Asked politely for a prayer

As I scan through my ever-expanding list of RSS feeds, I often find myself staring at a new website and wondering how I got there. This usually happens because I opened associated links in news tabs as I read the main article. I typically go back through those related tabs to gather some more context. However, on occasion, I simply cannot figure out how I got to a site once I click on the tab… there appears to be no context. Often, those end up being some of the most interesting reads. That happened today, and here is the story…

I clicked on the “next” tab to read more context on the article I had just completed (I don’t remember what the topic was). A Google map is all that appears on this page, but it is titled “Good News Maps”. OK… that’s interesting…

On the left was a list of pins with intriguing titles like “Gave baby a free flower” or “Sat on cement wall with friend, enjoying the sun”. Now, I’m hooked… must dive deeper.

I have been increasingly interested in the notion of being a better observer of the world around you in a spiritual context… after being introduced to Mustard Seed’s Mapping the Divine Week.  So of course I couldn’t resist the urge to zoom in on the map that contained these nuggets of interesting-ness to see how someone else is mapping their observations.

As the pins come into focus on the map, I decide to click on a random pin located in Capitol Hill, Seattle. This is what I see:

5/16/08 - Asked politely for a prayer: At 16th Ave # & E Harrison, a vulnerable-looking woman, shaking like a leaf, said she was nervous and would I please pray for her. I did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! The first things that pops in my mind:

Am I approachable enough that someone would feel comfortable walking up to me and asking for prayer?

How would I react in this situation? Would I stop and take the time to pray for her?

When was the last time I had an encounter like this?

Then I started to think about how much more communal (and awkward…and abrupt…and disarming) life becomes when you take the time to walk and notice the people around you. How much more you are able to help, talk to, engage, and even pray for those around you. How much more you are able to see the baby and give the flower or sit on the wall and enjoy the sun with a friend. How much the people around you can make you a better person…

How much of that life I miss out on every day by sitting in my car, or not noticing the people around me, or even spending too much time reading blogs . So many more thoughts come to mind… all worth more thought… and definitely worth more action.

and now, the “rest of the story”

Of course I couldn’t help myself and had to find out more about “Justin C”  (the map’s creator)…

Clicking on his Google profile link, I discovered his name was Justin Carder. Justin is the creator and owner of what is probably Seattle’s most successful neighborhood blog: http://blog.capitolhillseattle.com. He also runs Neighborlogs - a site designed to encourage more hyperlocal news sources. Now for those of you who don’t know about Capitol Hill, it’s essentially the core of Seattle’s counter-culture (which is a pretty big statement for a city that prides itself in counter-cultures). It’s not suprising to anyone in Seattle that this would happen in Cap Hill, but I have to wonder why it doesn’t happen more everywhere else…

So, I feel this post deserves a “shout-out” to Justin for creating this map, caring about his neighborhood (even though it’s his job), and enabling interesting and thought-provoking content for curious people like me to stumble across.