Brook, Mountain, Flow, & Dancing

So how did I come up with my blog page name?
When I decided to start a blog, I immediately hit a mental "pause" when prompted for my blog name. I wanted something that would be relevant to me and my topics whenever & wherever. I suppose time will only tell how well I did with this choice, but here's the explanation...

Brook: The story of my name

Michal. Not the most common name for a girl. (But then, I'm not a common girl!) No, my parents weren't hoping for a boy, I would have been Jonathan, then. This was intentional. It's actually a Hebrew feminine name, and can be found in the Bible (King Saul's daughter, King David's wife). My parents thought it was simply the feminine form of the boy's name "Michael," which means "who is like the Lord?" And most baby name searches agree, even when looking at Jewish websites. But some few sources say that "Michal" means "Brook," like the little babbling stream. Babbling. Ah, so that's why I talk so much! Seriously, I earned the nickname "Chatterbox" by the time I was two years old (and, as you'll notice from the length of this first post, it still holds). So, I also like to identify with "Brook."

Mountain: A lifelong climber

Mountains are impressive, sometimes foreboding. They're beautiful, dangerous, invigorating, exhausting, and impossible to ignore. Mountains are a huge part of my life, and serve as a great metaphor for life.

Some of my favorite activities are hiking, backpacking, and rock climbing, and mountains are my preferred location for them. I love facing the challenges, and rewards come in a variety of manifestations. I'm thoroughly convinced that my time in the mountains is beneficial to my health, all around - physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, artistically. I need mountains, and will climb them as long as I am able.

Metaphorically, climbing a mountain is much like life's journey. There's a goal - the Kingdom and Family of God. The path is difficult, and a relatively small percentage of the greater population actually attempts it. The journey requires preparation, by learning from those who have gone before you, but you also learn from your own experiences as you go. Sometimes the struggle is very internal & personal, but sometimes you get through the tough spots because of the support & company of friends. When things get rough, it's easier to break it down into smaller pieces, mini-goals along the way. What you get out of the experience depends largely on your attitude & what you put into it. It can be encouraging when you remember to stop & look at your progress. Water is essential for survival (Holy Spirit).

I could probably continue on for a while on the metaphor of mountains, but I think you get the idea. This little Brook isn't a lazy country-side stream, I live in the mountains.

Flow: Water and Csikszentmihalyi (completely unrelated)

First, I'm the Mountain Brook, and what do streams do, but flow? Ok, well, here's where we have to veer off from the metaphor a little, because water flows downhill, pulled by the force of gravity, and I'm climbing a mountain. But metaphors aren't perfect, now, are they? But brooks aren't stagnant pools of water, they're moving. Going somewhere, and always changing. Sometimes the water is calm & peaceful, sometimes it's tumbling over stones & making noise. The path of the water is somewhat determined by outside forces, but the flow of the water itself is also strong enough to shape its environment. I don't always know what's around the next bend, but I'm not going to let that stop me.

Csikszentmihalyi. "Say what?" you may be thinking. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, to be more specific. Unless you're a student of Parks & Recreation, Experiential Education, or Psychology, you're probably still confused. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the psychologist who identified and labeled the phenomenon now known as "Flow," and anyone who has taken "a Chuck class" at NAU has been encouraged to learn more about it. I haven't yet read the book, but I've done some online reading. To briefly summarize it for you, Flow is the mental state one slips into when totally absorbed in an activity. It generally occurs when the challenges faced appropriately match or slightly exceed the skills possesed. If you're intested in learning more about it, here are some websites:

A Psycology Today article written by Csikszentmihalyi himself.
The know-all (haha) Wikipedia article.
Csikszentmihalyi's page on BrainChannels.com.

Anyway, Flow is something that I want to pursue more consciously, and help bring others to. And, I hope to share some of my Flow experiences here.
Duality of meaning. Love it. :-)

Dancing: Another metaphor

When I graduated from high school, my best friend's mom gave me the gift-book-&-cd of Lee Ann Womak's song, "I Hope You Dance." It has served as an inspiration and reminder to me many times. I've included the words & a link to the video at the bottom of this post.

When I was a kid, I was actually hesitant, even afraid, to dance. I remember even "getting sick" at camp on the last night so that I could go back to the dorm & sleep instead of being forced to dance. When I couldn't avoid the dance environment, I did my best to avoid the actual dancing, and turned down every request (except from my Daddy, whom I loved dancing with). One year at the Feast of Tabernacles there was a Family Dance, and I sat with a couple of friends at a different table from my parents. My friends were guys I had met that week, and somehow I had made it perfectly clear to them that I had no interest in dancing. Other guys would come over & ask though, and I'd come up with some kind of excuse. My Dad noticed. He caught my eye & motioned for me to go over to him, and when I did, I got a little talk about how crushing that rejection is, and told me that if someone asked, I had to dance with him. I was not happy about that, and when I went back to my friends, they could tell I wasn't pleased about something. They asked what he had said, and I told them. They looked at each other & exchanged some sort of guy-talk expression, which was immediately followed by one of them asking me to dance. hahaha. Obliged, I said yes, and through the remainder of the evening I danced with both of them, and some of the other guys whom I had previously turned away (yes, they actually came back). As uncomfortable as I was at first, I eventually got over it, and in time I came to really enjoy it. Now I eagerly anticipate opportunities to dance! So in addition to the stand-alone metaphoric meaning of the song, it also reminds me of my own literal story, and the lessons I've learned from it.

So as this mountain Brook flows (and Flows) through life, I hope to be dancing.

May you also dance, and I hope you enjoy this blog, whatever it may bring...
~ Michal Lisa ~


I Hope You Dance
Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes,
I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance (Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance (Rolling us along)
I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance (Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes,
I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance (Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance (Rolling us along)
I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance (Where those years have gone)
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)

Watch it on YouTube here.