By Leona Chen–Wong

Optimism, to me, is a mindset and attitude that perceives the current situation as a “half-full cup,” finding it sufficient and excellent, while also believing that the future will always be better than today regardless of personal decisions.

Pessimism, on the other hand, is a mindset and attitude that views the current situation as a “half-emptied cup,” deeming it insufficient and negative, and holding the belief that the future will only get worse outside of one’s control.

By Millie Kim

When I think about mindfulness, I often think about a tool to calm anxiety in the postmodern era or a fad that groovy Californians are promoting recently. Most people are familiar with mindfulness, and a lot of people tried mindful eating, mindful walking, and mindful reading, etc… The key to mindfulness is presence and awareness. 

By Eunhyey Lok

Sitting in my evening quiet, I attune to how I am breathing, and what feels uncomfortable or pleasant inside me. It’s not quite as structured or conscious as that may sound, but I have formed a habit of scanning and pausing to notice the energy within me, stored physically. Most of the time what I find is a buzz of leftovers from the day, thoughts that haven’t quite found a place to land, emotions not yet named. 

By Yuri Yamamoto

I breathe to cry:
              From day one, crying has been the sign of my life.

I breathe to laugh:
              What a joy to burst into laughter with family and friends.

I breathe to scream:
              My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

I breathe to sing:
              Our harmony reaches heaven.

By Sarah D. Park

I tried mindful eating for the first time a few years ago. It’s a practice of being fully present to the process and sensations of a meal without doing anything else at the same time. I emphasize the last part because I didn’t realize just how often I am doing something else while eating.

I’m particularly guilty of multi-tasking during breakfast, be it reading, reviewing my schedule, or scrolling on my phone. Something about the urgency of mornings — the need to take advantage of my energy at its peak — made being present to the slow chew of my yogurt with berries and granola deeply unnerving. I’m talking about taking deliberate chews, noting how my molars mashed, discerning how many nuances Chobani low-fat yogurt could possibly contain.

By Diana Kim

Apart from living away from home during undergrad, I’ve always lived at home. For various reasons — wanting to save money, being a dutiful daughter, no real need for my own space while working on my master’s and doctorate — I stayed under my parents’ roof for 30 years. (During covid, given the circumstances, I moved into my grandma’s place to provide daily assistance.) This all changed a little over a year ago, when I made the decision to exclusively focus on academics. In order to be faithful to the academic call God has placed in my heart, I needed to create space — both physically and time-wise: I decided to step down from ministry (and quit other part time jobs) and move out so that all my energy could be focused on this calling. As much as I would try to compartmentalize ministry and academia, ministry would always bleed into my study time, making it difficult to truly commit to my academic work. This was also true with any family needs, as I would drop everything to help whenever someone needed assistance (hence, why I moved into my grandma’s place). In order for me to be faithful to my academic call, I realized that space and distance were a necessity.

By Wendy Choy-Chan

Is there such a thing as being spiritually independent? Not to depend on others to be fed and led, but to be able to understand and apply Scripture on one’s own to walk the right way? Sounds like spiritual independence of a mature Christian?

But wasn’t that what Eve attempted to do? She learned the word of God and set up a rule to apply to herself to prevent her from sinning. When her rule was challenged, she observed, reasoned, and deliberated all on her own. We all knew the result. 

By Tina Teng-Henson

Preaching the lectionary

Initially liberating: I didn’t select this passage; others have chosen it for me! 
Freedom to just sit in the texts.

Later confining: I didn’t select this passage; it is hard to connect that to this community’s life. 
I would not have chosen this passage…

Yet the Lord helps me 
find the words and
provide the words
To nourish others. 

Thanks be to God. 
But thank you Jesus for preaching topically in the Sermon on the Mount. 
I’ll take my cues from you…
Holy Spirit, speak. I am listening.

By Emi Iwanaga

“…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

INDEPENDENCE

As we struggle and claim personal independence
Surely we should appreciate the gains we have made.
Reflect, relax, appreciate our freedom.

In the midst of our striving for more,
Why not pause to refresh our perspective
Acknowledge, consider, lament over another

By Jerrica KF Ching

Reading April’s reflections a couple weeks ago on her work as a lead pastor during challenging moments when she was uncertain as to what to do resonated deep within me and caused a surprising emotional reaction.  The tears that welled up in my eyes indicated to me that April’s words were incredibly validating and provided a strong sense of community and belonging.  As a mental health therapist, I can understand having to support others moving through strong emotions such as grief towards healing, while I am simultaneously processing an ordeal.