{"id":3054,"date":"2012-09-11T16:32:51","date_gmt":"2012-09-11T21:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/hungerrumblings\/?p=3054"},"modified":"2012-09-11T16:32:51","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T21:32:51","slug":"shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>plumb line <em>noun<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>1 :<\/strong>\u00a0a line (as of cord) that has at one end a weight (as a plumb bob) and is used especially to determine verticality<\/p>\n<p><strong>2<strong>:<\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0a line directed to the center of gravity of the earth<strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0a vertical line<\/p>\n<p>Today is September 11. It\u2019s been 11 years since the event that is one horror among the many (think of Hurricane Katrina and the Columbine High School shooting, to name just two) that have been said to shape my generation, the Millennials.<\/p>\n<p>What shape is that?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/news\/nation\/2007-04-17-millenials_N.htm\">USA Today says<\/a> that Millennials have been shaped by the traumas of our formative years, but have not been broken. Millennials are resilient and are a seemingly irrepressibly optimistic bunch. Yet, even with our positive attitudes, Millennials are almost constantly stressed out about life. Those formative national tragedies we grew up with apparently bring Millennials together in our shock and fear, thinking &#8212; Are we next? Millennials are united in a sense of overwhelming <em>urgency.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3056 alignleft\" title=\"Smiley\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Smiley-150x61.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"72\" height=\"30\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So, is the shape an optimistic smiley face getting the squeeze like this emoticon?<\/p>\n<p>No, we all know about the great parts about being a Millennial, but what about the parts that make other generations cringe? Millennials are also known as the most narcissistic generation\u2014I mean look at me, writing this whole blog post about my generation! In a <a href=\"http:\/\/douthat.blogs.nytimes.com\/2010\/06\/02\/the-culture-of-narcissism\/\">New York Times opinion piece<\/a>, Ross Douthat ponders, \u201chow can the same generation be more <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/solipsistic\">solipsistic<\/a>\u00a0<em>and<\/em>\u00a0more interested in human betterment and ambitious social activism? But maybe they actually go hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, the shape is like a yin-yang, two seemingly opposing pieces coming together in harmony? \u00a0 \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Yin-Yang.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3058 alignleft\" title=\"Yin-Yang\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Yin-Yang-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"38\" height=\"38\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>At this moment, I find that the shape is not a shape (a space that is enclosed), but rather a <em>line<\/em>. A plumb line, perhaps, as defined by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.m-w.com\/\">Merriam Webster<\/a>: \u201ca line directed to the center of gravity of the earth.\u201d When I feel adrift, that is when I seek to return to the center\u2014 the center of who I am and who I am called to be\u2014the plumb line.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3060 alignright\" title=\"Gods_Plumb_Line\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Gods_Plumb_Line-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"135\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Today, my plumb line is <em>participation.<\/em> I feel a sense of urgency in the work we are called to do toward justice and through ELCA World Hunger. I really do believe that all people deserve access to health and wholeness, even and especially in the midst of dismal circumstances. Even when I feel stressed out, I believe there is so much potential in what is to come.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, friends, in one word, what is your plumb line?<\/strong>\u00a0From the experiences you have had growing up and in life, to what do you return when you feel downcast? What cord ties together your life\u2019s calling? What keeps you grounded?<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t wait to read your responses\u2026join the journey.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mikka serves as program director for constituent engagement and interpretation with ELCA World Hunger. To join the network and for more information on how you can get involved, write <a href=\"mailto:hunger@elca.org\">hunger@elca.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>plumb line noun 1 :\u00a0a line (as of cord) that has at one end a weight (as a plumb bob) and is used especially to determine verticality 2:\u00a0a line directed to the center of gravity of the earth:\u00a0a vertical line Today is September 11. It\u2019s been 11 years since the event that is one horror [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word? - ELCA World Hunger<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word? - ELCA World Hunger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"plumb line noun 1 :\u00a0a line (as of cord) that has at one end a weight (as a plumb bob) and is used especially to determine verticality 2:\u00a0a line directed to the center of gravity of the earth:\u00a0a vertical line Today is September 11. It\u2019s been 11 years since the event that is one horror [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ELCA World Hunger\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-11T21:32:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Smiley-150x61.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ELCA World Hunger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ELCA World Hunger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ELCA World Hunger\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1921d7f2cdab23d540e2f7653f5fd599\"},\"headline\":\"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word?\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-11T21:32:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":504,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/52\\\/hungerrumblings\\\/2012\\\/09\\\/Smiley-150x61.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Post\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/\",\"name\":\"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word? - ELCA World Hunger\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/52\\\/hungerrumblings\\\/2012\\\/09\\\/Smiley-150x61.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-11T21:32:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1921d7f2cdab23d540e2f7653f5fd599\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/52\\\/hungerrumblings\\\/2012\\\/09\\\/Smiley-150x61.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/52\\\/hungerrumblings\\\/2012\\\/09\\\/Smiley-150x61.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/\",\"name\":\"ELCA World Hunger\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1921d7f2cdab23d540e2f7653f5fd599\",\"name\":\"ELCA World Hunger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5cfc1e989e747bbeff8c28cc43eb8d2f563081cf36c85f18ccb9413faf627020?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5cfc1e989e747bbeff8c28cc43eb8d2f563081cf36c85f18ccb9413faf627020?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5cfc1e989e747bbeff8c28cc43eb8d2f563081cf36c85f18ccb9413faf627020?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ELCA World Hunger\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worldhunger\\\/author\\\/legacy-186\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word? - ELCA World Hunger","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word? - ELCA World Hunger","og_description":"plumb line noun 1 :\u00a0a line (as of cord) that has at one end a weight (as a plumb bob) and is used especially to determine verticality 2:\u00a0a line directed to the center of gravity of the earth:\u00a0a vertical line Today is September 11. It\u2019s been 11 years since the event that is one horror [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/","og_site_name":"ELCA World Hunger","article_published_time":"2012-09-11T21:32:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Smiley-150x61.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"ELCA World Hunger","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ELCA World Hunger","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/"},"author":{"name":"ELCA World Hunger","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/#\/schema\/person\/1921d7f2cdab23d540e2f7653f5fd599"},"headline":"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word?","datePublished":"2012-09-11T21:32:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/"},"wordCount":504,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Smiley-150x61.png","articleSection":["Post"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/","name":"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word? - ELCA World Hunger","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Smiley-150x61.png","datePublished":"2012-09-11T21:32:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/#\/schema\/person\/1921d7f2cdab23d540e2f7653f5fd599"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Smiley-150x61.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/52\/hungerrumblings\/2012\/09\/Smiley-150x61.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/shaped-by-experience-whats-your-plumb-linein-one-word\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shaped by experience: What\u2019s your plumb line\u2026in one word?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/","name":"ELCA World Hunger","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/#\/schema\/person\/1921d7f2cdab23d540e2f7653f5fd599","name":"ELCA World Hunger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5cfc1e989e747bbeff8c28cc43eb8d2f563081cf36c85f18ccb9413faf627020?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5cfc1e989e747bbeff8c28cc43eb8d2f563081cf36c85f18ccb9413faf627020?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5cfc1e989e747bbeff8c28cc43eb8d2f563081cf36c85f18ccb9413faf627020?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ELCA World Hunger"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/author\/legacy-186\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3054\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worldhunger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}