Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Lachrymation





(this is a post from a long time ago but I still find it fascinating)

This might possibly be my most random post. ever.

I have been contemplating the phenomenon of crying. (lachrymation)
So strange isn't it?

So strange how our physical body and our emotions are so connected without our mind even being aware of it sometimes?

We can be sitting there, doing or saying something that we think is completely safe, and boom, the tears come. Something was happening in our emotions that our mind was not aware of, but our tear ducts certainly were.

(and keep in mind, our "emotions" are part of our "minds." It’s all so weird.)

And then, even when we put all of our mental and physical power into holding back the tears, sometimes the emotions are so powerful, there is nothing we can do. They just flow. It’s actually a chemical reaction. Man, how I'd like to see those chemicals in action. I want to see the trigger, then another trigger, then the build up, then the mix, then the reaction. And all the while, my mind is doing everything it can to try to stop it....but its too late, the chemicals have been released.
Those emotions are sneaky.

And then, the tear ducts connect to your nose (how does this happen?? or actually, why does it happen??? why the nose??), and it starts flowing.

And then your voice--you know the tremble. Why??

And then, if the emotions are feeling extra confident that day, you feel it in your whole body. A little crunch in the back.


The face contorts. (why so oddly?? why?)

You become weaker.

Your whole body is involved in the process, its harder to breath.


Actually, the loss of breath can happen at any part in the process.


Maybe from shock at what your body is doing? Maybe from overflow of emotions?


Maybe from your nose being stopped up?

Maybe from the fact that your body is focused on the whole crying process that it forgets to do the other functions?

And check this out: "Tears produced during emotional crying have a chemical composition which differs from other types of tears: they contain significantly greater quantities of hormones."

This is interesting because I've heard a proposed theory for why we "feel better" after crying is because of the elimination of hormones associated with stress.

"Crying is a mechanism developed in humans to dispose of this stress hormone when levels grow too high."

We truly are releasing things that NEED to be released!

Isn't is strange, overwhelming, sometimes beautiful, and sometimes really hard, to be in that moment when someone is talking to you, completely normal, and then boom, it hits.
Sometimes we are warned and we can see it building up....but sometimes....sometimes it just comes out and no one, not even the crier herself, is prepared!

And then the tears change everything. Changes the whole conversation. And you know it changes the weight of the words. The minute the tears come--everyone starts listening closer.
How does it have that effect??

And then, for people like me, if you’re listening to someone speak (like an official Speaker I am not conversing with) and they start crying--boom, it triggers something in me and you know the tears are coming for me too. why??? Why do tears have that effect on us?

But then other times, if I'm in conversation with someone, and they start crying, there's no way I'm going to cry--even if I tried. It is like my mind is just too focused on trying to figure out why they are crying, how I can make it better, and how I can be the rock for them at that moment.

Oh lachrymation...you perplex me, yet you are beautiful.
You are your own beast.
You have your own mind.
You mark many moments in our lives.
You communicate great things in our lives.
You bring about immense healing.
You release the negative toxins that need to be released.
You bring light into the darkness.
What an interesting part of the human experience.

Friday, December 17, 2010

YOU ARE NAMED




(this was one of my first real posts ever. I was re-reading it and felt like it was worth reposting just for fun)


-"You memorized the names of the all the stars—how many are there?”

-“What difference does that make? I know their names. I don’t know how many there are. It’s their names that matter.”

“A Namer has to know who people are, and who they are meant to be.”

--A Wind in the Door, by Madeleine L'Engle


One of the truths that I have learned through Madeleine L'Engle is that we, as image bearers of God, have the capacity to Name people; to convey to them who they are, who they are meant to be; to call out the true creation inside of them. To tell them for the first time, or to remind them, that they have been named; that they are known (truly, deeply and intimately); that they are worthy of love, and that they are loved.

And that is precisely how we name them: we love them.

And we all know that we love in many ways.


Sometimes naming them (aka. showing them who they really are) means we use audible words, sometimes we even have to scream it at them;


many times it means forgetting the wrong that they've done and pouring out grace to them, no matter how much it hurts and goes against what we feel is just;


sometimes it means searching inside them to find the good, the lovable (and this can be very hard sometimes) and only thinking about THAT when you think about that person. And only talking about that when we Name that person to others, a.k.a. talk about that person.


sometimes (most times) it means fighting for their identity in intense warfare called prayer.


Most times you can do it in subtle ways-- with the tone of voice you use to talk to that person,


by consistently encouraging their uniqueness indirectly (even when that uniqueness is not you're favorite)


There are many more ways that will come to mind if you stop and think about it.

Our society is in the middle of a tragic identity crises (yes, you could argue that it always has been).


There are "forces" out there that are telling people that they are nothing;

that it doesn't matter what they do or think or feel--just do whatever feels good.

We see some of this is disorders like schizophrenia and depression and bi-poler disorder and many others.

You also see it in the way people TALK about being honest, being fair, loving, etc, YET they dont PRACTICE it themselves--in the corporate world, the political world, the day to day world, in their relationships.


We have different realities of work Bob, bar Bob, internet Bob, family Bob.


And this, I think everyone can relate to-->


We have the person that everyone knows


and then


the "real" self with all her hidden sins, sad thoughts, confusion, and all the other darkness that we hold inside.


So we have to pretend.


Pretend that everything is ok.

Pretend that you are great; that you're not sad, that you didn't do anything wrong, that everything makes sense to you, that you have everything together, that you're not broken.

Pretending implies two realities.

And we get tired of pretending, don't we?

So we choose which one is real to us.

Pretend world vs. Real world.


Real World: Knowing who you are with all the crap that comes along with you

(because you're broken, lets face it, everyone is broken.

Everyone has something dark and ugly.

EV.ERY.ONE.

promise.)


Pretend World: you think that everything is okay;

you think that actually working through the hard stuff inside you is pointless and stupid and painful, so why not just seek ease and pleasure;

you think that you are not connected to anyone else;

you think that you are not connected to the whole world, the whole universe;

you think that you're thoughts and actions do not affect anyone else.

You think that it just doesn't matter.

(this is where, we, as Namers come in. We tell each other and show each other how we really do matter. We remind each other that we were KNOWN before we were conceived. We are KNOWN right now. That we are CONNECTED. That every little thing we do matters. We, as Namers, tell each other what is a lie/what is not real. And we tell each other the real things about our life, about who we are. We tell each other the Truth.)

We can believe "nothing really matters so therefore, I am the only one that matters in this moment."

Or, we can accept what is real.

Take the crap , forfeit the pleasure, but know that the crap is REAL and it can be worked through, because IT IS REAL.


Nothing in pretend world can be worked through. And we know that. . .

No growth = no beauty.

No brokenness= no beauty.

Expose the dark = the light shines through = we see the beauty.

"Reality in its essence is unified; is one.

God is one.

God's work is to unite things that were created to be ONE, but have fallen apart."


-rob bell


Do you live in two realities?

Living in the internal truth AND the external person who's trying to be what you think everyone expects of you.


We sometimes live in that external "reality" to protect us from what is really true.

"The work of the cross is to unite those realities,

so that you don't have to say 'I'm tired of pretending.'"

Because you don't have to pretend.

You can be united, whole, complete.

And that is His beautiful work--He invites people to become one.

To unite you're two realities.

You are known.


"You are created matter. You are part of the great plan, an indispensable part. You are needed; you have your own unique share in the freedom of creation.”


You are fully and completely known by your creator.

And you're creator wants to make you known to everyone you know. Truly known. With all the crap.

If he knows every name of every single batrillionjillon star in our galaxy, don't you think he knows you're name and what that name represents--who. you. truly. are.


When I let that sink in, it is pretty intense.

Let's let him unite our realities.
Let's let him make us one.

Inside and out.

Brokenness to beauty.
Let's let ourselves be known to the universe (aka. other people)


Let's Name each other for who we really are.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Guiltless Shopping!




I sincerely meant to post this before Christmas, as suggestions for Christmas shopping.


I managed to do almost all of my Christmas shopping in a way that I legitimately feel proud of. I may have spent more than if I purchased more easily attainable gifts at Target, World Market, and the Mall, but every single penny was worth it. I planned ahead, shopped on fair-trade online stores, and have been receiving packages every day in the mail!


So fun!




I'm sorry I did not share the wealth with all of you, but this is for the future! Not just for Christmas a whole year from now, but ANY other shopping you need to do throughout the year. You could do all your gift shopping here! And you could do much of your shopping for yourself here!




Wonderful site with a WIDE variety:




Another wonderful site with a WIDE variety:
http://tradeasone.com/


Friends who live in Haiti work with these women:
http://www.haitiancreations.com/






(I do not know if everything on this site is necessarily "fair trade" but most of it is hand made by creative folks in the U.S. and much of it is crafted with recyled products. It is such a fun site for random items!)



This store is wonderful and there are many shops you can actually go into like in Austin, Houston, Dallas
http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/



Great Coffee! You can get set up on a monthly plan to get all your coffee here, or just buy one at a time!




Perfect, cute, fun, sandals! And I can tell you all about my friend who works for them in Uganda!
http://www.ssekodesigns.com/





Those above are all sites that I have purchased from myself so they definitely have my stamp of approval. The below sites just came up when I googled "fair trade shopping." They look wonderful and will look into them in the future.


It's that simple!!!