Life is ALWAYS complicated...

Today I bumped up against the fact that life is ALWAYS complicated - it is good and sometimes agonizingly painful, it is worth every once of breath but also ugly and brutal in staggering ways, too - so I don't know if I can ever say that it ever simple. It seems to me that life is at least OFTEN complicated - and maybe always so.  Here are a few of the realities that were swimming around my world today and I am sure that yours is equally complex:

+ Finding a way to help loved ones with childcare duties in the midst of a demanding and stressful time in the liturgical year

+ Talking with a loved one about his decision to ask for prayers that life come to a close sooner rather than later given the exhaustion and physical pain of this moment

+ Trying to find ways to honor my congregation's 250 years of ministry in light of contemporary aesthetics

+ Working against a deadline to complete my Sabbatical proposal - and do so cooperatively - with 7 other people with equally ultra-busy schedules

+ Exploring options to deal with extreme weather tomorrow AND fulfill a radio show commitment with a colleague in the morning, meet with a respected and valued church leader in the afternoon and still get to Providence, RI sometime before midnight so I can be ready to play a jazz gig for some 800 middle school youth on Thursday

+ Searching my calendar for a few days to visit my father and sisters in mid-March to help move his living transition forward in a way that helps him and keeps him safe 

And, of course, none of this includes exercise, time with my honey or walking the puppy.  Please understand: I am NOT whinging (I hope), just saying that the more I unplug from the stress-makers and busyness of the culture, the more I realize there are miles to go before I sleep. 

Tonight at band practice we worked on Herbie Hancock's take on Peter Gabriel's song, "Don't Give Up" and then went to choir practice with a Tallis canon.  Like I said, life is always complicated - good - but not yet simple.