too many topics

Sometimes it feels like I have not much to say. This isn't one of those times. I have had so much in my head recently I have had to stop and make notes just so my brain wouldn't overflow.
So this post is just a conglomeration of things I've been wondering about lately, a 'pot-pourri' as my pastor would say. (and he'd anglicize it and make sure to pronounce the 't'.)

• i spent last week learning. i really love the mod format for seminary classes where I study. its good to have 'intensives' - it means that other times are less intense. or at least it's supposed to...
• on the way home i picked up two hitchhikers. I know i learned a lot from class, but the things i learned from these two young people were just as relevant, methinks. They liked to talk, and they indulged my curiosity. We talked all the way from Regina to Winnipeg. They termed themselves 'travelling kids' and they had all sorts of underground info about how to 'borrow' transportation. They taught me that the Arlington bridge in Winnipeg got here by accident; it was actually constructed for the River Nile. Yup. These two have hopped trains and hitchiked all over North America. They aren't interested in playing by the rules or cooperating with any systems, they just want to do their own thing. And they don't want be judged for it, but they know that they frequently are. hmmmm. I really like picking up hitchhikers. I always feel sad when my car is too full and I can't manage to help someone out. When I was asking a friend about his hitchhiker-picking-up habits, he jokingly referred to growing up in a home where 'he was taught to fear people who are different.' hmmm. Thats sad, hey? My son happened to be there for that conversation, and I was reassured that he is not being raised to fear those who are different than himself. So, I learned from the hitchhikers AND got a point on the my-kids-might-just-be-okay-in-spite-of-me scale. :)
• Releasing and embracing: this may become a post of its own - but for now, I'll just touch on it. As I grow in my understanding of what it means to be a therapist, I realize that there is much to embrace and much to let go of. For example, I know that I need to embrace a more moderate approach. I am solution oriented.. I have a struggle to sit with people and patiently explore patterns and situations. I just want to be FIXING. THis is not the role of a counselor. On the other hand, I'm letting go of my task-orientation in order to pick up a more affirming, patient, non-anxious orientation. I like that. I look forward to growing in this area.
• One of my favorite people visited me for a day on campus and a sleepover while i was at caronport. What a treat! I so enjoyed the time together, the sharing of life - deeply honest talk about struggles, joys, beauty and pain. I know I talk about relationships a lot in this blog, but they really are my most treasured 'possession'.
• For one of my pre-class assignments, I had to write about a book called 'The Doctrine of Humanity'. I may be a Masters student, but books like this are beyond my brain power. But somehow, some seeds from this text captured me. I found myself thinking about individualism and collectivism. (is that a word?) I have been praying to be free from 'individualism'. I don't want to be concerned with myself to the exclusion of others...
• life is good. It is full, it is not easy, but we are doing very well these days. We continue to adjust, to settle in, to question, to pray.. and we are blessed.