The question is: "What impact does your 'work' (whether paid or unpaid) have on your time for family, commnunity and service? Do you have adequate space for spiritual reflection and renewal?"
The suggestions include setting aside time regularly for reflection, restricting distractions and urgent messages at certain times, and even taking a year off to consider life goals, etc.
Funnily enough, I'm on a career sabbatical at the moment. I'm working a couple of part-time jobs that are in areas of interest to me, mainly to research on which area I will focus on in my next, full-time role. Even though I'm quite deliberate about this, a few things make me worried. I worry a bit abouot whether I am contributing enough, about whether I (and, more importantly, my family) are going backwards in terms of prosperity (which may affect our long-term health and my daughter's education oportunities), whether I'm losing ground in terms of social status and whether that will make my voice marginal in times to come.
Overall, though, it is a good thing. Most of the reading I've done on leadership and personal effectiveness do recomend setting aside time to reflect on your own life and how you can plan to make it happen.
It's hardest to do when you have some responsibility, whether with parenting or at work. It's easy to feel that you are letting others down by not being busy all the time. But, other people have to solve their own problems; a few hours spent on sabbath each week may well mean you increase your effectiveness for the rest of the week; and working is not the only thing we are on the planet to do.
We've got a reasonable handle on this topic in our household. I reckon we'll address some of the anxieties we feel about taking down-time and also be a bit more deliberate about when we do down-time so that it happens before we crash in an emotional and physical heap.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Social Justice and Spirituality
For me, getting involved in social justice has two main elements: it's right, and it helps me be complete.
I have no doubt that following Jesus means (in part) trying to be a moral person. One out-working of my personal morality is to help others. I see that social justice is a means of doing that. I like Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan and I take it to mean that all people are my neighbours (whom I should love), even if I'd like to screen them out on the basis of race or distance.
But I am not completely altruistic about social justice, I say that there is a benefit to me.
Being involved in justice demands that I consider the plight of others. This helps me feel empathy for others. I reckon that being able to feel empathy is a great sign of health and maturity. If I ever managed to focus on my own needs to such an extent that I simply did not feel anything when I heard of another's suffering - I reckon something would have died within me.
So, I can see that I will me more alive if I feel empathy, I can keep working my sense of empathy by considering the plight of others (especially those I may be tempted to ignore), and I can make sure that I consider the plight of others by being involved in social justice.
Others receive justice, and I get to be more alive. That's a fair and healthy way of living!
I have no doubt that following Jesus means (in part) trying to be a moral person. One out-working of my personal morality is to help others. I see that social justice is a means of doing that. I like Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan and I take it to mean that all people are my neighbours (whom I should love), even if I'd like to screen them out on the basis of race or distance.
But I am not completely altruistic about social justice, I say that there is a benefit to me.
Being involved in justice demands that I consider the plight of others. This helps me feel empathy for others. I reckon that being able to feel empathy is a great sign of health and maturity. If I ever managed to focus on my own needs to such an extent that I simply did not feel anything when I heard of another's suffering - I reckon something would have died within me.
So, I can see that I will me more alive if I feel empathy, I can keep working my sense of empathy by considering the plight of others (especially those I may be tempted to ignore), and I can make sure that I consider the plight of others by being involved in social justice.
Others receive justice, and I get to be more alive. That's a fair and healthy way of living!
Poverty & Marginalisation - Week 6, Household Covenant
Wekk 6 of the Household Covenant concerns Poverty & Marginalisation. The key question is: "Do you ever interact in a meaningful way with people from a very different social stratum than your own, particularly those who are marginalised?"
Some suggestions are: volunteering at soup kitchens, shelters or clinics; researching the needs of local refugee or migrant communities; committ to a 'exposure' program, where you are introduced to marginalised people.
For our own household, this has definitely dropped since we became parents (and needed to focus more on career, saving for a home, etc.). Partly because of new focus, partly because of lack of time and energy.
We do get to say hello to some marginal people in and around Sunday Stuff (our church service), both locals who drop in for a cuppa and also a couple of attendees. It's not really a very meaningful interaction though.
In the past, I've been involved in a community lunch in Carlton, which gave good exposure to a broad cross-section of the local community. The lunch held in Credo Cafe at Collins St Baptist church is another great way to get involved.
To boost our involvement in this, we'll have to work hard to create some time and energy for it - a tough call with a pre-schooler and several part-time jobs to consider!
Some suggestions are: volunteering at soup kitchens, shelters or clinics; researching the needs of local refugee or migrant communities; committ to a 'exposure' program, where you are introduced to marginalised people.
For our own household, this has definitely dropped since we became parents (and needed to focus more on career, saving for a home, etc.). Partly because of new focus, partly because of lack of time and energy.
We do get to say hello to some marginal people in and around Sunday Stuff (our church service), both locals who drop in for a cuppa and also a couple of attendees. It's not really a very meaningful interaction though.
In the past, I've been involved in a community lunch in Carlton, which gave good exposure to a broad cross-section of the local community. The lunch held in Credo Cafe at Collins St Baptist church is another great way to get involved.
To boost our involvement in this, we'll have to work hard to create some time and energy for it - a tough call with a pre-schooler and several part-time jobs to consider!
Consumption - Week 5, Household Covenant
The household covenant asks this key questions concerning consumption: "What ways can you go further in reducing your consumption and changing your patterns to conform to sustainable patterns?"
Some ideas are: checking you're not addicted to anything (coffee, books, shoes?); an audit of goods produced under fair-trade, anti-sweatshop or locally produced conditions; setting a target for foods sourced locally or produced organically or; learning about local food sources.
A suggested resource is the Sustainable Living Consumer Guide.
For us, this will require a bit of work. We don't have a fancy lifestyle, so we don't tend to think of ourselves as big consumers. We'll have to think very carefully about what we do consume and the related issues.
I'd like to know if spending on second-hand books has any negative ramifications. We tend to get tinned tomatoes from Italy (they're pretty cheap): is this better or worse than Australian tinned tomatoes? Is there an alternative to tinned? Does the preservation in steel cans actually help to reduce waste? Does the extra weight of the steel (during transport) outweigh the benefits longer-life?
And it's tiny things too. Is it better to buy pre-chopped sundried tomatoes than chop them up ourselves? I'd assume that a factory can chop them up in huge amounts and that would save energy consumption somewhere - but is that better than using my muscle energy at home?
I think the way to go is to write down a long list of things that we buy, then try to find out the things that have significant negative (or positive) impacts.
Some ideas are: checking you're not addicted to anything (coffee, books, shoes?); an audit of goods produced under fair-trade, anti-sweatshop or locally produced conditions; setting a target for foods sourced locally or produced organically or; learning about local food sources.
A suggested resource is the Sustainable Living Consumer Guide.
For us, this will require a bit of work. We don't have a fancy lifestyle, so we don't tend to think of ourselves as big consumers. We'll have to think very carefully about what we do consume and the related issues.
I'd like to know if spending on second-hand books has any negative ramifications. We tend to get tinned tomatoes from Italy (they're pretty cheap): is this better or worse than Australian tinned tomatoes? Is there an alternative to tinned? Does the preservation in steel cans actually help to reduce waste? Does the extra weight of the steel (during transport) outweigh the benefits longer-life?
And it's tiny things too. Is it better to buy pre-chopped sundried tomatoes than chop them up ourselves? I'd assume that a factory can chop them up in huge amounts and that would save energy consumption somewhere - but is that better than using my muscle energy at home?
I think the way to go is to write down a long list of things that we buy, then try to find out the things that have significant negative (or positive) impacts.
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