Just Standing Around

Well, I am a mom, as most of you know. So you other moms know that this is how your day goes: get coffee, start the dishes, feed a child, diaper or change underwear on a child, put two dishes in the dishwasher, dress a child, bandage a knee, brush a child's teeth, brush my own teeth (at 11am- whoops), feed a child, intervene in an argument, clean up a spilled drink, check homework, soccer practice, oh yeah the dishes... Don't get me started on laundry or housecleaning, or goodness knows, an appointment of some kind. Five o'clock rolls around and I am standing there, finally dressed and showered, looking at dirty laundry but maybe if I am lucky a clean kitchen, and I think to myself, "What did I do today? Have I just been standing around?"
Well as I was walking through this charming life enriching cycle today, I was reminded of something I haven't thought about for a very long time. It is a quote that I have always loved, "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Eph. 6:13 I was startled by my memory, because spiritually, I often feel as if I am just standing around. I do not feel well equipped, or particularly enlightened or led. On some days(most of late), I am not even sure God is there at all. I move through my life, and at the end of the day often feel as if I have just run in circles.
So what is the point I am making? I think, I think mind you, that there are a lot of times when doing all you can do is the key. You do your best, you cover all of your bases, and then, you wait. You do not stack the odds in your favor, you do not fret, you do not try and buy another solution. At the end of the day, things will be the way they will be, regardless. All you can do, is stand. There are "evil days" and hard times when it seems as if no matter where you turn, you are stuck. But, even if it seems as if you are running in circles, just standing around, that can be a good thing. At the end of the day, sometimes standing is the hardest and most effective tool for battle in this thing called life.

Light and Darkness

I have a book of quotes, pictures and diagrams of things that were written and spoken about by Leonardo da Vinci. It is amazing to me that there are so many things he considered in his life, that did not fully come to pass for hundreds of years. Thinking still along the idea of quality and individuals of great achievements I wanted to post this quote of his; I consider it worth considering for its statement of physical shadow and its statement of that which is spiritually true for all individuals:

"That portion of the illuminated surface on which a shadow is cast will be brightest which lies contiguous to the cast shadow. Just as an object which is lighted up by a greater quantity of luminous rays become brighter; so one on which a greater quantity of shadow falls, will be darker."

Leonardo da Vinci

If Quality is Real, Where Do I Find it?

There are people in the world who live their lives in such a way that everything they do is directed at a goal. These people have goals, evaluate the best way to reach them, study to gain the tools that they need, and then implement for themselves a path to achieve them. There is an unflagging and unwavering direction and effort put into said goals. The effort put forth would be equal to say, 100% of what they can give. The end product? Reaching the goal, with success. I find these people to be amazing. No matter which direction, no matter what goal, this complete approach is admirable, and full of integrity and character.

Then there are the other people that I come into contact with that do not function under this paradigm. These people have goals outlined, but they are just that, outlines. They kind of move toward their goal, using shortcuts, sometimes applying effort, and sometimes not. They sort of hope to achieve what they want, but don't really care if they get all the way to the point they are trying for, or just within close proximity. These people are, to be kind, not amazing to me. I find them to be full of talk, and not action, full of pride and not humility, full of selfishness and a self serving motivation- anything that can help them to look like they are achieving is good enough. They want to win, but the appearance of a win, well that is just as good.

So my question is, where do I find the people I first described? How come so many of the people in the world are willing to settle for second, for less than their best? Is it the ridiculous awards that we pile onto them for things that require no effort at all in an attempt to make sure everyone feels good about themselves? Is it that there are so many loop holes in our society that one need not actually try to be successful, need not make any sacrifice in order to reach an end point? If something is worth dreaming about, worth doing, why is it not worth everything you have to get there? What is it about America that makes us believe that we do not need to strive, that we do not need to do all that we can to reach our goals? Where did the philosophy about being anything you want to be if you work hard enough go?

In a world that is moving so fast that we can literally reach out and touch almost anything that we want to with the stroke of a key, with the limitless possibilities that this century brings, it seems impossible to me that we would not strive to be everything that we possibly could be, that we would not desire to lay down the cheap imitations of life and pick up those that are real, and in so doing, achieve greatness.