Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. (Deuteronomy 4:9)
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)
Today’s exercise deals with family,
and while it’s not overtly based on the assumption of parents and children, or
grandparents and grandchildren, that’s how it feels to me. It asks what I can
do in the context of my family to spread the practice of living in awareness of
His presence and listening to His voice. The problem is that my family is – for
the most part – a thousand miles away. We aren’t major parts of each other’s
support system. I can’t turn off the stove and go help them, nor can they drop
what they’re doing and come to help me. And while my church family is closer,
they all have lives and families of their own. It is what it is.
Quite a few years ago, I started
a Facebook group called “Nobodies.” It’s based on the storylet about there
being Somebody, Everybody, Anybody, and Nobody, and in the end, Nobody did what
needed to be done. The idea was to celebrate Good Samaritans, Nobodies who
stepped up. Granted, there haven’t been many additions of late. I gave a talk at
the library and wrote letters to the editor about the notion of making the
world a better place by starting with making yourself a better person: learning
to eat right, exercise, get enough water and sleep, getting one’s relationships
right, maintaining proper boundaries, etc., then moving out into taking care of
your home and property, eventually branching out into your neighborhood, and
encouraging others to do the same.
This is the revolution that I
want to continue. I want people to pick up litter, weed their elderly neighbors’
garden, learn to can, or otherwise do things that will improve their lives, their
homes, their neighborhoods, and their world.
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