Aging and Venting

It's not only moving slower and napping more, it's how thinking changes.  As a younger person I wondered why older persons were so resistant to change.  The answer is not black and white but is infused with many shades of gray.

Certainly there is an element of "I'm too old to learn something new."  There's also an element of "We've always done it that way," which is justifiably integrated with "We've try many options and these seem to work the best."  Maybe surprises, unannounced changes, trigger some portion of the brain that creates an annoyance.  Maybe as the body slows the mind slows and it takes longer to process changes allowing for more time to be frustrated.

This all is around the church, not theology or polity, but little things.  Little things that affect how one chooses a religion, a denomination, a church, and how one participates in that institution.  The removal of certain elements of a worship service.  The attempt to remove others.  The style of worship.  The change in fellowship hour.  Like I say, they're all small things and we shouldn't sweat the small things.

Sometimes leadership can be a burr under the saddle.  There are limitations to what one should or can expect from leadership, no one is perfect, and paid staff have job descriptions with well-defined expectations and limits.  However, hearing almost every time one meets with the leadership you hear something to the effect my brain's not engaged or you need to tell me again and hand it to me when I'm ready to receive the information.  Who's guiding the ship anyhow?

Certainly, life has it's ups and downs and we learn from the downs more than the ups.  However, we do need ups to keep our heads above water and our thinking in the attic instead of the basement.  So some sweet tension is important in our lives, but how much is sweet and when does it become sour.

I think I'm at the point where sourness is starting.  Well, not really starting, more like realizing that sourness has set in and it's time to do something about it.  As I mentioned earlier, it's the little things that enter into making a decision about what to do and where to go.  It's time.  Every time I leave a meeting or gathering at Christ's Church I leave frustrated.  Should I not sometimes feel inspired?  It's time to find something that inspires as well as challenges my mind, my soul, my relationship with God.

It's time.  But will I act on it?  My commitment to Hospitality Week will have to be considered.