I wish you "ish".

As most of you might have guessed, I like telling stories. It is what ignites and propels me through life. It is that trajectory that often enables me to intersect "linguistic vapor trails" with other like-inkers of the written, spoken, felt or even sometimes sneezed words (I am in Nashville, via New Orleans this week and dang -- I have discovered that I have allergies...but I digress). I have not written for a few days, taking time to complete a major brand story for a music artist...and a few days to process the reaction and inner-action I experienced since posting the introduction to my next book, "No thank you, I'm just looking." The very short of it is that through some degree of providential intervention I chose to break the introduction into two "digestible" bites, not too much to read. WHERE I chose to break it is what I think (want to believe) triggered a flurry of posted and private responses implying that I was condemning God's church, Christianity and that in my writing I was arguably a hypocrite, self-righteous and instead of engaging people to go deeper with me they were likely removing me from their address book and possibly burning me in effigy. This, all on the heels of the theatrical debacle involving Russ Limbaugh's voodoo curse of failure cast upon President Obama's administration. Plllllllease...Russ Limbaugh as the new voice and leader of the Republican party? I can just see it now: "Straight from the everything-proof studios of The Whitehouse, we are pleased to bring you your drive-time, work-time, eat-time, meds-time voice of all that's right in America -- Russ, The Prez, Limbaugh -- brought to you by "24," the NRA and Ivory Soap."  Again, I digress. Needless to say, I had to do a gut check on the words I use in conveying my heart and thoughts and passions about sharing the syntax of life with you.

This morning while visiting with my friend Lynn, a third-grade teacher at a private school in Nashville, she brought out a book and handed it to me. "I just read this book to my kids and love the message. Check it out, it's a quick read." Now, I must tell you how cool I think God is. Sure, there's the Bible. And there's scores of books, sermons and commentaries in print, audio, video, blogs, iTunes, uTunes, meTunes ;-)  and everywhere else and manner imaginable where you can study the ways to live your life. And yes, I access them too. Then...you get those moments, those winks of time when the simplest words remind you how simple God intended this to be.

Ish, by Peter H. Reynolds is a simply delightful book about a young boy who loves to draw. He draws anything, everything and constantly out of an unbridled passion for...drawing. Joy defined. The review on Amazon reads:

 

"Ramon loves to draw: "Anytime. Anything. Anywhere." When his older brother laughs at one of his pictures and points out that it does not look like a real vase of flowers, a dejected Ramon crumples up all of his efforts. However, he soon learns that his younger sister has hung the discarded papers on her bedroom walls. When he declares that the picture of the vase doesn't look like the real thing, she says that it looks "vase-ISH." The child then begins to produce paintings that look "tree-ish," "afternoon-ish," and "silly-ish." His "ish art" inspires him to look at all creative endeavors differently. 

Wow, what would looking at our lives with "Ish" eyes be like? What would it look like, instead of speaking about the many things in life that are constantly changing and evolving and really are (in fact) part of God's blessings, we looked at our days when we: Are feeling sad-ish. Elated-ish. Crazy-ish. Frustrated-ish. Relaxed-ish. Satisfied-ish. Scared-ish. Lonely-ish. Overwhelmed-ish. Confused-ish. Inspired-ish. Passionate-ish. Manipulative-ish. Hurtful-ish. Loving-ish. Forgiving-ish. Jewish-ish. Hindu-ish. Muslim-ish. Atheist-ish. Christian-ish. God-ish.

From my perspective (again, that's "my" perspective -- just sayin') I find faith and life to be a series of kinetic expressions. The only constant to both is "change." Not God, mind you, ...but everything else of this world. Adding "ish-ness" to our daily coming ins and going outs of situations just might give us a more tenable "life operational" matrix.  Maybe?

Not long ago I met with my counsellor, Jim, at which time he hit me with one of his patented "just-when-you-thought-you-were-doing-well, better, more even, healing-here's-a-thought-to- remind-you-that-you-are-maybe-a-hair-better-than-when-you-walked-in" zingers. After 11 years of meetings (4 years of which have focused on my separation, subsequent divorce and new life start) I sat down and opened the session with, "Jim, amazing as it might seem I must tell you that for the first time I can remember, maybe ever, I am a happy man." Without a millisecond hesitation and delivery like Johnny Carson or Jerry Seinfeld he looked right at me and replied, "Brian, I think happiness is over-rated." Instead of living out the image I had anticipated after his response (similar to one of the scenes from Braveheart where the guys are all gathered together after a gore-mud-blood-guts-body parts battle and now hugging each other - some with one less arm - and screaming guttural animal chants), I instead felt like a guy after a dare who jumps into a snow-melt mountain stream. Guys, you know what I'm talking about! 

"You see, Brian, 'happiness' is not a whole lot different in nature than 'sadness.'  They both come and go. They are fleeting. Most, if not all of the everyday emotions and experiences of life are that way. They are not constant." He paused, giving me a moment to process. "Might I offer a different word that might reflect your feeling more accurately? How about 'content?' You see, the concept of 'content' implies the shifting between the paradoxes of life: the dark and the light, the joy and the tears, sickness and health.... Sort of like faith: you know God is. You have given Him control for getting you through the extremes at each end of the paradox. Faith is what happens in between the extremes."

I got it ish.

I get it ish.

For emphasis ish -

(b)