"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." Matthew 7:24
Focusing on an image of a house — sort of like an icon — has strengthened some people’s hope and strength. This house (below), like others that survived, utilized fire-resistant technologies and architectural building techniques designed to prevent destruction in the devastating California fires.
Rev. Diana Butler Bass recently wrote a blog about it. No one, of course, wanted or fully imagined the Los Angeles fires. But a handful of owners had prepared for the worst. In an interview with The Guardian, Jacob Ruano, a federal firefighter, remarked, “This house was perfect; it was built for this. Not all homes are built like that.”
This house … was built for this.
Of course Butler-Bass, being a minister, is going to offer a biblical passage: “A wise man built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock,” said Jesus. “A foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell — and great was its fall!”
This house was built for this is what the firefighter said.
Is my, is our, house built for this? This what? Whatever comes our way. Personally and collectively.
Butler Bass came up with a list of things that she is going to practice to wisely construct a solid house.
They were all good ideas. But four of them really stuck out for me because they echo ancient wisdom and contemporary research:
WALK (everyday)Get fresh air and exercise. This isn’t a weight loss program or training for a marathon. Walk to feel the ground under your feet and notice all the little things on your street, in your neighborhood, at the park. Feel your body in the world. Move, be attentive to your world, pray or meditate as you go (if you like). Or just put one foot in front of the other.
BE WITH OTHERS (everyday)Don’t isolate yourself. Reach out or connect with someone every single day. Face-to-face, via text or email, or write a letter. Go to church or synagogue. Volunteer to feed the hungry or read to children at the local library. Do good for and with others.
I have written repeatedly about the importance of community and strong relationships and offered the research, even mentioned the importance of holding on to our country through going to community meals and volunteering.
But if you really want to understand what I’m talking about watch the documentary or even the trailer of Join or Die by Robert Putnam. You will see the power of social capital.
BTW, this is random acts of kindness week (thank you, Gina, for pointing that out). It’s a great excuse to give a bit of attention to others. Watch the ripple effect.
WIDE-SIGHT. Broaden your perspective by looking to the periphery. Butler Bass first learned the practice of “wide-sight” from Parker Palmer in The Courage to Teach:
Normally when we are taken by surprise, there is a sudden narrowing of our visual periphery that exacerbates the fight or flight response — an intense, fearful, self-defensive focusing of the “gimlet eye” that is associated with both physical and intellectual combat. But in the Japanese self-defense art of aikido, this visual narrowing is countered by a practice called “soft eyes,” in which one learns to widen one’s periphery, to take in more of the world.
If you introduce a sudden stimulus to an unprepared person, the eyes narrow and the fight or flight syndrome kicks in. But if you train a person to practice soft eyes, then introduce that same stimulus, the reflex is often transcended. This person will turn toward the stimulus, take it in, and then make a more authentic response — such as thinking a new thought.
Don’t get fixated on the direct threats. Instead, remind yourself to look toward the edges of your field of vision. What’s there? What’s not immediately obvious? Is there something on the periphery that is helpful, healing, or hopeful?
I am a broken record about being thoughtful about where we put our attention. It matters a lot for our hope, resilience, and strength.
Recently, John and I had the incredible opportunity to visit (again) with the awesome Rueben Mayes, past Seattle Seahawks professional football player and, more importantly, an awesome human being and our amazing friend, Dr. Gene Sharratt, as well.
We listened to their projects and thought about the positive impact they were having on the world (details to follow later – I’ll be writing a blog about the Lamed Vavniks – and these two are most certainly one of them). Both John and I felt like we might float right up off our seats.
(And thanks to my friend, Suzanne, who put me on to a book called The Small and The Mighty which may give me historical wider-sight. Books are often the place I go for healing, hope, and help.)
We can keep bringing ourselves back to soft eyes (our attention will wonder off to the threats)... so that we see people and projects that are healing, hopeful, and helpful.
Wide-sight. I’m going to remember that term and hold on to that practice with gusto. And, of course, I am a strong proponent of being with others. If we put those into action along with walking...physically moving our bodies, we’ll be set with a solid-all-around-resistant-to-whatever-comes “house”…especially if we add the next behavior Butler-Bass recommends…
WONDER (as much as possible)Go out into nature, spend time at an art museum, listen to your favorite music, read books and poetry, get obsessed with space photos from the Webb telescope — anything that connects you to beauty and deepens your awareness of awe. Researchers have discovered that “awe leads to goodwill, cooperation, and a transformed sense of self as part of a community” (Berkeley professor Dacher Keltner). Embrace mystery.
There we go with some potential instructions for building a solid “house” that can withstand whatever comes. Walk, be with people, use wide-sight, and throw in a bit of wonder. Thank you, Rev. Butler Bass.
How might we journey together to the Good Life by building solid houses for whatever comes?
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