Thursday, November 17, 2011

Big Questions

This past Wednesday, members of our group submitted anonymous questions for discussion. This sparked some great conversation on a variety of topics.  Here's a selection of the topics we discussed:

What image(s) do you associate with God? Could you put a face to God?
Some pictured nature, others a bright light, and others said that when they try to put a face to God, they often end up picturing Jesus.


Would you prefer money for a housekeeper, cook, gardener, or personal secretary?
It was interesting that many of us had an immediate and strong response, but it usually differed from person to person!

What do you believe you need to accomplish or experience in order to be successful in life (for you personally, not for everyone in general)?
Our answers varied quite a bit for this question, including having a career that allows one to provide for one's family, being able to fully experience emotions ranging from joy to grief, having children who grow up to be happy, living a life free of physical pain, and having a life that is full of love and service to others.


Who has inspired you as a mentor and why?
Our mentors included parents, pastors, and individuals we've met that inspired us to work for social justice and look at the world through a different lens. 

What does your perfect day look like?
Many of us mentioned that our perfect day would include some amount of spontaneity or surprise - it wouldn't all be planned.  Some would spend the day in the Redwoods, and others at the beach.  Our 'perfect' days often included time spent with loved ones, and definitely included lots of tasty food!

Other questions we discussed included the following - please feel free to share your thoughts on any of these in the comments!
  • Is science or art more essential to humanity?
  • How do faith/integrity inform or affect the decision about what to focus on?
  • What do you like about life, the universe and everything? What do you not like? How much do you think about what you like vs. what you don't like? 
  • If you could choose one super power, which one would it be?
  • After all the protests that have been taking place, do you agree with the protesters actions? The police's actions? What more do you think they should (or should not) be doing in regards to the protesters and the police?

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Taize Photos

One of the students from our Taize trip, Nina, recently posted these photos from the trip on her blog.  Click through to enjoy all of the photos!