Goodness Weekly 9.11.23
Quote: “How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and that one is what we are doing.”
—Annie Dillard
We Remember
On this day, we recall the profound impact of 9/11 on our world, the lives lost, and the bravery shown. Let us keep the memory alive and work towards a future of peace and resilience.
What’s Good:
Second Saturday has been such a sweet time each month to connect with children and caregivers in our community. We love getting to share a story together, play, and do crafts, all under the shade of our beautiful trees. We can't wait for next month!
A Message from Jess
Have you ever visited an arcade that awards tickets to a child? Second only to Zootopia’s DMV sloth, the process of waiting for my child to choose how they will spend their tickets is my kryptonite–I’ve never seen this done with any sort of efficiency. I know that the prized toys will end up left on the floor of the backseat of the car, and my goodness—to quote the police chief in The Sandlot—the decision takes “for.ev.er.”
In time, there are two concepts that I’ve been thinking about as it pertains to our topic of rest.
The first is the one we are most accustomed to—Chronos.
This is chronological–days, hours, minutes, etc.
Chronos is efficiency, striving, achieving, producing, consuming.
“Don’t waste time” is a Chronos sentiment.
The second concept is Kairos time.
This is time measured in moments, cycles, seasons, and occasions.
Kairos is presence, wonder, sinking down, and tuning in.
If you think about it now, you likely know the difference between these two approaches to time.
Chronos is the driver that causes me to nervously twitch as I wait for my child to make a choice of which toy they’ll buy with their hard earned arcade tickets. Chronos is the feeling of wishing that you had more than 24 hours in a day, or the precise scheduling down to the minute that reminds you that one delay could be the domino that ruins the perfectly choreographed work/child pickup/dropoff dance.
Kairos is where time is suspended. It’s being interrupted by a group of kids on the trampoline because a train of satellites is moving across the sky unlike anything you’ve seen before. It’s witnessing the moonrise and dancing on the beach with your daughter and best friend. Kairos is sitting across the table and listening to Grandma’s stories. It’s the moments that I imagine mark the most special times of our lives.
We can’t avoid Chronos, but we can use it as a container for Kairos. This starts with intentionally carving out times for rest—creating margin in our calendars and our lives.
There are five areas of rest that we all need:
Spiritual
Mental
Emotional
Physical
Social
We are going to look at each area of rest together over the coming weeks. This week our focus is on Spiritual rest.
Being rested spiritually looks like having the ability to consider life’s big questions, to wonder, to be curious, and to be open.
Being drained spiritually looks like having one foot in front of the other, and only being able to think about what I need to do right now.
You likely fall somewhere in between on the curve.
To find some spiritual rest practices, consider what you value and what makes you feel more whole. Here are some ideas to cultivate Spiritual rest:
Time in nature
Stargazing
Listening to music
Centering Prayer or a meditation practice
Looking at or creating art simply for the joy of creating
These can be practiced in small amounts of time, but the benefit is expansive, as is true of Kairos time. Choose a couple of practices that you’d like to try this week and schedule small bits of rest. Notice where you start on the spiritual rest curve and where you land afterwards.
I can’t wait to hear what you learn.
Love, Jess
Inhale:
My soul is weary
Exhale:
Show me wonder, even here, even now, even for only a moment
This Week
Tuesday, Sept 12th, 7am Taco Tuesday at One Another Coffee featuring Mission Bell and Primero Tacos
Wednesday, Sept 13th, 7pm No Youth Group
Sunday, Sept 17th Sabbath Sunday–no afternoon worship
Upcoming…
Wednesday, Sept 20th, 6:30pm Sunset Worship
Saturday, Sept 23rd, 10am La Luz Art Exhibition Opening Reception
Sunday, Sept 24th, 4:30pm Chapel Worship
Stay in touch with what’s going on around campus by visiting the Collective Calendar, and following us on Instagram.
