THE YOU ONLY GOD CAN KNOW

First, the obvious. We are the only ones inside our own skin, inside our own heads, our own hearts, our own day to day experience of life--even though others would often like to get there! I mean, here. 

Second, half the time we don’t even get ourselves, our own thoughts, our own words, our own actions! We think, say and do stupid things to others and engage in full armored self-sabotage.

Third, then there’s our ego. Franciscan mystic Richard Rohr (RR) says our ego demands two things: “to be separate and to be superior.” My personal experience? Our ego doesn’t just want you or me to be separate and superior. IT wants to be separate and superior--even over you and me--over our “true” (RR) selves. And, since it’s part of our psyche, it filters and flavors everything we think, say and do according to its liking. Further, while our ego is living (and thriving) in our shadows, it will resist, distract, divert, deny anything and everything it doesn’t want touched or tampered with, challenged or revealed. So, it taints our take on everything. Especially ourselves! The net result: Our most vital asset, our self-understanding--which directly and indirectly shapes every aspect of our existence--is continuously skewed, leaving us foggy, fragile, and fickle.

And that’s on a good day.

But the “you” that you and I want to get to know is the one God knows. Why? Because it’s the one and only one that we--like God and through God--can come to know, love and trust.  

How can and does God accomplish this? Via our “soul.” That’s the word we’ve come up with to name God’s residing presence within us--the way station between God and each of us--by which we connect directly and intimately with God. In short, it’s the means God chooses and uses to know us like no one else can--including ourselves. 

Fortunately, unlike the ego, our soul is neither elusive or exclusive. No, it’s open and affirming. It thrives on transparency, not secrecy;  on truth, not deception. Through it, God is always present and available to us—even when we are not present or available to God. Through it God communicates uniquely--and constantly--with each of us. One on one. Through it God shares a love so disarmed and disarming that it can actually be frightening; a love that is so foreign to our experience that though it feels fantastic we’re afraid it’s fake. But it’s real. More real than any other love. 

We come to know this love through trusting the God that really does know us like no one else can. Like Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is at hand.” It's here. It’s now. It’s for you. It’s for me. And fortunately, even the smallest seed of trust we place in it can and will grow. 

And thrive.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

OUR NATURE'S "YES!"

From where I sit

here at our campsite,

I see thousands upon thousands 

of magnificently green healthy trees. 

Just one view of three mountains 

in a range of dozens,

if not hundreds of them,

here in the High Peaks region 

of western Maine. 

Nature’s abundance. 

Nature’s “Yes!”

But also, I see 

the nature of abundance. 

If we look, if we look deeply,

we see its “Yes!” everywhere. 

Lightning bugs. Tadpoles. 

Chickadees. Mosquitoes!

Seems all of nature operates

in an ecosystem of abundance

—with one exception—

we humans. 

In fact,

the only place in the world 

where we see

a true scarcity mentality 

is in our own minds. 

But clearly, thankfully,

it is not our deepest nature.

THE GOD ONLY YOU CAN KNOW

Look at how we relate to each other.

Based on personal experience, we know there are certain emotional experiences all of our one-on-one relationships share. These range from love to hate, loyalty to rejection, forgiveness to revenge, intimacy to estrangement, etc. 

But wait. There’s more.

Pick any one of your closest relationships.  Notice how, the more “personal” it is, the easier it is to identify with these emotional experiences. In other words, relationally-speaking no matter who we are, where we grew up or what we’re doing with our lives, we have a lot in common with each other. 

After all, isn’t this why we all love a good love story?

But, if we peer into the particulars of any one of our relationships more deeply we see something else: Besides being “universal,” absolutely every relationship we have is unique and different from all the rest. In fact, the more intimate the relationship is, the more unique it becomes. At this writing, the world’s population is somewhere north of 7,794,798,739 yet put any two of us together, and the resulting relationship will be different every single time.

Why would it be any different when it comes to God?

For each of us, our one-on-one relationship to God is wonderfully unique and personal—even intimate—and is meant to be so! This doesn’t mean we all know different “Gods.” It means we all know God differently. 

In other words, we each have a relationship with the God that only we can know.

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

IN THE MIDDLE

We’re always in the middle...of this day, of that situation, of this relationship, of that conversation, of this process, of that . . .     

Even once we’ve made a decision about something, while it may be the end of that round, that set, that inning, it’s still just the middle of the next larger game, right? 

When I’ve made a mistake, when something goes wrong, when an important personal or business relationship gets all snarled up, when I get bad news, or when things beyond my control go counter to my wishes and I get discouraged, I find it very helpful to remember that we’re always in the middle of the game. It gives me new strength. It helps me see new possibilities. It helps me operate out of a new and expanding range of responses. Overall and best of all, it opens me to my natural creativity, resilience and resourcefulness. How about you?

Since none of us knows when we’re going to “end,” it’s literally true: We’re ALWAYS somewhere in the middle of the game. 

Good to know. . . and remember. 

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

AGAIN

Only those among us 

who’ve lost one love of their life, 

only to find another,

can even begin to appreciate

the cosmic sweep of their emotional odyssey, 

but here these two stand before us as a new one. 

Here they stand together, stand strong. Again.

Each has spent their three long days,

and even longer nights, in the hell called loss.

Each has traversed--somehow--the murky depths 

where grief has unleashed its full fury upon them,

sinking its venomous talons deep into their souls,

but here these two stand before us as a new one. 

Here they stand together, stand strong. Again.

Here, a wedding of hearts, of healings, of hopes. 

They’ve not just found love, but been found by love,

its sweet caress returning to anoint with joy. 

Here they stand together, stand strong. Again.

And here we stand beside them, stand strong, 

stand as one with them--in witness, in delight, in thanksgiving.

As of today, there is a new holy of holies in the universe.

As for tomorrow, the one that can feel a forever away,

it has actually come. It came today. Came to stay.

Love made it happen. Again.

 

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

It’s how we say something (or someone!) is overdue. Late. Tardy. And yes, it is about “time.” An allotted amount of it has passed. “Time’s up!” we say, which means, of course, that the clock’s run out. But ran out where? For what? Milk? Bread? Take out? When time runs out “Where does the time go?” 

Cliches are words, phrases or even whole concepts that, like “It’s about time!” are reduced to codes that convey entire paradigms--including their accompanying innuendo and emotion (and baggage?) They’re shorthand we use to save time. (Ha! Another one: “save time.”) We say that one “all the time.” (Another!) But we seldom go back and question their underlying premises or ramifications.

For instance, have you or anyone you’ve ever met been able to actually “save” time? No. “Time marches on.” Besides, look around. The “times are changing.” Really? And who's to say, “It’s time for a change.” A bit of a “time bomb” if you ask me. Wait! What, exactly, is a time “bomb?” And where do I “find time” to locate one. And where, by the way, does “Father Time” actually live? Is he, by chance, “Doing time?” Or, maybe he’s “marking time,” “passing time,” or just “biding his time.” Or, they say that “time flies,” so maybe he took a trip. Went somewhere and needs more “travel time” to get back home. If so, does anyone know his “ETA?” Well, hopefully he doesn’t “run out of time.” After all, “time waits for no one.” 

And what about, “Time is money?” Now that’s a “time honored” philosophy. Smart, yes. But is it wise? And have you looked in a mirror lately? Yes, we all have to deal with “the ravages of time” so we might as well work more “overtime” lest we fall “behind the times.” Alright already! STOP! “I don’t have time for this!” Besides, “Now’s not a good time.” And look, “I've lost all track of time.” (What is a time track, anyway? Is that what you do “time travel” on?) Anyway, we need to move on. “Time’s a wastin!” and we wouldn’t want “time to get away from us.” 

But seriously, having so many cliches (so much code) around this one little 4-letter word reveals that--in all its meanings, nuances and applications--the concept of time holds a place of incredibly high value in our lives. But let’s take a “time out” from TIME here. Why? To go read the magazine? No. Because “in the meantime” it’s also valuable for us to “take time” to separate ourselves from this single word’s vast narrative so we don’t get caught in its myopic web--lest we become literally and truly “time bound.” Hmm.

In the midst of this lifelong immersion experience--while we’re out there looking for a “good time” and maybe even “the time of our lives”--we do well to remember there is also the non-physical, spiritual, soul-full dimension of our existence--of our day--of this very moment. One thing even our many and varied religions, theologies and philosophies almost agree upon: We human beings are both “timely (temporal) AND timeless (eternal).”

“Does anyone really know what time it is anyway?”

TODAY.

LET’S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.

LET’S “MAKE TIME” TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

FROM SCRATCH

Fresh. 

Hot ‘n steamy from the oven. 

Scratch biscuits.

Can’t you smell them right now?

Filling the whole damn kitchen 

With essence of buttermilk and baking powder.

Smothered in butter and honey,

There’s nothing in the world like ‘em.

To make them, some say’s easy.

Make ‘em right? Not so much. 

You sure can’t order them online,

Or grab from the refrigerated section, 

Or pour the powder out of a box,

Can’t even buy ‘em at a bakery.

No, ‘cause the secret’s in the scratch.

And the scratch is in you.

It’s the you that’s doing it. It’s you all in.

Hands in the batter, mind in the matter.

Yes, you need a recipe--best if passed down--

And, of course, the ingredients. On hand.

Leave something out? Well, now you're in trouble. 

Substitutions or add ins are tricky, too. 

Just smidgen of religion to spring you off the blocks,  

And a picture of the ribbon at the finish line, 

Maybe even a memory or two of Grandma along the way, 

Then pop ‘em in the oven, bake till goldilocks gold.

Oh, there’s one thing for sure though: Scratch takes time.

Nothing worse than half-baked anything, right?

You gotta “W a i t . . . f o r . . . i t!”

Meanwhile, make the coffee.

Do some sudoku, play with the dog, write a poem.

In the end, biscuit in hand, the “all in” is worth it. 

Delightful in the alpha, delicious in the omega. 

The whole thing sounds a lot like life, doesn’t it?

Only one way to do it.

From scratch.

BLISS LIST

Never mind your bucket list for a moment. What’s on your bliss list? 

What do you really enjoy doing when you have a little extra time? Or maybe better, what would you do if you had some “free” time? Maybe you’ve already answered these questions. Maybe you’re doing them. If so, fantastic! If not, please read on. 

Even with our blisses, we do well to establish a practice. In fact, I think establishing a practice is the key to any significant success with them. Nothing wrong with doing something on our bliss list only occasionally and just for fun. But if we want to experience the joy that comes with getting really good at it, it requires something more, right? 

 So how do we create such a practice? For me, I “17 it!” That is, I agree with myself to do it for just 17 minutes a day. Often, by then I’ll get into it and spend significantly more time. But all of us can find a small block of time to call our own if we really want to. (Why 17? It works for me. Not too short but not too long. Goldilocks thinking). After all, we spend our entire lives doing daily what comes as the result of the decisions made or in the making--be they big or little, ancient or recent.

Once you’ve committed, don’t think. Just do it. Later, we can reflect on what we’ve accomplished and how good it feels. But do it today. Then again tomorrow. At first it may be helpful to make our commitment to the practice itself. As neuroscientists and behavioral therapists will attest, our brains love to work this way. Good news: If we keep the practice going we keep the feeling going, too. It's self-inspiring. Intrinsically motivating. Even therapeutic. 

 Why identify our bliss list and then “17 it!” Many reasons: 1. We can get really good at something we love. 2. Like God, we create things that come from our core. 3. We feel good about that piece of our lives and it literally lifts our spirits. 4. Doing so contributes to our health (mental/physical/emotional/spiritual). 5. A little bit of it spills over into everything we think, say and do. 6. We bring our healthiest and most authentic presence to the world each day. That’s powerful. 

And empowering. 

TODAY.

LET’S DO THE WORLD & OURSELVES A FAVOR.

LET’S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.

SOUL SOUNDINGS

Do you listen for them 

like a mother listens for her baby’s cry 

in the middle of the night?

Or, can your soul’s soundings

be calling you so softly, 

like the sky calls to the eagle 

to soar high in its reaches,

or the mountain beckons the snow, 

“Come rest on my frosty slopes,”

calling so softly that you miss them?

Can you separate your soul’s soundings 

from the cacophony of your day? 

Can you feel their gentle tap 

on the shoulder of your mind?

Can you read their intimations 

between the lines of your life?

These soundings, they come to en-lighten us,

to teach us to know what we don’t know

and know what we think we know, but don’t,

to reveal to us the good in the bad, 

the pearl hidden quietly in the oyster’s carapace.

They come in the solitude that embraces all that is,

like the space that surrounds all things celestial.

So fluid their flow, like a murmuration of starlings,

twisting, swirling as if by invisible command!

These soundings lure us toward life in the Spirit, 

cautioning us not to let ourselves be obsessed 

by the satisfaction of our senses.

Their goal is not to leave us lacking but in the know, 

aware that even in midst of our imperfections

we are perfect, complete, full, whole;

showing us that there’s another way to revel in reality, 

more deeply, more fully, more fairly.

No, we don’t have to listen for them--or to them--

but if we do, we grow like finely yeasted dough, 

miraculously expanding outward--but only from within.

Nothing magical or manipulative about them, 

they come invisible to the senses

yet as visibly life-giving as the very air 

you and I breathe in this moment.