Life in a Day

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
Martin Luther King Jr.

I might add to King's words that in order to do this he must first know what the broader concerns of all humanity are and to know what those are he must be willing to enter into relationship with those that are "other" than himself.

One of the aspects of my job that I really enjoy is being able to sit and hear people tell their story. I have found that asking the right questions plays a big part in being able to elicit what is most important to people. Giving them a chance to tell what they want to tell and in the way they want to tell it. Story-telling, even if it is your own story, is an art.

"A story is a mind picture painted by the human voice instead of the human hand. A story is a great life-message that passes from one soul to another. It steals as quietly as a canoe into the hidden places where naught else can go; it is as soothing as a song sometimes and at other times it cuts like a two-edged sword. It is quickly given, but it lasts in life through eternity. It has power to bless and it has power to curse." (Margaret W. Eggleston)

As I was on-call last night I figured I would watch a movie to pass some time. I happened upon a documentary called Life In A Day. If you are a netflix or youtube person it should be no problem for you to find. The link at the bottom of the blog will take you right to youtube if you want to watch it. The basic premise of the film is that people were asked to upload video of their story on one day, July 24, 2010 and answer a few questions. I can't remember all of them but the two that stuck out to me were "What do you love?" and "What do you fear?" It was a perspective-giver to me in that it did a good job of showing the diversity of experience and "story" on any given day, in any given culture, at any given place on the planet. Some parts will make you wince, some laugh, and some cry. Or, at least they did me.

I've kinda wondered what the point of all this writing is and why I am doing it. Perhaps the best reason I can think of is that it gives me a medium to share my story with whoever will take the time to read it. I am most interested in having it as something my kids can read later in life - words from their dad's inner sanctum. Ok - that's a little creepy. How about words from their dad's heart that they might find meaningful one day.

The pic is of Cade and me at Camp Ghormley one summer when I was a speaker up there. Lots of good stories about that place.

http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday?feature=etp-gs-lif-00