self love slacker

this weekend i attended what i thought would just be a lecture on friday night, but enjoyed the speaker and the content so much that i had to re-arrange my weekend plans in order to attend the day-long workshop saturday as well. it was worth it. as an episcopal priest and jungian annalist, pittman mcgehee had some wonderful things to say about the psychology of love (a preview to his book "the paradox of love" to be released in october). there is no way i could summarize the weekend in a brief enough way to hold your attention, so i'll just leave you with the things that are sticking to me a few days later. (not sticking with me--there's a lot more of that--just the things that i feel like could be sticky-notes on my forehead).

1. when pittman takes on a new patient, he asks them to pick up two forms of exercise: physical and spiritual. duh! this is sticking to me b/c i've been slacking on both, and both are forms of self-love! which was another theme i'll get to.
2. people really desire 3 things deeply: meaning in general, purpose in particular and a place to belong. true dat.
3. let it be. agape is the "let it be love" that lets you be who you are and lets me be who i am and lets us love just like that. so simple, and yet maybe the most important self-love and other-love lesson to lean on. if i have to please you, that's not love. if you have to please me, that's not love. if i have to please myself, that's not love. let it be, and let it be loved.
4. the "wounded healer" is a metaphor i've long identified with. how interesting, then, that Jesus was resurrected with His wounds. what hope for the wounded (ie: everyone).
5. maybe human becomings is a better term than human beings.

anyway, in light of some of these things, i'm going to get back to my 3x a week running schedule, my daily journaling schedule, and maybe even blog more. not because i should, not like a task, but a gift to myself that makes me feel better. at least the running and journaling have that effect. the blogging is more just to help me pay attention to the special and the sacred in the everyday.

today i'm paying attention to the fact that the paintings on either side of me are of charlotte and new york city. coincidence that i'm sitting between the two? they're the only city paintings in this place. i'd buy them both if they weren't $750 a pop. looking forward to nyc so much, but relishing every moment left in the queen city. that's special.