Counting our blessings in 'Zombieland'
Remember the scene from the Wizard
of Oz when Dorothy steps out of the black-and-white world of her Kansas
farmhouse and into the color world of Oz? Everything looks astonishingly
brilliant, luminous, surreal, overwhelming.
It's sort of how Breyten Breytenbach,
the poet and former South African political prisoner, describes feeling when he
was released after years of incarceration. In prison his spirit had been
deadened by institutionalization, exemplified by his experience
of color.
"The colors in prison are the no
colors of public places or sad public places," Breytenbach told an
NPR
interviewer. "You see gray, you see metal colors, you see kind of an
off-green, with a bit of luck you see a little bit of brown. But mostly
it's just infinite shades of gray and dirty green."
Released from prison, he was
overwhelmed by the colors all around him, as well as the freedoms he was
denied all those years. No surprises there, huh? What is
surprising is his observation of people.
"I felt like I was moving into a
complete world of zombies. ... These people don't really know what
life's about. They don't feel walking in the street. They don't
see the colors," Breytenbach recalled. "They're not alive. Their
antennae are not vibrating."
Breytenbach's comments can inform
many of us in America who live in secure neighborhoods, decent houses
with well-stocked pantries. It's so easy to take for granted all we
have.
These thoughts came to mind when I
found an item included in this week's
Gleanings. Newsday, the Metropolitan New York City newspaper, told
the story of a man found frozen to death on a thin mattress in a warren
of nests that homeless people had created for themselves under an
elevated section of the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx. (Check out the
story, as well as the gallery of photos.) Do human beings actually
live in the forgotten places underneath highways? In New York City? In
January? When the temperature drops below zero?
Sadly, the answer is yes. How much
do we take for granted when we are really unaware of the heat available
at the turn of a thermostat dial, or the hot water at the turn of a tap,
the music with the flick of the CD switch, the cash with the tap of a
few ATM buttons, and on and on.
Awareness is the foundational
ingredient for stewardship. Awareness of our abundance, we are grateful
for all we have -- gifts from God, every one. Without awareness, its
hard to be grateful, and without gratitude it's hard for us to
develop other important stewardship attitudes, such as thrift,
generosity or justice. Without awareness, we are just zombies living in
a complete world of zombies.
Resources New This Week: Jan. 12 - 18
Poor
Economy: 'I'll Steal Your Donors'
"How
will your non-profit organization weather the 'perfect storm' created by
the cost of the war, the weak economy and rising unemployment rates?" In
this article, an expert looks at three typical responses and outlines
strategies for survival. From
onPhilanthropy.com.
Extravagant
Stewardship
"Our job here on earth is to give others a glimpse into the kingdom. It
is to let others see the good and gracious and loving Father in what we
do and how we live." In Dana Reardon's weekly
reflection.
Money:
Do Our Attitudes and Practices Reflect Our Faith?
"I need to daily remind myself that everything I have, yes even life
itself, is a gift from God. I do this by offering a prayer of
thanksgiving at the beginning of every day for this new day and for the
many blessings that continue to be bestowed by God. We are tempted by
the sin within us and the multitude of events around us to want to put
our faith in man. Money especially has this power. "
By Duane Engelhardt.
From the
Lutheran Laity Movement Archives.
"The person living the
StewardLife gets new eyes to see life from a different perspective. ...
We view all of God's gifts of time, resources, people, relationships,
community, diversity, talent, industry, government as assets - as
capacity or potential - to build God's kingdom."
StewardLife
from the
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
January 12 - 18, 2004 
For
Lutherans, Stewardship Is More Than Just Money for the Church