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I take classes from time to time for Coaching. (Please remove the image you have of me as a 50 year old beer bellied man whose athletic career peaked when he scored the winning touch down at his high school homecoming.) The classes are for Life Coaching, which interests me since I like telling people how I think they should live. Surprisingly, coaching is about letting the person realize that the answer is within them. This means I have to keep my mouth shut and ask questions.
This = Torture.
I am currently reading a book for class, which will remain nameless because of how lame I think it’s title and cover are. Lets just say the author has their photo plastered on the front in that tilted 1994 Glamour shot pose and the title tells you how many steps it will take to reach…well perfection.
Sign me up Scotty!
On the section telling me how to Feng Shui my life, it has a bullet point which states:
“If your windows look out at a cemetery or hospital, cover them with shades or curtains.”
Sweet Jehoshaphat!
I was reading the book on my flight home to visit my parents and almost spewed out my club soda. “Denial of death” apparently makes my environment feel more “favorable” according to this book.
I may be a little morbid, but I have loved cemeteries my whole life. My father used to stop at cemeteries on our family road trips to go for jogs and one of my favorite spots in the whole world is this secret little area I found in Arlington Cemetery. Remembering the brevity of life, whether it is my own or the people around me, causes me to act differently. I tend to relax, love people and forgive. Of course, this is when I actually remember the brevity. So my thought is…why not the gentle reminder via a grave or emergency room signs? The Bible is clear when it says:
“Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
Seems my anti-tombstone schoolbook and the Good book are contradicting each other.
Question:
What do you think about the curtain?
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Love and Respect (Now) is a division of Love and Respect. Please be considerate.
I certainly feel as though we should not draw the curtain down to hide certain things in life tha might be trying or not "uplifting". i find that we tend to "vet" things in our life to try and sustain a false sense of contentment. in reality this is just hiding our fears and not putting them out in the open in order to be transformed. the only way to seriously pursue happiness and truth is to face life in all of its fallen and brokenness so that we get closer to a true purity of our heart( sorry i stole this phrase from kierkegaard).
being aware of death, like Joy says, adds a healthy sense of urgency to life that i feel helps soften our hearts to the reality of our situation in life.
Iam concerned about the idea of "fengshui" and how it talks about creating and embracing good, flowing energy and blocking out negative and stagnant energy.
HOw od we discern what is good energy and what is bad energy? certain things in life might superficially seem to be bad…but just bc it doesnt initially appeal to your thoughts about what is good doesnt mean that it is a foregone conclusion it is bad. But perhaps before we go ahead "vetting" things in our life as to what is good or not we need to spend some time to make sure we are working within a proper frame of reference and heart to know what is actually good and bad and what just has the illusion of being good or bad.
to the other anonymous person iam not sure where you stand on whether we should turn our eyes away from death or should we face it bc we shouldnt be scared of it? good scripture reference just wasnt exactly sure how it shaped your thinking…
this is "anonymous zeph" by the way and iam tired…over and out.
This is for that awkward moment with the ananymous post….
Thanks for your comment Kathy–I loved that scripture and the reminder that if our work is done for the Lord, this life will not be in vain, no matter how many days.
And Zeph, thanks for your thougths as well. I agree with how we need to have our perspectives changed. I want to state that I am not necessarily against feng shui or positive energy. I think Christ is clear about giving thanks and i know that our bodies are so connected: mind body and spirit that if we are around negativity it can actually affect our health and spirit. I am all for making my environment conducive to the most positive energy I can get! But as you and I both noted, the goal of being positive should not forsake the reality of this fallen world and that the end WILL come.
Psalm 90 which was most likely written by Moses goes on to say:
13 Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
I have some thoughts but wondered if my little "anonymous" friends wanted to say anything first…
Anonymous thinks...
I just started reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and right now he's arguing that certain things are not natural, like death. Seems to me even those with no belief in God know that death is not natural. They are trying to block it out.
However, I was just thinking about what our pastor was teaching a few weeks ago at the Well…I Corinthians 15:55-58
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"[h] 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
This prophetic scripture sarcastically mocks death and shows that it holds absolutely no power over those who are in Jesus Christ…
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