{"id":26943,"date":"2020-10-27T14:25:40","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T21:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=26943"},"modified":"2020-10-27T14:54:50","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T21:54:50","slug":"today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/today\/","title":{"rendered":"Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This morning, the first thing that happened to me was that I woke up. I wake up every morning. One day, this won\u2019t happen. One day there will not be anything to wake up to, perhaps. Until then, I’m happy to dream of a less destructive way of coming to life every morning than an alarm clock or the anxiety of a schedule or ‘to do’ list. And, it\u2019s ok. I was up quick and looking forward to my first coffee at Tim Horton\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Some days, I would prefer to not move at the sound of \u2018move\u2019. One day there will not be an alarm to make me move. At this point, I become insecure with the consideration that \u2018there are so many more important things to talk about than one\u2019s waking up in the morning\u2019. Does insecurity matter so much anymore?<\/p>\n

Today, there is a day to wake up to, conversations to wake up to, issues and problems to wake up to, acceptance and rejection to wake up to. Lots to be attentive to and, how much more effective we can be if we can perhaps encounter it all as stuff and things and mere objects. What if we were to actually immerse ourselves? What good would that do and where would that lead? What if there was another option, something other than \u2018knowing\u2019 and \u2018not knowing\u2019? I\u2019m curious about another option, an afterwards. The story of today and yesterday, as I am knowing these, causes a craving in me for the next step, something other than \u2018this\u2019.<\/p>\n

Yes (as I affirm myself in the direction \u2018all these words\u2019 words have been leading), the concept of \u2018waking up\u2019 is applicable in this time. The idea of \u2018being woke\u2019 and \u2018wokeness\u2019 is always-ever alarming in this world (if you smell what the Rock is cooking?); listening\/reading\/watching the news has become no more than the noise of an alarm clock in the morning. It\u2019s less a desensitization to the shouted repetitions and pain-filled words and mannerisms, as it has become more of a curious interest for something else and what that could be. Simply, I crave another option than what has been presented to my consciousness as options in this place. Despite our best intentions and, perhaps that of others, we present our minds and souls to such oppression. I chose to not attend a meeting on Monday evening knowing that my mind could end up confused and my heart could be broken, making my soul just a little more uncomfortable in this story.<\/p>\n

Wakefulness is a good thing and is everywhere. I see it in faces at tables around me, gathering dust on these bookshelves, it\u2019s on this WordPress BlogSite, in the tucked pant legs to his \u2018too-big\u2019 shoes as he walked the crosswalk, the coffee dispenser, someone just said the word \u2018pension\u2019 over there (!) and alarm bells start ringing in my already-overwhelmed brain \u2018do I even have a pension\u2019? Words. Feelings. Thoughts. Faces. Zoom. Hah, I love this world1<\/sup>; I believe that \u2018with God all things are possible\u2019 (Matthew 19:26, NKJV) even, a next option.<\/p>\n

In consideration of the only options on the table (for now, anyways), \u2018knowing\u2019 and \u2018not knowing\u2019, the currency of genuine transparency and real honesty can foster trust in leaders. Once trust is lost, more than learning is required to rekindle it. Life doesn\u2019t forget its being broken; the mind might (depending) but, the body and soul will not. Renner and D\u2019Souza, in their book on \u2018the art of turning uncertainty into opportunity\u20192<\/sup>, describe the art of integrity in the \u2018double bind\u2019 that a politician, named Nicole, found herself in. She could have chosen to \u2018pretend knowledge\u20193\u00a0<\/sup>in order to appease the expectations of her audience instead, she woke to honesty, accepting her limits and offered to give an answer to the issue that was presented once she had acquired the necessary learning. This story represents a wonderful scene of self-differentiation and points to a healthy, at-home in herself, leader.<\/p>\n

\u2018So, what happens when we can no longer rely on what we know, when we are forced to come face to face with the unknown?\u20194\u00a0<\/sup>Whatever we do, let\u2019s not hit the snooze button. Today is the beginning, it is always today5\u00a0<\/sup>so be \u2018woke\u2019 in this moment because something new is about to happen. It may be less than what we expect and, that\u2019s ok. Martin Luther King Jr, in his final message \u2018Remaining Awake through a Great Revolution\u2019 (shared only four days before his assassination), expounds with hearted invitation for his audience, for even such a time as this, \u2018to help time and realise that the time is always ripe to do right.\u20196\u00a0<\/sup>I don\u2019t know what else I can add to that?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Images taken from newswire.ca<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Discovery. “The World Is Just Awesome (Boom De Yada)”. April 28, 2008.\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=at_f98qOGY0<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. Renner, Diana and Steven D\u2019Souza. Not Knowing: The Art of Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity.<\/em>New York, New York: LID Publishing Limited, 2015, front cover.<\/li>\n
  3. Ibid, 65.<\/li>\n
  4. Ibid, 94.<\/li>\n
  5. Shelley, Mary. Mary Shelley\u2019s Short Stories: Volume 2<\/em>. Miniature Masterpieces, 2014, front cover.<\/li>\n
  6. Edelman, Marian Wright. “The Time is Always Right to Do Right.” HuffPost. April 2, 2017. https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/the-time-is-always-right_b_9592976<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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