Shaken and Stirred

To be as much of a thinker as I am, it's amazing that I haven't 'blogged' before.  I think in my old age (31) I'm called more to the comfort of pen and paper, the slowness of paying cash and the fascinating quiet of sitting in a room that doesn't have a television in it.  All that being said, I am intrigued at this and will, quite irregularly, flip the lid on my brain to those of you poor souls that would stop and wonder at the spectacle.

Tonight I'm up later than usual.  I'm contemplating the beauty of God as seen in the delight of having good friends.  I do hope you can relate.  If not, allow me to make you jealous enough to give yourself away in friendship like you never have before.  Life is so much better with the inconvenience of friendship.

Lately, I've been confronted with the value of shared responsibility and life done in community.  It is such an assault on our normal narcissism.  It is sloppy and inefficient and so incredibly wonderful.  Sharing your life, your responsibilities, your successes and your failures is a very vulnerable thing.  But, that's also why it's so rewarding.  The biggest challenge for me has been sharing my window of opportunity.  You know, the moments you get to do the thing that really makes you come alive.  Ya, sharing that with others who have the calling to it but maybe not the same consistent access as you or, in this case, me.  I mean, this is my chance to go for it.  This is what I do.  Creating capacity for others to share that moment has been a bigger joy than I ever expected.  Why?  I'm still learning that.  I do know that I love it because I get the reward of knowing I had a hand in these people tasting the same joy I know.  Yes, it creates less opportunity for me, but somehow I love it even more.  Could it be that I'm actually growing up?

Friends that believe in you and trust you and look to you will most often be found when you're giving yourself away and creating capacity for others to come along.  And if you do it with enough love, and keep it up long enough they might just catch it and create capacity for others to come along with them as well!  I stand on the shoulders of great men and women, dear friends, that created capacity for me to hitch a ride on their blessing.  Who's riding 'shot-gun' with you?