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Growth Happens Outside the Comfort Zone. (And hello from Pnomh-Penh, Cambodia

By Anita Mathias

One of my favourite Oxford walks is by the Thames from Iffley Lock to Folly Bridge.

As it gets warmer, the river is crowded with school and college rowers. And, on the banks, an obnoxious man with a bullhorn cycles beside the perspiring rowers, shouting tips on posture and alignment and synchronization.

Our family loves rowing and canoeing, slowly, dreamily, aimlessly. Watching those focused rowers, Zoe said, “I would never want to do THAT kind of rowing.”

No, neither would I. (Though Roy who rowed for his college, Corpus Christi, Cambridge, says, “Humph!”)

So the rowers have a choice. Listen to the man with the bullhorn, and get better.

Or turn a deaf ear to him, and get kicked out of the team, and perhaps lose your race. No more early mornings rowing on the river as the mists rise, and the birds sing, and the dreaming towers emerge from the lifting mist.

If they do not push themselves, their world shrinks.

* * *

                                                                        My whole life I have lived in pleasant thought,

As if life’s business were a summer mood;

As if all needful things would come unsought

To genial faith, still rich in genial good;

 Wordsworth wrote. Yeah, me too. Me too.

And that’s how I like to walk, “in pleasant thought/ As if life’s business were a summer mood.” Slowly, dreamily.

I worked with a personal trainer last year on (don’t laugh!) my walking speed, because one of my favourite things to do with friends is walk with them, and many of my friends are younger than I, and I was having trouble keeping up!

And Joanna kept saying, “Push yourself, Anita. Increase your speed until you are perspiring. Increase your speed until you are slightly out of breath. Walk as if you are trying to catch the last train out. You grow new blood vessels and capillaries. You will strengthen your heart and lungs.”

So faced with my embarrassment when I walk with “normal” people, and get breathless, I have been pushing myself. I walk with Runkeeper on my iPhone, which tells me my pace, and push, push push, until I am sweaty and breathless. But then I come home, from about 3.5 miles of this, and feel wonderful.

Isn’t it great that  God gave us such a means of feeling really, really wonderful, this endorphin high, lying coiled, dormant, right within our bodies?

* * *

 I am writing this having just arrived in Phomh-Penh—definitely outside my comfort zone. I accepted a Tearfund Challenge to tell the story of their projects, and help raise support for them.

The 100 degree heat; jet lag; the unfamiliar culture; the challenges of live-blogging, the hassle of using new technology and getting my old techie stuff to work here, and the risk of getting ill—oops, this will definitely be outside my comfort zone.

* * *

 Pascal says “One of the greatest causes of man’s unhappiness is his inability to sit quietly in a room.” Yes, I believe that if one cannot find happiness within oneself, and vertically, drawing comfort, nourishment and love for God, deriving happiness from other people can be elusive. They fill our emotional tanks, but once these are drained, we want more.

However, growth does not come from sitting quietly in a room. Growth comes from doing things at which one is likely to fail, and then failing, and humbling oneself to ask for help. Or better still, succeeding and then accepting a new challenge. Growth comes from learning.

buddha_in_bangkok

Huge Buddha in Bangkok

buddhas_feet

The Buddha’s feet

For instance, we had an opportunity today to spend two hours sitting in Bangkok airport, or taking a taxi and exploring. We took a taxi and explored—the charms of a vibrant Buddhist culture, massive Buddhas, viharas and wats everywhere, street markets and aromatic street food. Augustine calls travel “reading from the book of the world,” and so indeed it is.

A colourful Buddhist shrine, Bangkok.

A colourful Buddhist shrine, Bangkok.

* * *

 It’s not just growth that happens outside one’s comfort zone. What happens outside the Christians’ comfort zone is that we are pushed into the Holy Spirit, pushed into Christ, because our own resources—they fail us.

Pray for me—for health and strength and coherent (and God willing inspiring) blogging and that I and the other two bloggers, Danny Webster and Rich Sells succeed in our challenge of inspiring 60 new people to support Tearfund’s work in Cambodia with £3 a month.

Do follow our adventure here, please.

Holly Poulter, Tearfund’s media officer adds: People can text HOPE TODAY to 70444 to subscribe to give £3 a month to See For Yourself.  It will be added to your mobile phone bill. Tearfund receives 100% of the money. This subscription service will cost £3.00 per month until you send STOP to 70080.

More from my site

  • Images and Magic Moments  from my trip to Cambodia with TearfundImages and Magic Moments  from my trip to Cambodia with Tearfund
  • “Prosperity Theology” as a Hook for the Gospel: Hanging out with Christians in Cambodia   “Prosperity Theology” as a Hook for the Gospel: Hanging out with Christians in Cambodia
  •   On The Falsity of Scarcity Thinking and the Fact of Abundance Everywhere On The Falsity of Scarcity Thinking and the Fact of Abundance Everywhere
  • On Pol Pot, Cambodia’s Killing Fields, and the Power of an Idea to Transform–or Destroy. (In Cambodia with Tearfund)On Pol Pot, Cambodia’s Killing Fields, and the Power of an Idea to Transform–or Destroy. (In Cambodia with Tearfund)
  • A Day in Cambodian Villages with Tearfund: Thoughts on Poverty, Shalom and Self-SufficiencyA Day in Cambodian Villages with Tearfund: Thoughts on Poverty, Shalom and Self-Sufficiency
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Filed Under: In which I Travel and Dream Tagged With: #TFBloggers

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Comments

  1. Michelle Twin Mum says

    March 19, 2014 at 11:16 pm

    I have every confidence that between you there will be success with this challenge and trip. Happy to pray for you Anita. Mich x

    • Anita Mathias says

      March 20, 2014 at 10:07 am

      Thank you, Mich!

  2. Rhoda says

    March 18, 2014 at 9:58 pm

    That’s great that you can go out there and use your blogging to help Tearfund! I will pray that you have a great time, and inspired blogging and don’t get sick 🙂 If you come across Water of Life or the Daughters Clinic there in Pnomh-Penh please say hi to our friends Matt and Casey!

    • Anita Mathias says

      March 19, 2014 at 5:38 am

      Thanks, Rhoda. Will do!

  3. Kathy says

    March 18, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    Wonderful reflections from this writing. I especially liked the comment by St.Augustine,”Traveling is reading from the book of the World.” I’m sure you connect with this quote and your writing reflects how you have expanded your view of people and places. I have not traveled extensively, only in a few states but never overseas to Europe, but I feel the pull of God to be where He has me and not to yearn for places unless He has put a burden on my heart. I’m glad you are a person willing to be inconvenienced in order to spread the Word of Truth.

    • Anita Mathias says

      March 19, 2014 at 5:40 am

      ” I feel the pull of God to be where He has me and not to yearn for places unless He has put a burden on my heart.”
      That’s wonderful. I am re-assessing my love of travel, and intend to seek God’s guidance as to when and where to travel, and to submit that area of my life to Him.

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Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

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Francesco, Artist of Florence: The Man Who Gave Too Much

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The Story of Dirk Willems

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Recent Posts

  •  On Not Wasting a Desert Experience
  • A Mind of Life and Peace in the Middle of a Global Pandemic
  • On Yoga and Following Jesus
  • Silver and Gold Linings in the Storm Clouds of Coronavirus
  • Trust: A Message of Christmas
  • Life- Changing Journaling: A Gratitude Journal, and Habit-Tracker, with Food and Exercise Logs, Time Sheets, a Bullet Journal, Goal Sheets and a Planner
  • On Loving That Which Love You Back
  • “An Autobiography in Five Chapters” and Avoiding Habitual Holes  
  • Shining Faith in Action: Dirk Willems on the Ice
  • The Story of Dirk Willems: The Man who Died to Save His Enemy

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Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
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Helen MacDonald

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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