i like to share photographs and words. i am a little bit careful as to how i share things online. there are some personal things about the people in my life that, out of respect for those people, i don’t post. there have been times that i have written words out of resentment, misunderstanding, judgement, or anger that i have regretted with a red face.
i restrict myself in many ways on a daily basis. it may be out of respect, fear, to fit in, and to appear normal. come on…you know what i mean. we all do it.
we have been taught how to do this even before we started to walk or talk. shhhhh, no, wait, not now, be quiet, stop crying, go to sleep. as a child we hear, no, not now, not here, be quiet, sit still, change your clothes, no running…
we are so busy restricting our self that we become really good at it. we can get stuck in a restrict-a-groove so deep that we become little control robots. and robots don’t have hearts. we forget how to listen to our heart.
if we begin to do our work out of a need to appear normal, fearing what others will think, fear of messing up, fear of change or looking different, then a lot will be missing. for example, Love will be missing, play will be missing, joy will be missing, creativity will be missing.
what if the reasons for doing anything started with our spiritual life?
what would happen if we started listening to the Spirit speaking our heart, instead of our fears or desires?
what difference would it make…
if the courage of this Love was working in your life?
think “work”
how does your heart and mind feel?
now think “play”
are you grinning yet? how does your
heart and mind feel about play?
yes, that is the difference it can make.
A LITTLE SOMETHIN' 
kelly, yeah..i think some of the high calling gang are rubbing off on me.maureen…your comment has some makings for a good poem :-)karla…thanks for your comment…you leave all the words you want, anytime!
I think God has fun every day and He reflects it in so many ways we don't give ourselves time to enjoy. Just imagine the reason He gave us laughter, and snow, and dogs that retrieve what you throw.
This was a timely post for me to read. I recently caught myself doing the "restrict-a-groove" with my kids. As a single mom, I was worried that people would think my family was not well-managed. But the Spirit has been working on me to stand strong in what I know to be true and to worry less, if at all, about other people's perceptions. I've also been meditating on Romans 8 and what that means about living in the Spirit and not the flesh. I think you capture a part of that here. I was also convicted about what I am teaching my girls about themselves when the restrict-a-groove dominates us. How can they stand strong in who God created them to be if I am always trying to mold them to others' expectations-or what I believe those expectations to be?Sorry to be so wordy, but your writing made me want to share. :) Thank you.
This is really good. I totally cheesed at the thought of play.
You have been hanging out with L.L., haven't you?
self-inflicted robotic stuporoh yeah…very well put.
I think I get the reasons mixed-up a lot. And then I spend a great deal of time in a self-inflicted, robotic stupor. So, what do I do now? (Perhaps to find the fun, watch some crazy lady named Lucy make wine with her bare feet?) You have some very convicting points here…Blessings.
hi susan,for sure, i think that the following would allow us to have more fun than we "normally" allow ourselves.
as in "just have fun?" ….