darcydretkemaher

Ci2eye Int'l Consultant, Former Shoe Addict, Head of Curriculum & Instruction

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@LionAirID Uncommunicated delays are quite frustrating.

[Makoto Fujimura @iamfujimura]

When frustration hits on this platform, or in life — it tends to spike quickly. Art can help!

Thanks to my ChatGPT bot and my edited modifications, we have some practical paths for you when your frustration level spikes. This is @iamculturecare path.

Here’s a tailored set of daily practices to experience the arts as pathways to deal with frustration:

⸻

1. “Mirror or Window” Practice

What to do (2–5 minutes):
Pick a piece of art (image, poem, or song) and ask:

“Is this a mirror or a window today?”

•Mirror: It reflects how you feel. Let it validate you.
•Window: It gives you a view outside your mood. Let it expand you. Let it be a portal.

Why it works:
Frustration can trap us in tight inner loops. Art helps us name or shift that story, gently and without force.

⸻

2. Art as a Regulated Breathing Device

What to do (3–4 minutes):
Watch or listen to something slow, quiet, or spacious (instrumental music, a minimalist painting, slow cinema). Let your breath match the pace of the art.

Why it works:
Frustration speeds us up. Letting art regulate your body rhythm calms the nervous system, without needing words.
This is the basis of “slow art”.
⸻

3. Let the Art Speak First

What to do (1–3 minutes):
Before reacting to something that frustrates you (email, person, situation), pause and engage with a single piece of art.
•Look at one painting
•Read one stanza of a poem
•Listen to 30 seconds of music
Then ask:

“What tone do I want to carry back into this moment?”

Why it works:
Art creates an emotional buffer — it lets your inner world respond with intention instead of reacting out of stress.

⸻

4. Create a “Frustration Playlist”

What to do (5–10 minutes):
Build a personal playlist that meets you in frustration but gently shifts you toward groundedness.
•Start with tension (industrial, discordant, dissonant)
•Move toward release (melodic, rhythmic, ambient)

Why it works:
Your nervous system can ride the arc of sound — it’s a non-verbal way of processing and moving through irritation.

⸻

5. Tiny Ritual: Art as Pause, Not Escape

What to do (30 seconds to 2 minutes):
Instead of scrolling or distracting when you’re frustrated, turn to something beautiful and intentional.
•Look at a favorite painting
•Flip through a photo book
•Reread one poem
Let it be a pause, not a bypass.

Why it works:
Frustration doesn’t always need fixing — it often just needs presence. Art invites attention without demanding productivity.

[Glenn Packiam @gpackiam]

I re-read the book of Judges recently. Because of other conversations taking place in our church about women in leadership, I was keenly aware of the trajectory of the treatment of women in the book of Judges.

Early on: a woman is a praise-worthy judge (Deborah!); a woman (Jael) acts courageously to kill a wicked general; then an unnamed woman flings a stone from a tower to kill a bully.

But things get worse. Women play the role of temptress in the Samson story. By the end of the book, an unnamed concubine is given over to a mob of lustful men, and she is killed. Her body is then sliced into pieces and sent throughout the nation to spark outrage.

Think of it: Women go from being a judge to being a prop.

And what's the headline of the book of Judges? "The people did what was right in their own eyes."

Left on its own, the trajectory of a sinful culture results in the degradation of women.

It is the redemptive action of God in the world that elevates and empowers women.

For all the insinuation that women in church leadership is the result of "cultural corruption" , I have become convinced it was the influence of sin that excluded women in the first place.

[IAMCULTURECARE @iamculturecare]

#CultureCare is to see cultural soils not as a battle ground to fight over but as a garden to tend to. @iamfujimura

[IAMCULTURECARE @iamculturecare]

#CultureCare is to teach with gratitude and (a lot of) smiles.

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

Sunrise in my adopted hometown of Surabaya, Jawa Timur, Indonesia. #sunrisesunset #IAMCULTURECARE

[Makoto Fujimura @iamfujimura]

Yes!

[Makoto Fujimura @iamfujimura]

Yes. And here’s an opportunity for #christianeducation to step up to help our culture recover the origin of education, of liberal arts based in #arts, #philosophy and #theology. @FujimuraInst @iamculturecare @AcademyKintsugi

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@iamfujimura THIS! In spite of the blinders imposed upon us, beauty still beckons…and often wins.

[Makoto Fujimura @iamfujimura]

I’ve always noted…something happens at 3rd grade, when we stop seeing the #wonderment of the world in front of us, and stop #beholding . At a hotel Pola Museum provided for us.

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@ThomRainer While I understand the intent of your questions, I am struck by the fact that assistants, receptionists, bookkeepers, and custodians will likely never be categorized as ‘ministry staff.’ And yet their work enables all the ministry. Labels are tricky.

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@ACSIPresident @ACSIUSA It is interesting that in 2023, there are no female voices around this table to enrich and extend the conversation. May I respectfully challenge you to humbly reflect on whether or not a mono-gender leadership group reflects ACSI’s constituents? How should this be addressed?

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@ACSIUSA @ACSIPresident Respectfully, may I ask how, in 2023, it is appropriate to think of planning for the future without any female perspective represented? May I challenge you to purposefully create space at this table of int’l educators for more voices? Then I will believe we are #strongertogether.

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@ACSIPresident Respectfully, may I ask how, in 2023, it is appropriate to think of planning for the future without any female perspective represented? May I challenge you to purposefully create space at this table of int’l educators for more voices? Then I will believe we are #strongertogether.

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@angela818 @CTmagazine Congratulations! I’ve been praying for the one who will fill this strategic position!

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@edstetzer There are many. A few to consider: @klikdharma and @sensendjaya (on Instagram)

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

Attending #GLS22 at a rather remote host site: Bellingham, WA. I wonder if @JonAcuff will give a shout-out to the folks gathered to hear his comedic stylings in the MOST beautiful place in the US? #pacNW #fangirl #readallyourbooks #evengazelles

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@BrandonEdling Love that you're loving your wife with some floral loveliness!

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

@BrandonEdling I agree with you, sadly, about those who will ignore the obvious warnings. But you're also right: truth makes itself visible.

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

It might be wise for every faith-based organization to humbly scrutinize internal processes and past behaviors; voices will not be silent forever. May justice become a reality for every victim.

[Russell Moore @drmoore]

My thoughts on the horrifying revelations today about the SBC Executive Committee.

https://t.co/dwJGF0mjV5

[darcydretkemaher @darcymaher]

Thank you, #stevekerr, for your outrage and disgust.
You're right: we're being held hostage. Our children deserve better.

[Golden State Warriors @warriors]

Steve Kerr on today's tragic shooting in Uvalde, Texas.