I’ve been thinking for awhile about how to bring you into this blog. I have a plan, and this is your chance to take the next step into my brand of foolishness. You ready?
Starting next week, once a month my blog post will be a reflection on a specific thing that I’ve invited us, collectively, to practice. (Read on, for this week’s!) Many of these “foolishness prompts” will be drawn from my Fools’ Manual. Sometimes they’ll be something new that you’ll see here, hot off the presses.
So here’s how it will work:
- I’ll post a “practicing foolishness” activity, here and on my various pages on Facebook or wherever else I decide to try.
- You’ll try doing this thing that I describe. Some will be thought experiments. Some will require some kind of interaction between you and another human being. All of them will connect in some way with the vision I cast in Foolish Church.
- You’ll send me some reflection (from a line to several paragraphs) about your experiences of trying this activity. Specificity will be helpful; explain how your thoughts relate to what I instructed you to do. You can send your thoughts as a comment to my initial post, by e-mail, by phone or face-to-face (if you can find me!).
- I’ll draw from your various responses when I write the following week about what we all learned, trying to do this thing that I suggested. Unless you ask me not to, I will use your first name but no identifying characteristics.
- As an added incentive to join in, every three months I’ll send a free Fools’ Manual to one of you, randomly selected, who sent me feedback on these questions by the Monday noon after my post.
So, is that clear? Good! (Scroll down for this month’s prompt!)
I should add that every one of these practices will have something to do with practicing what I described in Foolish Church. Extra credit if you figure out that connection, and tell me.
Here’s the practice instruction for February:
Take note of at least three random strangers. Notice how you react to these people. Do you think, “We could be friends”? Do you feel a negative reaction, of fear, dislike, or something else? Do you find yourself looking down on them, or feeling like they might look down on you? (I’m not talking height, here.) Notice what is different about your reaction to these different persons, and ask yourself what’s behind that. You don’t have to interact with them; just pay attention to your reactions, and send me some reflection on what you notice when you ask yourself why.
Where will you find these people, you ask? Omigosh! There are so many possibilities. Think of your favorite coffee shop, behind or in front of the counter. Or in the hallway of where you work or go to school. Maybe it’s someone who waits on you in a shop or at the convenience store. Or it’s that handsome stranger on the sidewalk next to the Eiffel Tower, even! Anywhere is fine! Pay attention and see what happens.
Ready, set, go!
I have to share my experience with a stranger last week that is amusing in the least. I didn’t take note of my reactions then – which I will do upcoming – but this is so “me”. I am a trusting sole, always think the best of people and as a result may have put myself in some risky situations in my life, but nothing has happened so to quote a grandson one time “what’s the big deal? I’m still alive aren’t I?” Anyway I was sitting in my car at a rest area in Palm Springs, CA. when a young man tapped on my car window. He wanted to know about my bike carrier. I could have given him a simple answer, but no, I jumped out of the car to show him how it worked. I love my bike rack and am enthusiastic about it. In the end, we talked for over an hour, and I ended up asking him to join Team Pie Hunter for RAGBRAI. I had been getting tired, but after visiting with him was energized (and he said the same thing – he felt he needed a nap when he stopped but was now so excited he didn’t). Then I thought “my gosh Sharon what have you done? You just invited a total stranger to join a group of us for a week!” This is typical me. If he had less than better intentions lots of things could have happened to me, but because I’m so trusting I met someone that is very interesting and I had an enjoyable discussion with him.
I also think of my reaction as I passed some homeless people camped under a tree on the bike trail here in CA. My reaction was to say a prayer for them. I didn’t feel threatened or better than them. I just felt I had had better advantages – the family I was born into, the opportunities I had growing up things like that. All those thoughts went through my mind just yesterday.
This weekend I worked an Emmaus weekend and I meet many new people the first was a lady going through the walk and we talked about her expectations for this experience and her anticipation. This is something before I would not have done with someone I
Had never met . the second was the person I was expected to work with all weekend at first I was not sure, she appeared (I judged) to be shy and unmotivated to be part of the service we called for, let’s do this. We had great discussions about faith, prayer, and role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will be life long sisters in Christ
Lastly I sat next to a lady wearing a shirt from a town I use to live in and upon starting up a conversation found her family lived across the street from us and her sister baby sat my children. Were positive stranger interactions for this introvert. Thanks for the challenge