to understand

i was reading a few interviews from thought leaders in the business sector and came across some great advice. one of the individuals interviewed was asked to share the best business advice he had ever received. he said it was the idea of something called “l.u.r.”

l.u.r. stands for listen, understand, and respond. this is the order in which and the process by which we should all operate. often, we listen and respond, but rarely do we take the time or have the desire to understand.

can you imagine how our responses would change if we would actually stop and try to understand first? perhaps in some cases, we wouldn’t respond at all. something to think about anyway.

untitled

open your eyes
close your ears

close your ears
open your eyes

listen to the
words you see

you’re blind
to what you hear

listen to the
words you see

do not fear
the fruit beneath

reach for roots
beneath the trees

listen to the
words you seek

don’t listen to
a word they say

do not listen to
a word you’ve heard

do not listen to
a word you’ve heard

people are people
we live for our own

live how you think
not by what
you’ve been told

justin nozuka


what would it be like if we spent more time listening to the words we think and speak and less time listening to the words we hear. not that we shouldn’t listen. but what if we placed more of an emphasis on ourselves and less on others. taking more responsibility for our own actions.

can we use our senses in different ways? can we listen with our eyes? see with our ears? taste with our nose? or smell with our mouths? an interesting thought.

disconnected

i’m feeling incredibly disconnected lately. disconnected from church. disconnected from others. disconnected from christians. disconnected from my faith. i think i’m just getting tired of so many things operating on the surface. i hate the surface. i understand the need for surface, but still dislike it quite a bit.

and i am starting to tire of loops. things that keep looping around and around and around. i want things to be fresh. not the routine of telling the same stories over and over again. not the routine of going through the same motions. but living life in the moment. actually participating in life rather than just observing. allowing my days to be more fluid and less structured.

i am feeling unsatisfied and yet content simultaneously and am unsure of its meaning or implications. sitting in it is not that big of a deal. in fact, i am enjoying that part of it – anticipating something to happen. some sort of epiphany or leading. a revelation of some kind. get this – i am trusting that my loss of faith will actually result in a strengthened faith. renewed. refreshed. clearer.

but the reality is that i’m losing faith in a lot of things. and given this time of the year and the nearing election, i am finding myself losing faith in people – especially americans. the division of our country based on political party is starting to disgust me. it’s us versus them, smearing of all kinds, finger-pointing, ripping, etcetera. everyone thinks that they are right and the other is wrong. hypocrisy rules and it’s saddening.

it seems like so many things that i’m encountering in the world lately are having a negative impact on me. the state of the world makes my head spin. politically motivated speeches and movies and commentary make my heart ache. simplified and echoing church speak leaves my soul empty. and the list goes on and on.

and so i wait. patiently. to find connections. or for connections to find me.

spinning

i watched a movie with eu and the kids this weekend and heard a line that will stick with me for quite some time. it’s still spinning within me. and i’m not sure where it will stop. or live. or exit.

“it’s not the power of the curse. it’s the power one gives the curse.”