Don't Stop Priming the Pump

"Don't stop priming the pump." When I was a kid, my family bought a rustic cabin at the beach. Every weekend that we went there, we had to bring along a big jar of water to pour into the hand pump, out back, when we got there. After you poured the water in, you would pump, pump, pump; then let someone else pump, when your arm got tired. Even though I was a little girl, I got to do some of the pumping, but my older sister could put real enthusiasm and muscle into that thing.

With the water from home that we poured in and a lot of pumping, water would finally come gushing out of the pump. The rest of the weekend, all we had to do was go out and pump two or three times, and plenty of water would come. It was just getting it started that required water and muscles.

We never forgot to bring that jar of water, but if we had, we would have had to go into town and buy some water or something (if anyone was selling water in stores in those days)...or maybe find someone willing to give us some.

Why I started by saying, "Don't stop priming the pump" is that I sometimes see things online where parents talk about their children not calling them anymore or not coming over anymore. Presumably, when they were little, you did - we all did - a lot of priming the pump. But when they're adults, there may be times when we may need to pour some water in or put some muscle in. Maybe by being the one to call or text and touch bases. Maybe by being the one to give a little praise. Or to offer physical, financial, or emotional support. "Don't stop priming the pump."

Pray, Read, Love

Yesterday, I saw a bumper sticker which simply said, "Read". I've never been a bumper sticker person, but I thought: "That's one I could get behind." (or in front of, as the case would be).

I was thinking today of two other bumper stickers that could go with it, but with the three in this order: "Pray, Read, Love."

"Pray". If you don't believe in Christ, pray to the God of Adam and Moses and Abraham. If you don't believe in God, pray to the benevolent ancestors. Or put good thoughts into the universe.

"Read". I'm not telling you to read whole books if you don't want to. But let's not just get all of our information from one TV station or from whatever memes and sound bytes happen to come across our phone screens. Maybe it's reading a daily devotion in a devotional book. Maybe it's reading history or historical fiction. Maybe it's reading articles. Just, let's be an educated people who read (and believe it or not, even as an avid reader and writer, I sometimes have to remind myself to do a little more of this and a little less scrolling).

"Love". No, I'm not saying you have to have a working relationship with everyone. But it has been a whole lot of hate that has caused a whole lot of our problems...in history and now. What if we could overcome the hate with love?

How we love is going to look different for each of us. It's not for any of us to tell the rest of us how we need to do that. But one start is to "do no harm". Along the lines of "do no harm", I will also not verbally or tacitly excuse any harm. If I can't stop it, I will speak against it, even if I can only do it quietly now and then.

I might add, "Hope". If we don't like the way some things are going (and I'm one of those who doesn't like the way some things are going), let's keep up hope. If we look at history, things often turn around. But we have to have enough people with love to get things turned around.

For those who believe in the New Testament, St. Paul said "Faith, hope, love" (or "charity", depending on the translation)..."and the greatest of these is love."

So, I guess I actually have two slogans here: "Pray, read, love" and "Faith, hope, love". If enough of us have true abiding love - if we fill the universe with love! - a love that fights evil - a love that pours itself out on as many people as possible, we can turn things around. It probably won't be overnight. But I believe it can happen...again...as it has so many times in history.

What Friendship Is

Friendship is not something we possess.

It's countless moments of connection.

It's sharing a funny moment or a funny memory.

It's sharing a happy story with a friend.

It's offering compassion for our friend's pain.

It's our presence when they are sick or heartsick. 

It's offering advice but without expectations. 

It's sharing in activities for service or for fun. 

It's offering help or a hug.

It's listening with an open heart. 

It's making amends; it's finding common ground.

It's all of these things or any of these things. 

~ Margaret Mary Myers

Remember the Arts and Feed your Senses

Remember the arts, and feed your senses. Listen to poets and musicians. Look up to the heavens and see how the pictures in the sky are different each day. Listen to the symphonies of young people laughing. Breathe in the nuances of the smells in the air as the weather changes from cold to warm. Try a food you haven't eaten for a long time...or find a farm stand and buy a food that's fresh from the garden. Do something that feels good in your hands...strum a guitar, or sew or knit, or work with wood, or paint, or bake bread. Do something with your hands that you've done before, or try something new.