype address is bythewaycommunity.
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