Domingo's Dialogue

Domingo is "Sunday" in Spanish...my goal of alliteration wouldn't work in English so...too much explanation, eh?? Sorry!

I recently received the following response to a previous blog posting. I want to “copy” you (the blogging community) in on the conversation because it gives me an opportunity to further explain some things. I’ll protect the identity of my blog responder obviously but include each of his/her comments below...

Regarding my migraine episode...

"caffeine (sp?) is one of the major migraine triggers. you might want to switch to decaf, sorry :-(" I type as I sip my sugar free, caffeine free, sodium free, Diet Rite. If only I had a rocking chair.Rocking in a rocking chair is a simple pleasure. Without close knowledge of your current lifestyle it is hard to understand what you mean by a simple life. A rocking chair, a canoe trip, these are simple pleasures that provide a respite from a productive life, but they are just the border of the picture.

Regarding the simple life...

As far as the simple life goes...it sounds appealing but what is accomplished? I'm no money chasing capitalist but each of us is given gifts to use in a productive fashion. I'm not sure how that fits, sometimes your blog just seems to beg for a counterpoint. I assume you are looking for them or you wouldn't be blogging.

My response..

It seems like we have this "iron sharpens iron" kind of relationship/dialogue. What's up with that? But it's good and you're right...I think my blog is a place where I can say things that demand rebuttal.

Hopefully I won't have to give up caffeine...but after a year or so with starbucks, it's about the right time to start seeing some side effects of that!

Simple life? Productive? Might be apples and oranges but you raise the foundational issue against which I'm reacting in various ways. My last 10 years of ministry have been very productive...but not extremely effective. Certainly semantics are crucial here because the way you define productivity or efficiency or even simplicity impacts the conversation greatly. But I like what you said about the "border of the picture." That's exactly what is missing from most our lives. There IS no border. One author calls it "margin." We live life right up to the edges filling our days (the page or canvass) completely. Maybe balance is a better word than simple to describe what I've found and realize. I have finally narrowed my productivity enough to leave room for relationships...with my family, with my neighbors, with whatever person happens into the picture.

Again, I value your perspective and comments. Probably we agree on all the principles involved but lack the same language. Or maybe we don't agree on foundational issues? Either way...it's very helpful for me to dialogue with you. Speaking of canoeing...that’s a great idea...I’m on my way (later this week)!

Conclusions...

Actually, I'll let you come to your own! Bendiciones!