Racial Progressives

According to Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (2001), among white college students most likely to be racial progressives (about 10% of a white student body falls in this category), white, working class women are the most likely to exhibit/espouse views of racial progressivism.

Which leads me to some big puzzle-piecing in my mind. Most school teachers in the US are middle class white women (about 85% of the teacher work force). So...is it safe to say that most teachers are not racial progressives?

tennis, ankles, and firm so(u)l(e)s

Yesterday I described to C., as we strolled in our swimsuits to lie poolside, that I had rolled my ankle earlier that day on the tennis court in a valiant lunge for a ball. Running shoes aren't fit for the tennis court, because they lack a firm sole, especially the outer edges of the sole that don't allow the side of your foot to hit the court any way but flatly.

Within a beat, she said, "You have a firm soul." I followed up: "You mean, s-o-u-l?" She relied, "Yeah, of all my friends you consider the motivations behind what you do and take it the most seriously."

Which made my heart leap for joy. She's seen me deliberate what to do through many personal dilemmas, and I haven't always been wise. I did my best. It was really heartening to hear her say that, amidst my (now proven to be) missteps, she saw that part of the process in me.

I dare say, affirmative words from a real friend can replace a joy you thought was lost forever. Figuring out who are your real friends is no small discernment, either. Yesterday the sun I felt wasn't only the one that made my skin darker; it was also the warming of reassurance in both these realizations.

MotVocExp

Motivation
to fulfill my
Vocation
has no other
Explanation
than His
daily provision.

Striving in Love

To give voice to love:
it's easy/it's hard

easy: to let impulse compose the poetry, arrange the words, determine the time
hard: to be wise, to walk the patient path, to trust and obey the One who always loves [me/us].

To have a measured gait in love;
To know when I am found, and not lost, in love;
To consider, weigh, and act in accord
with the knowledge I do have,
with what has been set like cards before me,
and
with the balanced love God has set forth as my template:

This is my challenge.

Potential

"I feel like I'm floating," A. said on Sunday
she's talking about
how we're both
in the exploratory
phase of
finding our path

I like having a traveling companion

I hope wisdom stays by my side
even when the twilight along the path is enjoyable
Stay, wisdom! Don't depart me
for even my closest companions aren't enough

But oh,
at least for today
I see this period of exploring
as a time of
marvelous,
delectable

potential


energy

My Ticket to Newness

I have ripped three pairs of jeans in three days. Maybe I should be concerned. I don't think I'm gaining weight or anything, or moving more vigorously than usual, or being more careless than usual. Although two of the three pairs have rips in the butt! Oops. With one of those pairs, it was getting gradually worse, culminating to where it is now, post-machine wash. The third pair, I broke the zipper.

SO, the bright side of all this is: I now MUST buy some new pairs of jeans. And I seriously cannot wait. A great pair of jeans is something I take for granted, but scoring the perfect pair is really fun. The well-worn pair of jeans, think about it: they have been with you through so many scenes and seasons of life.

I'm excited for my new pair(s).

My Jetta

My most valuable possession (in terms of net dollar worth) is dying. Little imperfections are accumulating on my '05 Jetta. It's very, very saddening. Its days of beauty are slipping fast away, and recapturing them is basically not a possible reality anymore. Inside the driver door, the cloth has come loose, probably because my friend's mom who graciously offered to give my car's interior a deep-clean two years ago scrubbed the fabric too hard. The front bumper I had replaced this January is an off-shade of the off-white of the rest of the body; I didn't notice this then because I picked it up late one night where the eve concealed it (smart, I know). The back bumper is not pretty either, now, because where I had it repaired four years ago, the paint has micro-shattered beneath the glossy surface, so that it looks like cracked desert dirt, and there are two scratches all the way down to the black underneath (where on earth did these come from? I wonder if someone hit-and-ran me recently- had to have, right?). The passenger door no longer opens from the outside, even when I unlock it (the result of my minor wreck this past summer, which insurance didn't bother to fix). This all makes me very sad!

 I just need to remember how much of a blessing this car has been, for five years now! I love that it's a stick, that it's 4-door, that it's super fuel-efficient, and has rarely had mechanical problems. It fits my personality ("quick and zippy," as C.B. astutely observed!). I think I might like my next car to also be a VW.

Anyhow, the deeper moral of this story, to link it to the spiritual realm, is: even our prettiest acquisitions in life always change. They do not remain in tip-top shape forever. This is the natural result of entropy in the natural world, a natural process. And if it's a natural process, is it too much to infer that there is something we ought to catch onto as humans in it, as in, how do we respond to the natural tendency of things? The lesson within this might be that constant care over the long haul is the best way to maintain our valued things (and also relationships with loved ones). Don't let the bangs and brokenness accumulate to a point where correcting them seems insurmountable!