When Reality Is Even Better than the Idea

I just got back from a hike on Baldpate Mountain with our dog, Faye. She's quite a trailblazer, and kept me on track when I might have wandered off into a briar patch. Anyway, as we were hiking along, I got to thinking not just about the beauty of the day, but about how glorious of a gift it was to be able to be doing this. I mean, I'm 68 years old as of this past February, but I am still able to get outdoors to do the things that I love. Then, I got to thinking about the fact that the idea of hiking today was a splendid one, but the reality of it was even better.

Are you familiar with the saying "Sometimes an idea is better than the reality"? It's one that I've often quoted myself, and in so doing, convinced myself that that is some kind of natural law. Truth is, it isn't. It's a state of mind that we've bought into so easily that we believe that it is the way things have to be.

I've been thinking about a Lenten series I want to offer at my church in Florence and it suddenly struck me while Faye and I were walking: "When Reality Is Even Better than the Idea." I'm pretty excited about that. It's a definite paradigm shift that I think we all could use, and it's extremely spiritual in nature. Why should we be so conditioned to assume that the realities of our everyday world are always going to be less exciting than our imaginations can conceive of them?

Out of the hike today, I've decided that on Wednesdays April 6, 13, and 20 at 7:30, I will hold a worship/workshop at the church (I'll be putting the congregation to work a little bit) on that theme. I'll use my guitar for the music. I'm sorry if this sounds like an ad, but I'm very inspired about this idea and want the reality of it to be even better. There's no cost involved other than your time. It will approximately be an hour each evening. Let me know if you're interested so that if you plan to attend, I can have enough materials for everyone.