Revisiting: Acknowledgement, Gratitude, & Self-Expression

I write almost everyday, but very little of it actually sees the light of Detroit As A Portal! I've been revisiting some of the positive posts that got held up as drafts for whatever reason and cleaning them up for your perusal. Thank you! ~Gregg

October 04, 2008: What a day, as Gristle would say. Saturdays at the Lab are these non-stop brilliant experiments that really take me to the edge. I love every minute of it and all the people I share with are incredible.

Angela and I are truly blessed, but when I finally sit down at 10:30 pm and pause for a second the immensity of the day and what I see happening before my eyes really settles in.

This is serious shit. We're small hands in the midst of some incredible work going down in the world. Every person I engaged with today expressed a great desire for change. Even the guy at Busy Bee Hardware who sold me a furnace filter was talking about sustainability and community.

Though I know I tend to lead a conversation and love to introduce ideas to new people, the simple fact is that I had meaningful conversations with everyone I met today. I think that's both rare and fortuitous, and I'm quite sincere in this. I try to give these things weight through words and sometime I wonder if it's possible. I spend my days in constant awe.

There are problems and concerns and I fall into doubt just as often as the rest of you. (Please tell me if I'm wrong about the doubt thing so I can make the proper adjustments.) But I've found the antidote to doubt to be equal portions of gratitude and service. I don't understand it, so I'll admit to an almost blind faith. When I selflessly share my talents with others and recognize what they've done for me by simply gazing at my work for even a moment, the universe seems to make a way. I don't always remember this VITAL fact, but when I do it does wonders!

I watch whats going on in the world at large. I see the division, the culture war that's coming to a head and in the face of it I have a serious proposition. What if you decided to engage? What if the next time you interact with someone you look them in the eye and truly acknowledge them as a fellow being, if only for a moment? I'm not proposing that it be a hippie love fest, we have a wide range of emotions that we can share more fully with others when we take the time to engage. I think that we are quite close to a tipping point and that creating meaningful connections with others, particularly our neighbors, will serve as a great boon in the coming days.

Acknowledgement, meaningful appreciation and gratitude, and heartfelt self-expression seem the call of the day. I really want to thank everyone who has supported us and helped us move forward with the Lab and our own personal development.