Grace for the journey
At 2:00 today I had the immense pleasure of holding my bi-monthly phone conversation with Grace Evans. When we talk it seems that something kinetic happens. Every time we talk, I have a sense that I am re-tethered to what is most essential to me, to life, and to the world I live in. In typical counselling, or in typical conversations, per se, it seems that you "never get to the bottom of things." Now that might sound silly, but I think its true. I do think that there is a bottom to the lake, and a bottom to a well, and a bottom to life. In most conversation I stay on the surface. We rarely make it pass the weather. I might push it to Carolina basketball, but rarely do I dig deeper into the psyche of the person in my midst. Why is that?
Why do we refrain from asking the questions we want to ask? I think we are afraid of what we might find. I think that we are afraid that we might need to "fix" the "sin" or the "dark spot" or habit that we find lurking in the closet. Well, I think this is where Grace gets her great courage. She has the nerve to ask me hard questions, and to ask me questions that delve into more of the unconscious, into more of the life stream that is flowing around me and within me.
Just today we talked about basketball. I love basketball. I played at Wake Forest. She asked, "What are some of the rules of basketball?" I talked about how you have to dribble it down the court. You cannot just run with the ball down the court. She said, "How is that a helpful rule?" Without those rules, basketball would be chaos. Without the rules, our life would be crazy. Analogically, we then looked into my own life, and we asked, "What are some rules that are helpful in my life that give me a sense of freedom, and exuberance, and joy?" As I explored this topic with Grace, I came to realize how my limitations are my greatest blessing. I said to her, "You can never score and pass at the same time." You can be the point guard, but if you are the point guard, you sure cannot be the center. Michael Jordan was amazing, and probably the best ever, because he made his teamates better. He made his teamates better through two avenues.
One, he made his team better cause he was great. He was the best. He had a great shot, he was quick, and he was driven to score in any way possible. His vision was locked in on winning. And he did it well.
Two, he made his team better through his passing ability. Jordan was one of the greatest passers to play the game. Jordan made Scotty Pippin better. Jordan made Seve Kerr better. By garnering so much attention, the other team would leave half of Jordan's team wide open. At the last minute, Jordan would just shuffel the pass over, and they would be open for a myriad of shots. Jordan was the ultimate team player. He was always driving and dishing, and he was always looking for his teammates.
As we taked today, I realized that one of my greatest passions is to help others join the team and succeed. In other words, I love to watch teams become better teams. How does this work? Primarily, it works in the way that it worked for the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.
A) You must realize your own greatness by discipline, self control, practice, and excellence
B) You must realize that your own greatness is only as great as your teams acceptance of its limits.
So I guess its time that we start building better teams out there, starting with our families, moving to our churches, and then moving into other avenues of culture. Land ho.
Why do we refrain from asking the questions we want to ask? I think we are afraid of what we might find. I think that we are afraid that we might need to "fix" the "sin" or the "dark spot" or habit that we find lurking in the closet. Well, I think this is where Grace gets her great courage. She has the nerve to ask me hard questions, and to ask me questions that delve into more of the unconscious, into more of the life stream that is flowing around me and within me.
Just today we talked about basketball. I love basketball. I played at Wake Forest. She asked, "What are some of the rules of basketball?" I talked about how you have to dribble it down the court. You cannot just run with the ball down the court. She said, "How is that a helpful rule?" Without those rules, basketball would be chaos. Without the rules, our life would be crazy. Analogically, we then looked into my own life, and we asked, "What are some rules that are helpful in my life that give me a sense of freedom, and exuberance, and joy?" As I explored this topic with Grace, I came to realize how my limitations are my greatest blessing. I said to her, "You can never score and pass at the same time." You can be the point guard, but if you are the point guard, you sure cannot be the center. Michael Jordan was amazing, and probably the best ever, because he made his teamates better. He made his teamates better through two avenues.
One, he made his team better cause he was great. He was the best. He had a great shot, he was quick, and he was driven to score in any way possible. His vision was locked in on winning. And he did it well.
Two, he made his team better through his passing ability. Jordan was one of the greatest passers to play the game. Jordan made Scotty Pippin better. Jordan made Seve Kerr better. By garnering so much attention, the other team would leave half of Jordan's team wide open. At the last minute, Jordan would just shuffel the pass over, and they would be open for a myriad of shots. Jordan was the ultimate team player. He was always driving and dishing, and he was always looking for his teammates.
As we taked today, I realized that one of my greatest passions is to help others join the team and succeed. In other words, I love to watch teams become better teams. How does this work? Primarily, it works in the way that it worked for the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.
A) You must realize your own greatness by discipline, self control, practice, and excellence
B) You must realize that your own greatness is only as great as your teams acceptance of its limits.
So I guess its time that we start building better teams out there, starting with our families, moving to our churches, and then moving into other avenues of culture. Land ho.
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