"Finding Beauty in the Mess"

I am not the biggest Jen Hatmaker fan. She's an author, but she just is not my style. I am sure she is a lovely woman. She just writes like she is having a conversation and that is too informal for my taste when reading an actual book. That said, I am a really big fan of author Glennon Doyle. While I do not agree with all of Glennon's politics, she is SO WISE! She lives in Naples and I always wish that I'd just bump into her when we're down there so I could give her a big hug. Glennon is friends with Oprah. That should tell you all you need to know.

Jen interviewed Glennon on her podcast and it was SUCH A GREAT INTERVIEW. I've copied my favorite part of their interaction below, but the whole thing is worth a listen!

You can listen here: http://jenhatmaker.com/episode-06-glennon-doyle

Glennon: The beauty of that is, that there is a way to live in which you keep watching the news and you actually believe the story that's being told; that we all hate each other and we’re all divided. That's not the story I live in. I don't live in it. Each day I see it. I understand you could buy into that, but I live in a world where people take care of strangers. People do that, not just like me. I mean I get all the credit for it, right? “Oh, look at me I'm so good I'm raising all this money.” The people who are giving this money are giving it in their own homes. No one will ever see it. No one will know.  They're doing it because they’re good. The truest story is that we belong to each other and that small groups of people can literally change the world. So that's why I'm not jaded. That's why you're not jaded. That's why we can keep showing up, because there's two ways in which to live; and one is a story where it's dog eat dog and there’s a much more beautiful story to live inside of too, which is legacy and “together rising.”  

Jen: That’s right. It's possible. It is possible. It matters who we are listening to; who we’re grabbing hands with, and where we spend our energy and our time. We can pick. We get to choose this. This is not happening to us. We are not victims of our own culture. I like what you're saying right now; that's the true story, the good story, it’s the right story--so pick it. Just choose it. It’s just that simple. We do have the capability to unhook ourself from the rage machine, and hook into something more beautiful. That’s my choice.  

Glennon: Jen, I mean my kids and I--nobody in my family has had social media on our phones. We don't have the internet or social media on our phones for the last like two or three months. So anytime you see anything that I'm posting, it's something that I have written on a word document, and sent to my team, and they post it.  

Jen: That sounds amazing. Does that feel good?  

Glennon: I cannot even tell you. We are people who believe that the world was spoken into existence, right? Words that we take in and that we say create the worlds that we then step into. We pick up these phones like we are cutters, cutting. We know they're going to cause anxiety, we know it's all information and no wisdom. We know. We know it's divisive. We know. But we pick it up and that becomes our reality. Why is everybody so angry? Because everybody is staring into anger machines all day.  

Jen: You are like slicing me open right now. I’m going to stop talking.  

Glennon: We use the excuse of, “oh, we have to stay informed.” You're not staying informed, you're staying entertained.  

Jen: That's great.  

Glennon: You pick up a frickin’ newspaper. Read a book. You can be informed each day in three minutes. You do not need 13 hours--you are not getting your work done. It becomes this impotent, temper tantrum rage that is not creative.  

Jen: That's good. You're right.  

Glennon: There's work to be done. It's like serious times and we need wise serious people. And the wise serious people are not staring at their phones all day.  

Jen:  That's good. I am ingesting what you're saying like a girl drinking water who's never had a sip. It’s true. This year has been so contentious, and so enraged, and so bonkers, but if that's the message that I'm taking in on the daily--and not just on the daily, all day on the daily—it makes us into angry, scared people.  

Glennon: What people say, Jen, “oh, well that’s just burying your head in the sand if you don't stare at it all day.” No, no, no, no.  I am not saying I am a privileged person, so I don't have to know what's going on. I'm saying, I'm a privileged person and I'm a leader, so I need to be using my time wisely. I need to be actually creating projects and creating a plan for us to lead better. I need to use my privilege wisely. Staring--it's an easy button. It's giving me an excuse not to do my work. But what's away from the phones is the stillness, and we don't want to be there.  

Jen: Thank you for saying that and making me feel incredibly convicted. I appreciate that.