Hope in Chicago
written in chicago (mel's place)
Have you read that book, "Hope in Chicago" by Wayne Gordon? Well, turns out that Mel, Dave, and I were in Lawndale today, poking around the area, learning and walking through the place that we all read about. I read that book during MY and it was really inspiring to me. There's a story about how the community decided that they wanted to build a gym for young people to play in (esp. during the cold). So they built it... by hand. The story was really absurd, but amazing because they essentially built it through a lot of sweat, and very little money. There are a lot of stories like that in the book.
I'll back track a little. So far, vacation has been great. I have to say that I'm really greatful to be able to travel, see old friends, new places, and not work. I know that I can become pretty jealous of others ( when they talk about all of their adventures and i'm stuck grinding out life ), so I hope my sentiments don't have the same effects.
I've realized that stepping away and retreating is a really good thing. I really didn't do much of that at all this year. I actually did the opposite: pushed really hard to be present in the community, work flowed into the weekends at times, worked a lot, and schooled a lot too. I think my approach was really off: doing more to find something meaningful as opposed to doing less and finding fresh air, life, and good space to think and sit and be present to myself.
I noticed this too in cleaning up and packing up my stuff. Space is liberating! It was nice to "live" in my room that had: a bed, a desk, a chair and some clothes. There's a correlation between my own messiness/disorganization(sp?)/lack.of.discipline/chaos and the chaos and confusion that creeped into my head this past year. I need to consider this more: putting time into disciplines that help me to have more space: physically and mentally.
Some thoughts to apply: living simpler. This could mean, owning less stuff. It could also mean being more organized and living in a bigger space. Simplicity in some ways is a discipline. Things get crazy/chaotic/messy quickly without much thought.
It's great to be with Dave again. It's really good to be with Melissa too. I've really missed their company, though the connections came in different ways. I'm really proud of my friends. I feel like their lives are inspiring still, and that's been good for me.
Yesterday was a lot of sight seeing: Art institute of Chicago, Gallery 37, wading in the water at the central park, etc. Today we we did a "non-profit" tour. Both days were different but really inspiring in their own ways. I think I'll write more tmw. Good night.
Have you read that book, "Hope in Chicago" by Wayne Gordon? Well, turns out that Mel, Dave, and I were in Lawndale today, poking around the area, learning and walking through the place that we all read about. I read that book during MY and it was really inspiring to me. There's a story about how the community decided that they wanted to build a gym for young people to play in (esp. during the cold). So they built it... by hand. The story was really absurd, but amazing because they essentially built it through a lot of sweat, and very little money. There are a lot of stories like that in the book.
I'll back track a little. So far, vacation has been great. I have to say that I'm really greatful to be able to travel, see old friends, new places, and not work. I know that I can become pretty jealous of others ( when they talk about all of their adventures and i'm stuck grinding out life ), so I hope my sentiments don't have the same effects.
I've realized that stepping away and retreating is a really good thing. I really didn't do much of that at all this year. I actually did the opposite: pushed really hard to be present in the community, work flowed into the weekends at times, worked a lot, and schooled a lot too. I think my approach was really off: doing more to find something meaningful as opposed to doing less and finding fresh air, life, and good space to think and sit and be present to myself.
I noticed this too in cleaning up and packing up my stuff. Space is liberating! It was nice to "live" in my room that had: a bed, a desk, a chair and some clothes. There's a correlation between my own messiness/disorganization(sp?)/lack.of.discipline/chaos and the chaos and confusion that creeped into my head this past year. I need to consider this more: putting time into disciplines that help me to have more space: physically and mentally.
Some thoughts to apply: living simpler. This could mean, owning less stuff. It could also mean being more organized and living in a bigger space. Simplicity in some ways is a discipline. Things get crazy/chaotic/messy quickly without much thought.
It's great to be with Dave again. It's really good to be with Melissa too. I've really missed their company, though the connections came in different ways. I'm really proud of my friends. I feel like their lives are inspiring still, and that's been good for me.
Yesterday was a lot of sight seeing: Art institute of Chicago, Gallery 37, wading in the water at the central park, etc. Today we we did a "non-profit" tour. Both days were different but really inspiring in their own ways. I think I'll write more tmw. Good night.
posted by chia at 10:48 PM
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