Living in Full Color

I just spent a super weekend with my sister doing things that make me feel alive.  They may seem like a strange combination to be wrapped into one person, but they are all a little piece of my passions.  Saturday - got a new tattoo of a hawk, Sunday - saw Riverdance...again, Monday - attended the Memorial Day ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial in Portland.

While driving home, I was talking to my sister about dreams, goals, and desires.  Like many people, especially women, in our busy, achievement-driven, production-centered society, she is recognizing that all her time and efforts are pretty much centered on her "roles" - wife, mother, home school teacher, cook, housekeeper, taxi driver, and the list goes on.  "Do you see this as a problem?" I carefully probed.  "Yes!" she answered, "But what do I DO?"

But before we get to that issue, let me ask you - Are you willing to prioritize your desires into your schedule?  If you are like most, the answer is a noncommital "I think so".  You realize at some level you should, but are not sure why it just never seems to happen.  So let me ask you question #2 - "Do you tend to feel that most activities should be productive or somehow benefit someone else?" Aha, therein lies the problem.

You, my friend, are living in grayscale instead of full color.  Years ago, my sister had seen a dance production that left her breathless.  I reminded her of that experience and suggested, "You need to do more with that!"  She gave me a puzzled look as if asking "what does that have to do with anything?"  We must make room in our lives for those things which make us feel most alive.  I am not sure that we choose them or if somehow they are prewired into us genetically, spiritually, or temperamentally.  For me, it is Celtic music/dance and Veterans - passions that I feel in my bones, if that is possible.  I don't think I can even explain them and I don't feel I need to defend them - they just ARE a part of me.

Tapping into those things that are uniquely US is what causes us to live in full color and that, in and of itself, IS PRODUCTIVE.  The more alive I am, the more life I bring to my roles as wife, mother, counselor, writer, gardener, or whatever.

There is a reason that God made flowers in an array of colors.  If He were only all about duty, obligation, and production, I don't think He would have bothered with colors or flavors (and don't even get me started on that topic!).  That tells me He is also about passion, pleasure, and enjoyment.
 
So be free, my friends, to desire, dream, and live in full color!