The bits in-between
Today was a day of fixed points and liminal spaces. The fixed points were fine. An end-of-placement review with the gap year girls, Helen and Aurore. A catch-up with a friend. And my last Awakening Creativity session at the Phnom Penh House of Prayer for a while. All really good.
But it was the bits in-between that have lingered longer. The first one - an unexpected hour in a Korean cafe. Got there too early to meet the gap girls. First time I'd been and it felt like an oasis. Good music, simple surroundings and lovely staff. So I stayed and did an end-of-season review of my own.
Went through the past nine months picking out the best bits, the worst, the fruitful stuff, the OK stuff and the dying and needing-to-let-go-of stuff. Good to see it all laid out before me and have a sense of achievement and an inkling of things for the future.
The other in-between moment was on the way to the creativity session. Had just said t'ra to my catch-up friend and the skies suddenly opened and rain upon rain began to fall. With half an hour to spare and no emergency poncho to hand, I quickly cycled to the market and nipped inside for some noodles. Whilst eating and waiting for the waters to wane, I reflected back on this morning's review. And a thought stuck me....
Just to backtrack a bit, it's been a difficult week. Have felt thrown by a number of things and haven't been at my best. Haven't slept brilliantly either which has added to the emotional mix. In the midst of it all, I've wondered about the state of my heart. And whether it's truly weathered these past nine months well. Or not.
So back to the noodles thought... in spite of the good things that have happened and all that's been achieved, have I loved well? That was it. Have I looked beyond myself and sought to love well? Have I considered others and been as interested in them and their achievements as my own? Or have I been peeved by what I've perceived as others not loving me well? And got stroppy. And switched off?
A: Both.
So today what's lingered is thoughts about my heart. All that's unseen. All that never made it to the list of achievements. And losses. And bits in-between. Is my biggest achievement really running the ArtSpace? Or going to Nepal and Bangladesh with the Good Touch Bad Touch project? Or is it in my relationships, with others, myself and God? Have I loved well?
"If I speak in the tongue of Khmer, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of facilitating art workshops and can inspire creativity and courage, and if I have a faith that can move nations to end all child abuse, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails."
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (slightly paraphrased :-)
But it was the bits in-between that have lingered longer. The first one - an unexpected hour in a Korean cafe. Got there too early to meet the gap girls. First time I'd been and it felt like an oasis. Good music, simple surroundings and lovely staff. So I stayed and did an end-of-season review of my own.
Went through the past nine months picking out the best bits, the worst, the fruitful stuff, the OK stuff and the dying and needing-to-let-go-of stuff. Good to see it all laid out before me and have a sense of achievement and an inkling of things for the future.
The other in-between moment was on the way to the creativity session. Had just said t'ra to my catch-up friend and the skies suddenly opened and rain upon rain began to fall. With half an hour to spare and no emergency poncho to hand, I quickly cycled to the market and nipped inside for some noodles. Whilst eating and waiting for the waters to wane, I reflected back on this morning's review. And a thought stuck me....
Just to backtrack a bit, it's been a difficult week. Have felt thrown by a number of things and haven't been at my best. Haven't slept brilliantly either which has added to the emotional mix. In the midst of it all, I've wondered about the state of my heart. And whether it's truly weathered these past nine months well. Or not.
So back to the noodles thought... in spite of the good things that have happened and all that's been achieved, have I loved well? That was it. Have I looked beyond myself and sought to love well? Have I considered others and been as interested in them and their achievements as my own? Or have I been peeved by what I've perceived as others not loving me well? And got stroppy. And switched off?
A: Both.
So today what's lingered is thoughts about my heart. All that's unseen. All that never made it to the list of achievements. And losses. And bits in-between. Is my biggest achievement really running the ArtSpace? Or going to Nepal and Bangladesh with the Good Touch Bad Touch project? Or is it in my relationships, with others, myself and God? Have I loved well?
"If I speak in the tongue of Khmer, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of facilitating art workshops and can inspire creativity and courage, and if I have a faith that can move nations to end all child abuse, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails."
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (slightly paraphrased :-)
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