Like an iceberg, what you see on the outside is only 10% of who I am. I'm choosing to drop the waterline. Will you? I've been working at my current church for over 4 years now and each year I participate as a volunteer for Challenge Day. "Challenge Day's mission is to provide youth and their communities with experiential workshops and programs that demonstrate the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth and full expression." (Quoted from the website.) One of the "norms" at Challenge Day is to "Drop the waterline." I LOVE this, because it's what I am currently striving to do with my life. The example used is of an iceberg. Above the water, we can only see 10% of the iceberg, leaving 90% out of our view. How could we judge the iceberg based on what we see on the surface of the water? The iceberg serves as an example of the human life. Looking at me, you will see only 10% of me. How, then, can you judge me? How, then, can I judge you? Included in the 90% of me that you cannot see by looking at my appearance are my childhood, my family, my insecurities, my dreams, my failures, my accomplishments, etc. When we drop the waterline, willing to expose more of ourselves, we find that we are more alike than we originally thought. We find out that the people who we thought were perfect...aren't. We find out that the people who seem to have it all together...don't. We find out that we are all in this together. The huge efforts that people go through in order to try to be as good as or better than people who seem to have it all together is exhausting. If we could put those energies elsewhere, think of the good we could do for ourselves and others. I'm embarrassed about how much of my life I have wasted in exactly that pursuit...I feel extremely self centered. Your clothes, your home, your makeup, your purse, your shoes, your watch, your mode of transportation, etc...don't have anything to do with your value. Anyone who thinks they do needs to read my blog, go to Challenge Day, and find a good church. Just my opinion. ;o) Real Life RachyBurns is exactly that....Real Life. I'm dropping the waterline. I hope that you will, too. A special note: I would like to say that I'm really proud of Rocky River Middle School for bringing Challenge Day to their 7th graders each year. It is truly a gift to the community. Thank you, Mike and Shannon Cain, for your humble service. You are amazing. Thanks for helping Rocky River drop the waterline.
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AuthorRachel E. Burns Archives
September 2017
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