14 5 / 2012
"There shall be no needy among you…If there is among you a needy person, one of your brethren, within any of your cities, in your land which Adonai your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy sibling; but you shall surely open your hand, shall surely lend sufficient for this one’s need…For the poor will never cease from the land. For this reason, God commands you, saying, “You shall surely open your hand to your siblings, to the poor and needy in your land."
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14 5 / 2012
"By definition you can’t buy simplicity. You can’t make simplicity. Simplicity comes from within. It’s a human quality. It’s not a product, for heaven’s sake."
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14 5 / 2012
"It is easy enough to see that all through our lives we are faced with the task of reconciling opposites which, in logical thought, cannot be reconciled. The typical problems of life are insoluble on the level of being on which we normally find ourselves. How can one reconcile the demands of freedom and discipline in education? Countless parents and teachers, in fact, do it, but no one can write down a solution. They do it by bringing into the situation a force that belongs to a higher level where opposites are transcended - the power of love"
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14 5 / 2012
Sugar Yum Yum: Degrees of Fatness
Privilege in the face of oppression is real. So far my two favorite Not Allies are, 1) Hey, privilege isn’t all good, and 2) Can’t you just get over it? I don’t actually need enemies with those guys around.
I absolutely love you all and have no problem with you identifying as fat (as you are fat and it’s hella awesome) but please, for the love of all that is holy, stop acting as if your size 12/14/16 body has the same mental, physical, spatial, and societal issues as my size 32 does. You don’t…
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26 4 / 2012
Not You (Power Circle) 2011
pen and liquid lipcolor on paper
work-in-progress
(via yoursecretary)
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26 4 / 2012
How does this go?
If I start with the premise that
-A place that is not accessible to me is tacitly refusing my patronage
I arrive at the conclusion that
-All the places that are not accessible are places I am not welcome or wanted.
- The platform at the chapel of my church
- The supply room of the religious education wing
- Seminaries with inaccessible facilities
If I start with the premise that
-People and institutions are doing their best.
I arrive at the conclusion that
-Access is not a high priority. (reasons: economics, convenience, demand)
- Plans are in the works for access. Plans that take months and years represent not the possibility of freedom, but another obstruction.
- Lack of universal design in new undertakings
- Seminaries with inaccessible facilities
If I start with the premise that
-Accessibility issues only affect a small portion of people.
I arrive at the conclusion that
-The contribution of disabled people is of little value. People are only as valuable as their abilities.
- Inaccessibility is not measured for its human cost.
- There is a subtext of being able to do it without “those people”. In fact, that is already happening and continues to happen.
- This is at odds with Universal Love and the inherent worth and dignity of every person.
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26 4 / 2012
You Have Done Enough.
Really. I’m not kidding. At the end of the day, you should be explicit with yourself. Take a deep breath and explain, Listen, you. You have done enough. Maybe all of it didn’t work. Maybe there is more to do. Maybe The Problem isn’t solved.
Bless it. Tell it that it is enough. Say it out loud: “You have done enough.”
Enough is what those in the grammar business call a non-count noun. It’s just what it sounds like. If you can’t sleep, there is no counting, 1 enough, 2 enoughs. All those things that you did today, they total up to the Enough. If you do five more things before bed, if you squeeze in last-minute phone calls, is it more enough? Sorry, no.
The trick is allowing the blessing of having done enough to reach your mind and heart. Time to unwind. Time to stop planning and strategizing. What will you have to do to quiet your mind and come back to the present? Take a walk, shoot some hoops, listen to your favorite song? Call your friend, draw a picture, give and get a hug?
Think about this advice from the Sermon on the Mount:
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Rest. Refresh yourself. You have done enough.
