Taking Time to Pause by Heidi Jakoby

Obviously I decided to take some time to pause after my last blog I realized that I needed to take some of my own advise and have a simple weekend, after all this is my birthday month. Anyway to get back to the reflections posted on our Bread for Your Journey blog. Besides the passage from Luke and the poem, All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten, I added a song by Van Morrison Keep it Simple. On Thursday we had a Skype conversation about these reflections and here are some of our insights. It would be great to hear what you think.

In case you have not heard the 2009 most fascinating person according to Barbara Walters is Michelle Obama. After watching the Barbara Walter’s special it was interesting to see some seemingly outrageous individuals seem very down to earth and at least two women on the list because of what their husbands did.

O.k. let’s get back to John the Baptizer, one of the most fascinating people in the Bible (just my opinion). His boldness in telling the people what they need to do is admirable; he was able to know that his purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus. He instructed the people simply and they continued to come. Was being baptized by John just the popular thing to do at the time or did those being baptized fully understand what was happening and who was coming? Does it matter? What have you done lately just because it was the popular thing?

How does our culture of consumerism play into this idea of “doing the popular thing”? We are bombarded with advertising and marketing telling us what to buy, what we need and what to do, how do we begin to see through all of this and spend time exploring faith? In the second reflection All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten one of the lines is “Share everything”. This line flies in the face of consumerism. This is saying that everything we have we should share. During this holiday season I often catch myself questioning what I want versus what I need. This weekend I decided it was more important to be present with my husband and sleep in late on Sat, and then spend the day with friends doing some wine tasting and conversing. It was a simple day but very refreshing. So what did I accomplish on Sat? Some would say nothing but others would say I shared, played, and laughed with friends, and sometimes that is the best way to spend one’s day. Dustin who was on the Skype conversation Thursday mentioned one of his favorite quotes from Into the Wild was “the most important part of life is to share it.” Taking time to share your life with others can be rewarding in ways we cannot predict.

If you look at the song by Van Morrison you will see his response to his life and how society mocked his work, how he was misunderstood and in some ways how we (society) may not have been supportive of his bold vision. There is much in this song and it makes me curious about Van Morrison’s life and art. Sometimes when our lives get out of control the only thing we can do is to try and break it down into simple pieces.

I hope you take the time to slow down, pause and to appreciate some of the simple things in life and share your life with others. What do you think; please comment?

Simple Lessons during this busy time. by Heidi Jakoby

As the year comes to an end I am beginning to see everyone’s top ten lists and tomorrow Barbara Walters special the 10 most fascinating people of 2009 airs and many are wondering who will top that list See 9 of the 10 most facinating poeple . Well if I had to put together a list of my favorite 10 characters in the Bible John would definitely be on that list. Maybe I will work on that for a New Year’s blog?


Anyway, I will be curious to see what the values and experiences make someone fascinating? In this Bible reading Luke3:7-18 John is fascinating, he is unconventional but he is giving the people a rather simple message. He tells them to “Share with one another, Be Kind to one another. Don’t fight. Be fair. Don’t hoard, or lord it over one another.” Hum, some of the most popular movies, TV shows, especially reality television, are making money on the fact that we do not want to see anyone doing any of these. There is more meanness, fighting, injustice, hoarding and lording on television today than I can ever recall. Does this all make for good television and great movies? I know there are exceptions but I think they can be hard to find. What are you watching? What is entertaining to you?

As I read a number of blogs and commentaries I kept thinking about the poem by Robert Fulghum, All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten. I could comment on every line, “Share everything.” During this holiday season this is one we could all be better at. I find myself thinking about how much I have and am aware of so many in need. Today I was heading to the grocery store and I was hungry, and in that moment I actually tried to think about being hungry for more than a moment. I was hungry not because I did not have food but because I did not feel like eating what I had. In some ways I had an abundance of food to choose from and definitely once I got to the market I had an over abundance to choose from. What do you have an abundance of that you can share? Many of our Food Pantries  are low on food, consider sharing what you have. Another line is, “Play fair.” I have great respect for people who play fair, unfortunately in life many things do not seem fair and what I think is fair others may not. What have you noticed about playing fair recently? Having two older brothers growing up I thought they never played fair. Now as an aunt to a number of children I find myself wanting to teach them the rules of the game and to encourage them to play as the game was intended. Unfortunately I am finding that not all parents think playing by the rules is a good idea, what have you noticed?

This poem influenced my life greatly it taught me that many complicated things come down to a few simple values, acts of kindness and sharing. That if we could be more patients and loving everything would seem a little better. Is this too optimistic, too simplistic? What do you think?

Join in on our live Skype conversation on Thursday at 7PM and share your thoughts, or comment here. So put bythewaycommunity on your Skype contact list and join us.