We'll See

My blog has been pretty quiet lately. Over a month now since my last post, which used to be a weekly event a couple years ago. But I just haven't felt like I've had anything worth writing about. No interesting revelations, no significant life events, just lot's of little moments that happen to everyone. Someone's birthday, a weekend trip, meeting new friends, talking with old friends about serious stuff, mulling over the future with little certainty, mulling over the past with growing wisdom amusement, enjoying discovering "new music" that's been around for a decade (The National - loving their recent album "High Violet" and 2007's release "Boxer"), making calls to far-away friends, practicing my golf swing..... just generally taking life as it comes to me.

Which is not truly my ideal, I favor the approach of being pro-active and striving for living an extraordinary life. Great things like my coming trip to Kenya require me to search and sacrifice to make it happen, they don't just fall into your lap. But I'm also a huge fan of having enough "down time" in life - time that's free to be relaxing, doing nothing, or being spontaneous, able to jump at opportunities as they present them. As great as it is to be involved in a dozen different things, I don't have it in me to keep so many plates spinning and burn myself out; it's just not a lifestyle I would choose.

There's a balance for everything, neither too much nor too little, neither too left or too right, patience and persistence see that everything works out in the end. I'm hoping that these last few months of slowness and calm are balancing out a very awesome second half of the year. And with my trip to Kenya starting on thursday, moving back into Portland, Imago Dei getting their new building in the heart of the city (yay!), and the possibility of a job when I return (and a couple other things on the horizon) my life just might pick up quite a bit when I return.

Or maybe not.

Like the Zen Master says: "We'll see."

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.

"Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.

"We'll see," the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.

"How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.

"We'll see," replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

"We'll see," answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

"We'll see" said the farmer.