random thoughts from the Roast

I was sitting in one of my favorite coffee shops last week, eating a scone and drinking a chai steamer, and listening to their music: old school Michael Jackson. Heal the World came on. I've got to admit, I'm a fan. It evokes memories of purple leotards and flowing skirts, of ballet moves and lyical shoes. Plus, I think it's even a wee bit inspiring (ok, cheesy, too, but if you can get past that...). So humor me:

There's A Place In Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could Be Much
Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No NeedTo Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

If You Want To Know Why
There's A Love That Cannot Lie
Love Is Strong
It Only Cares For Joyful Giving
If We Try We Shall See
In This Bliss We Cannot Feel
Fear Or Dread
We Stop Existing And Start Living

And The Dream We Were
Conceived In Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep Strangling Life
Wound This Earth Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With No Fear
Together We'll Cry Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords Into Plowshares

We Could Really Get There
If You Cared Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
To Make A Better Place...

(if you prefer to hear/watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8-HcclFytw . I am such a geek it makes me get a bit teary...)


OK, so I'm sitting there, getting all sappy, listening to MJ (Free Willy songs follows on the CD they're playing) and at the same time I'm reading 'Working for Change: Making a Career in International Public Service,' by Derick W. Brinkerhoff and Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff. I get to pg 18 and read these thoughts from Ram Dass and Paul Gorman, "The more you see yourself as a 'helper,' the more need for people to play the passive 'helped.' You're buying into, even juicing up, precisely what people who are suffering want to be rid of: limitation, dependency, helplessness, separateness." The authors go on to say "Emphasizing 'helping' can actually alienate us from those with whom we seek to connect." "What otherwise could be a profound and intimate relationship becomes ships passing in the night. In the effort to express compassion, we end up feeling estranged. It's distressing and puzzling."

Interesting thoughts to mull over during a year of volunteer work/service and while listening to MJ croon about fixing the world...how do we do it? I believe it can be done, we can begin to heal our world, and on an individual basis, maybe it is that easy. Recycle, tutor, pray, live your life in community. But what about when we want more than that? Is there more? Or is it really just the small choices we make every day?


In other mission news...I listen to the Relevant Magazine Podcast (and reccomend it because it is fabulous and thought provoking sometimes and hilarious all the time with lots of great live music and interviews...). One of this week's news slices was about World Vision joining up with Zondervan and providing resources for churches on a movement to take the last Sunday of every month "off" from typical services, and spend it in the community doing some sort of service/mission work. Fabulous, huh?!? I can't find a website for this exactly yet, but here's some basic info if you're interested: https://www.worldvision.org/Worldvision/guest.nsf/fia_materials?Open&lid=topnav_church_fia&lpos=topnav