Monday, September 3, 2012

HOLY NOLA BATMAN! or Can You Hear Me Now?!


So I am back in NOLA (finally!) and we actually have internet (woot!) and power (double woot!). The storm damage doesn't look too bad, lots of branches, one tree that was felled, a few downed power lines. It could have been worse but thank God it wasn't. The hardest part for us was not being able to really DO anything, and not in the ‘massive storm bearing down on us and we can't stop it’ kind of way, but in the ‘there are the three of us, we have to rely on other people for transportation, in a small town, at a conference center dedicated to living simply’ kind of way. We had no power or say in what was happening with our flights and we were stuck. And being stuck sucks, it is not fun, it leaves me restless and moody and not very happy. I hate being stuck. The staff, facilitators and speakers kept talking about ministries of being.
I did get to see one of my cousins. I went into New York City for a day and hung out with him. We wandered around New York, without any particular place in mind, which was a great introduction to the city. I got to see some very cool things like the Campbell apartment in Grand Central Station (we wondered about the cost per square foot) and we went to the main branch of the New York City Library. As we were walking up the stairs to explore the reading room (and eventually find the Gutenberg Bible) we had this discussion about sacred spaces. Museums, Libraries, Churches, the desert at dawn, quiet, hidden creeks and streams, sun dappled lanes; these are sacred spaces where time is thick and slow, the light liquid honey; places that demand intentionality. As we walked up those stairs to the reading rooms we agreed ‘demands intentionality’ was an apt description. Places where we must pay attention to being and to knowing-the places where, if we are still and quiet, we can hear the voice of God.
Each time our trip back was delayed, I became restless. It was difficult to be left behind, literally, and was even more difficult the longer we stayed at Stony Point.
One cannot logically ascribe intentionality to a weather system- although given the significance of the date it is tempting. I tried to spend this time of heavy, restless waiting in preparation for what we may deal with. The physical damage doesn’t seem severe, but the psychological toll on the city cannot be ignored. The memories alone are enough to make this a difficult year for the city.
This year is all about intentionality, waiting, being. I must learn to live with this restlessness, I am living in an intentional community, we have intentionally chosen to ‘give up’ a year of our lives – to move away, to change, articulate, rearrange or reinforce our boundaries. The YAVs as individuals made these choices deliberately and as a community, I hope, will deliberately choose to make space that demands intentionality in ourselves, our environment and our relationships with each other. I hope that we will be able to carve out this sacred space between us – a place where we are not restless, a place where we can sit, and be still, and know.