Is It Too Noisy to Think?

Posted on May 27, 2019 by This Woman Writes

We live in a noisy world.

Some of the noise we can’t help, especially if we live in a city. There’s the bustle of traffic, a neighbor’s loud stereo, sirens. In the office, it may be a co-worker’s talking on their speaker phone, oblivious to the fact that we are all (unwillingly) listening in on their latest relationship problems. Even in the country we hear tractors, spray planes, farm machinery, lawn mowers.

peace wilderness mountain lake canoe quiet painting steve henderson wallowa

Peace, by Steve Henderson. Artwork on the wall gives our minds and eyes a place to rest, inviting us into its world of quiet. Peace, art print from Steve Henderson Collections

Other noise, however, we impose upon ourselves — like the TV droning in the background even though no one is watching, or the ear buds in our ears.

“But that’s music,” we say, wide eyed. Well, some of it is.

Whether the noise is “good” or “bad,” unwanted or self-imposed, the point is, is that it is not silence. In our noisy, active, busy, frenetic world, it’s easy to forget that silence is a necessary part to everyone’s day — because it is in silence that we are able to think, and think deeply.

And while we can and do experience too much noise, it’s difficult to make the argument that we have too much time to think.

In the artwork, Peace, a lone canoeist is in a very silent, very peaceful place, the only sound being the occasional chirp of a bird and the splash of oars upon the water. The lake is still; the mountains, majestic and imposing, are silent. In a place like this we can indeed think deeply, because there is nothing to distract our mind from its gentle stream of thoughts.

How often do we have time like this? While it may not be realistic for us to grab a canoe and head to a wilderness lake, there is always someplace where we can get away from the noise and activity, the bustle and hustle, the constant demands for our attention. (Many people swear by the bathroom, and its locked door.)

There is nothing wrong, and everything right, with taking time to be silent with our thoughts. After all, if we are not familiar with our own thoughts, how will we know when they are being imposed upon by the dictates of others?

Posted in Daily Life, Encouragement, Growth, inspirational, Life, Lifestyle, self-improvement, simple living, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

End Your Day on a Good Note

Posted on May 23, 2019 by This Woman Writes

Too many people end their day in the same way they began it: rushed and hurried, anxious and worried.

Think about it: it’s a cultural norm to wake up to an alarm clock or some song on the phone.  And whether we roll out of bed, groaning, or sit bolt upright, heart racing, we too often start the work day in a totally unnatural way.

1940s woman work home nostalgia vintage quiet day ending

Ending the Day on a Good Note, art print by Steve Henderson available at Steve Henderson Collections

But . . . that’s our norm.

So it is with ending the day: we have been in a state of rush since untangling ourselves from the bed clothes, gulping down coffee, applying makeup in the car, and literally driving ourselves through the day. When we get home, there’s more to do, all the mistakes of the work day to review, tomorrow’s obligations to plan and worry about and add to our fretting.

And while this is our cultural norm, it doesn’t have to be our personal one.

The woman in the artwork, Ending the Day on a Good Note, has just come home from her day at work.  Her clothes place her sometime in the 1940s so her job, we imagine, has something to do with the War Effort.

And while movies make anything to do with the U.S. during World War II seem noble, it’s highly likely that her job was unsatisfactory, vaguely boring, and not something she would choose to do with the precious hours of her life.

What she does choose to do — once she is home and mistress of her own time — is to take things slowly, to relax, to listen to music that gives her pleasure, and to experience a sense of quiet, contentment, and satisfaction.

Oh, there are always more things to do, and like any resident of a highly corporate, business-driven society, she knows this. But wisely, she recognizes that life is not meant to be lived at high speed, in a constant state of anxiety and worry, a continuous drive to do more, work harder, be smarter.

Life, rather, is meant to be lived.

Posted in america, Art, Culture, Daily Life, home, Job, Life, Lifestyle, self-improvement, simple living | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The One Time It’s Good to Feel Small

Posted on March 13, 2019 by This Woman Writes

Nobody likes feeling small — that feeling caused when one person lords him or herself over another.

Or — something good, ordinary people feel every day — that helpless feeling we get after reading the paper, scrolling through social media, or watching the “news” —

“The world is so big and unfriendly,” we think, “and I have no power to make any changes.

serenity grand canyon southwest arizona national park art steve henderson

Before such beauty and vastness, there is much to think about, much to ponder, much to be in awe over. Serenity, art print from Steve Henderson Collections.

“But there are so many people — too many people — who have power to make my life difficult, or frustrating, or unpleasant.”

(Actually, it’s not so much that there are a lot of people who possess this power, but those few who do, exert their power relentlessly. But even they would have less influence if good, ordinary people did not help them out by advancing their causes, supporting their corporations, buying their books, defending their names, and being their willing and subservient acolytes. If you’re going to follow anybody, make sure he or she is good, honest, trustworthy, compassionate, kind, and wise.)

But back to feeling small: there is a time when it is good to feel small, and this is shown in the artwork, Serenity.

A young woman sits before the vast and majestic Grand Canyon, a landscape so broad and big and mighty and truly incredible that only an arrogant, tiny-minded, shriveled-heart type of person does not feel its grandeur. In front of this vast space we not only feel physically small, but also quite vulnerable: few, actually zero, are the people who can fling themselves over the edge (without a paraplane) and fly.

We feel small, like children, and indeed children we are — children of the good, honest, trustworthy, compassionate, kind, and wise Creator who not only made this grand canyon, but the rest of the earth, and all of us as well. HE is big, and his power is held in good hands, hands that do not snatch and grab, grasp and push, slap and strike.

Before him we can safely be small and vulnerable, because he uses his power to protect and cherish us.

Posted in Christian, Daily Life, devotional, Encouragement, Faith, God, inspirational, Life, Lifestyle, painting, spirituality | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

God Wants Us to Be Children, Not Stuffy, Boring, Arrogant Grown-ups

Posted on March 7, 2019 by This Woman Writes

Children are fascinating.

Oh, I know — kids are messy, noisy, disruptive. They break things, fall down and cry, tease one another, and chase any sensible cat or dog from the room simply by walking into it.

bold innocence child standing beach coast ocean dreaming trust

Children dream big, and because they also trust big, they expect a positive answer to what they’re asking. Bold Innocence, by Steve Henderson

But they are also awesome.

Children have not yet learned that most of the things they think about, dream of, long for, and believe to be true are impossible or unlikely.

They do not worry about whether they can justify those thoughts, hopes, dreams, or beliefs — they simply get up each day and race their way through it.

In my office at the gallery where I work, I have a coffee mug with the image of Bold Innocence (above) on it — I hold this out at various times through the day (if I tip the cup I’m usually pretty good about making sure it’s empty first) and look at the little girl standing at the beach.

And I think, “That’s me.

“I’m that little girl, standing at the edge of the ocean, imagining Japan, or China, or some part of Asia, clear at the end of it, and convinced that somehow, I can walk over those waves and get there.”

Like a child, I don’t have to justify how what I say or think will come true, but what I do want to do, try to do, am continuing to (re)learn how to do is to trust as I once did as a child.

Only now, instead of trusting the grown-ups in my life (because, somehow, I grew into one of those myself), I seek to trust God, my Father, and Christ, the first-born of a whole family of us, as the family members who look after me, care for me, teach me, protect me, and listen to me as I express to them my thoughts, hopes, dreams, and beliefs.

Like my good earthly parents, who never ever laughed at any of the things I shared with them in my childish innocence, our good Father and our kind Elder Brother listen, and love. They recognize the vulnerability and innocence of a child, and they protect that.

Christ repeatedly taught his disciples (which include us) to be as children, and He really didn’t say anything without a good reason. It’s worth spending time thinking about those words, watching the way children act and think and trust, and — in a flip flop of what we think of as normal — imitating them, instead of always the other way around.

 

Posted in children, Christian, Daily Life, devotional, Encouragement, God, home, inspirational, Life, Lifestyle, self-improvement, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Think Like a Child

Posted on February 25, 2019 by This Woman Writes

Do you remember how you used to think as a child?

Most of us don’t.

childhood effervescence country girl play pretend steve henderson art

Children are the best teachers to show adults how to live simply, with trust and humility. Effervescence, original oil painting and art print by Steve Henderson.

Inoculated by the education and entertainment industries, we learned — while still far too young – to prize being cool over being honest. More important than what we actually thought and hoped and dreamed for was to look and act like a pretend person from a TV show, or better yet, an outrageously rebel rock star (honestly, who WOULDN’T want to be a rock star, idolized and worshiped by a mob of screaming fans?). At school, we venerated some figure from history, transformed into a fabulous role model by those weekly, condescendingly inane take-home inserts.

But there was a time before we were misled, when we played outside in a world that we created ourselves, in our own precious heads, as opposed to the world created for us by movies and TV. These were days when we were like the little girl in the painting, Effervescence, marching through the meadow with the purpose of play. It was a joyous time, a simple time, a time in which it was good enough to be just ourselves — and indeed, it didn’t cross our minds that we should be anybody else.

Those days, however, don’t last long, because our society spends a lot of time and effort teaching children that indeed, they are not good enough: their clothes are all wrong, their family drives the wrong kind of car, they themselves are not attractive enough, they’re not smart enough, they’re just not . . . something enough. It’s not just the businesses trying to sell us solutions to our many shortcomings who push at us; if we stumble our way into a church looking for the God we long for — the one who treasures and loves us, wrong clothes and car in all, because He made us — we hear the same message: we’re not good enough; we think wrong, act wrong, do wrong, and the only hope for us is that we come back week after week to buy the next message from the pulpit.

So . . . let’s stop for a moment and try to remember the way we thought as a child. And if that’s too far back, too buried in detritus to be found, then let us learn from children who are children today. Watch a very young child play. Listen to the things they say. Get down on their level and try to see the world the way they do.

Children possess a wisdom that we adults have lost — but they’re very very willing to teach us. All we have to do is listen.

Posted in acceptance, children, Christian, Culture, Daily Life, Encouragement, Faith | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Is Anyone Interested in a Little Privacy?

Posted on May 16, 2018 by This Woman Writes

Mother’s Day was brutal.

Not because it was a bad one at our house — it was wonderful, filled with warmth and family and love, elements that make every day, and every holiday, special.

queen annes lace wildflower country flower woman lace shawl thinking

The most intimate moments of our life remain special because we share them with few, but very beloved, people. Queen Anne’s Lace, art print from Steve Henderson Collections

No, it was the posts streaming through my Facebook feed, of some (not all) mothers desperately sharing EVERYTHING their children did for them that day, from the pedicures to the mimosas to the shopping to the hugs and kisses and squeezes and snuggles.

Now while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with these wonderful events, and we understandably want to rejoice in them and share that rejoicing, what’s sad is that I — a relative stranger to most of the people who posted them (not an odd situation on Facebook, incidentally) — heard and saw it all, as if I had been there. Special times with loved ones are just that — extremely special, very personal, highly intimate — and while Facebook and other social media are ready and willing to help us disclose as many elements of our personal lives as we’re willing to put out there, I can’t help but wonder: aren’t there some moments that are so beautiful, so precious, so close to the people involved, that it’s worth not announcing them to the world of social media acquaintances?

Is there anything wrong, and possibly something wise, about keeping some information to ourselves, secure in the knowledge that we are loved, treasured, liked, and valued — regardless of how many Likes we get on a post?

Obviously, based upon the stream of posts, not everyone sees things that way, and the accusation that I am being a grump won’t surprise me. But there’s also this: the information, the photos, the memories, the images, the personal data, go out far, far beyond the limited circle of people we are comfortable interacting with face to face, and if we wouldn’t announce to the shoppers at Walmart, “My little toe is bigger than the one next to it — and my family thinks that’s really funny!” then why do we tell that to strangers?

Thank You

Thank you for joining me at This Woman Writes, where it is my hope that every person reading this has at least one person in their life who thinks they’re terrific, and does not need to fish for approval from acquaintances like me. Memories with family and friends are treasures worth keeping safe and in a quiet place.

Posts that (loosely) complement this one are

Saying Grace in Public Places

Who Cares Who You Voted For — Whom Do You Love?

Posted in america, Art, Christian, Culture, Daily Life, Family, Life, Lifestyle, Relationships, simple living, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mind Control: The More You Read and Question, the Less It Happens

Posted on May 15, 2018 by This Woman Writes

It’s easier to sit through a mindless movie than slog through a bad book.

After all, most movies and TV shows demand little active brain involvement, so it’s possible (desirable, actually, from the perspective of the Media Myth Makers) to slump on the sofa, eyes glazed, hands reaching for the chips.

afternoon reading book woman park quiet relaxing me time

A good book, and a quiet, peaceful afternoon in which to read it — this is one of life’s simple, meaningful pleasures. Afternoon with a Book, affordable fine art print from Steve Henderson Collections.

But books, even bad ones, require some thought, and for those who read — and read often — they develop a desire for mentally stimulating fare, content that  encourages them to ponder what they’re absorbing and, eventually, question everything they are told.

Obviously, there are poorly written books (a lot of them!), and if one limits oneself to vampire chronicles, political rantings by talking heads, and “clean fiction” in which the raciest scene involves the man murmuring to the woman, “I love you with the sweet hope of Jesus,” as he brushes his lips across her hair, then there will be little demand for the mind to engage in what it was meant to do best: think, ponder, question, wonder, analyze, argue, critique, and create.

But even shallow books are better than movie media, because they depend upon words alone, as opposed to emotional music and camera trickery that gently mold the viewer’s thoughts into what the Myth Maker wants them to see and believe. Visual stimulation is powerful, which may be one reason why representational artwork — that which actually looks like something and connects to the viewer’s experience and psyche — is tossed to the side in favor of pop art and shapes and color that match the rug, and nothing more.

Time with a book is time alone, time in a state of quiet and tranquility, time away from white noise, phone buzzing, really bad YouTube videos, and constant movie myth demands to accept this opinion, buy that car, dress this way, fear this potential action, hate that group of people, and feel bad if your body doesn’t look like that one’s.

And for some reason, in today’s U.S. corporately controlled society, being alone is considered a bad, bad thing. Is it, possibly, because when we are alone, we’re better able to think?

Thank You

Thank you for joining me at This Woman Writes. The image above, Afternoon with a Book, by Steve Henderson, captures a moment of perfect contentment when the day is warm, the surroundings are peaceful, and the book is really good!

Posts complementing this one are

Why It’s Important for Christians to READ

Feel Like a Loser? You’re on Facebook Too Much

Posted in america, books, Christian, Daily Life, Faith, Family, fine art, inspirational, Life, Lifestyle, mass media, Politics, reading, self-improvement, simple living | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Skip the Trends and Be Yourself

Posted on May 10, 2018 by This Woman Writes

For a nation that considers itself filled with maverick individuals, the U.S.A. is  increasingly a land of followers: we follow the leader, we follow fashions, we follow The Influencers, we follow trends. And in doing so — coolly repeating lines from TV characters as if we thought them up ourselves — we are turning into a very boring, squishily malleable, easily influenced populace.

spirit grand canyon southwest arizona woman fabric freedom steve henderson art

There is remarkable freedom in thinking for, and being, ourselves. But you won’t learn how to do this in a crowd. Spirit of the Canyon, art print at Steve Henderson Collections.

I thought of this the other day when I was buying glasses.

“Oh, these are trendy!” the saleswoman told me, pointing to a wall of thick-rimmed, black plastic atrocities that looked like what Clark Kent wears before he turns into Superman. (See? I can’t even dredge up a simile that isn’t linked to pop culture.)

“I wore a pair of those when I was 9-years-old,” I told her. “So did everyone. It was the trend in the 1970s.”

“But it’s the new trend now!”

Well, it is for the next six months or so, until at some point, when major players in movies and media shows switch back to cat-eyed glasses, or little round John Denver specs, or rectangular slits with jewels on top, the trend will change. And . . . people will follow.

So trained are we that the only opinions that matter are those promulgated by faces and names we recognize, that we discount our own thoughts, our own likes, our own desires, our own ideas. And if we are enough immersed in popular culture, we may not even know what we think, like, desire, and dream. But we can repeat the words of The Influencers. (By the way, that term — Influencers — is Orwellian in accuracy: they don’t teach, they don’t philosophize, they don’t empathize, they don’t care: they influence. Do we seriously want to be influenced by people we know nothing about other than what they tell us?)

Skipping the trends is not easy when they’re all you see on Facebook and in the box stores, but it’s not impossible. Thinking for ourselves has always been a matter of stepping away from the crowds, immersing ourselves in silence, and identifying the box we’re being shoved into so that we can step out of it.

Thank You

Thank you for joining me at This Woman Writes. Posts complementing this one are

The Walt Disney World of American Christianity

Blessed Are the Rejects

 

 

Posted in Christian, Culture, Current Events, Daily Life, Faith, Family, God, mass media, media, self-improvement, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Why Do I Ask but Don’t Receive?

Posted on May 3, 2018 by This Woman Writes

Christ’s words are challenging for us to believe, as is evidenced by the number of sermons attempting to explain away statements that seem fairly straightforward, like, ask and it will be given to you; or, don’t be anxious about what you will eat or drink, because your Father knows that you need these things; or, you will bear much fruit.

catching breeze woman walking beach coast sand surf sunset steve henderson art

Our understanding of God, His love for us, and His working in our lives, increases as we spend time thinking, questioning, praying, wondering. Catching the Breeze, affordable art print from Steve Henderson Collections.

If a human being made any of these same statements to us, and we knew they had what it took to back them, we would take their words literally. And indeed, charlatan preachers say they do, encouraging us to ask for a Ferrari because Jesus told us to ask and we would receive. (It works for them, doesn’t it?) These people cause incredible damage because they twist and contort words to fit their own ends, promoting a (healthy) sense of cynicism in people who recognize scam artists when they see them.

But the Words, What about the Words?

But the words remain, and away from the name-it-claim-it crowd, deep in the bowels of conservative evangelical realms, convoluted sermons about what they mean persist, because, frankly, most of us have not seen actual manifestations of those words in our lives: we ask, but we don’t receive, and we know we’re not asking for something ridiculous. So we get sermons like, “Ask, and Christ will send you something completely opposite to what you’re really asking for, because it’s good for you, and it was wrong of you to want what you asked for in the first place.” Or, “Maybe His answer is just plain No.” (Then why does the desire not go away, we wonder? Couldn’t He get rid of that as well?)

But maybe we’re stopping at the wrong point. Maybe the concept of asking, and praying, and communicating with our Father is an ongoing element of our lives, and as we learn more, we give it another go, so to speak, and see where we wind up next. I’m reminded of a recent exercise class I attended, in which I ended the session with a run around the block (on Main Street, in a small gossipy town, no less), and I absolutely hate running.

But this time, building on previous runs, I ran better than I did the very first time, and as I did so, I thought – it’s a process, strengthening the body, in the same way as understanding Christ’s words, and talking to Him about it. So why not ask, and continue to ask, and follow the path before us, and see where we wind up? In other words, why not take that jog around the block, ignore the stares – perceived or real – and see what happens as and when we persist?

Thank You

Thank you for joining me at this woman writes, where I spend time — like the woman in Steve Henderson’s artwork, Catching the Breeze, above — wondering and pondering, praying, and giving a shot at believing Christ’s words are true. I find this easiest to do outside of the white noise of pop culture Christianity.

 

Posted in Christian, Daily Life, Faith, God, inspirational, Relationships, religion, self-improvement, spirituality | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Church Christianity: Teaching Two Things That Can’t Be Simultaneously True

Posted on May 2, 2018 by This Woman Writes

For years I struggled to believe two opposite statements that cannot possibly be true at the same time. But because they are standard teaching in evangelical church Christianity, and since for too long I believed that these statements reflect what Jesus taught in the Gospels, I – like many church Christians today – denied reality and blamed myself for the result.

stillness grand canyon indian native american arizona steve henderson painting

Be still, think deeply, and seek God in places of silence, where the chatter doesn’t distract you. Stillness — affordable fine art print by Steve Henderson, at Steve Henderson Collections — click on the image to see more.

Here are the two statements:

1) God loves you unconditionally.

Nothing wrong with this statement at all: it’s what we long to hear as struggling human beings, and the message is so welcome that we are drawn toward the institution that announces it. But then comes the caveat:

2) You fall far short of God’s standards of holiness, and for this reason, unless you say a series of words and sentences (the “Four Spiritual Laws,” put into booklet form by – not Jesus in the Gospels, but 20th century evangelist Bill Bright and promoted around the world by the likes of Billy Graham), God will send you to eternal damnation forever.

That’s it in a nutshell, and while proponents of the philosophy wave endless Bible verses, drawn out of context, to prove their point, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Statement #2 is highly conditional – so if it is true, then it renders Statement #1 false.

Bring that up in your next Bible study and see where it gets you.

Better yet, skip the next group Bible study and spend time at home, intensely reading the four Gospels, over and over and over, doing your best to wipe out any sermon “teachings” you’ve picked up through the years. Notice how Jesus is not afraid of His Father, and how He describes His Father, our Father, as reasonable, just, merciful, and kind.

And ask yourself if a reasonable, just, merciful, and kind human father places conditions upon his children in which he determines it is right to condemn them.

Thank You

Thank you for joining me at This Woman Writes, where I, through my writing, and Steve, through his artwork, encourage us all to think, question, and not discount the commonsense our Creator has so bountifully given us.

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