I CAN...

"Never let what you can’t do keep you from doing what you can."

These words can be helpful and motivating in virtually every situation. In the midst of escalating tensions and communal instability in our interpersonal, local, national and global relationships, now might be a good time to consider how we can apply them. Here are some ways. What might you add?

I can...
     ...be respectful no matter what, knowing that this alone will help diffuse volatility.
I can...
     ...bring calm by being calm, even when those around me are not.
I can...
     ...listen--truly listen--to what those who think differently than me have to say.
I can...
     ...admit that I don’t know everything. I have a lot to learn.
I can...
     …decide not to give in to smugness or cynicism or apathy.
I can...
     ...show compassion toward all, especially those most adversely affected in troubling times.
I can
     ...be open, even if I think whatever is happening can’t possibly be good--or bad.
I can...
     ...remember that things could be worse.
I can...
     ...make an impact with my voice, my time, my resources, my energy, my life.
I can...
     …choose not to let anything make me surrender my peace, my joy, my hope.
I can...
     ...commit to looking at things from a larger, more unifying perspective.

In life, there will always be things we can't do. So, let's be creative and courageous about all the things we can!

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8, NRSV Bible)

WHAT A VOICE!

After hearing me sing at our first rehearsal, Steve, the baritone next to me exclaimed, "What a voice!" It made me feel good.

But sadly, that wasn’t all. His compliment aroused a very old and very personal ogre that hibernates deep within my psyche, occasionally awakening to wreak havoc upon my moments of merriment. No sooner had Steve made his kind comment than my ogre spat out its interrogating curse, “Why haven’t you done more with your musical talent? We both know, you could have done so much more with it over these many years!” 

Surprising, isn’t it, how something intended as a simple and sincere compliment could so easily arouse this demon of self-doubt in me? And surprising, isn’t it, how vulnerable we are to the judgmental scripts that can rise up out of our past decisions and actions?!

“Be kind,” Johann von Goethe (1749-1832), the German philosopher said, “for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” I suspect that whatever great battle Goethe was referring to has different warfronts for each of us. But for many of us, at least in moments of vulnerability, self-doubt lies at our personal war’s core.

Fortunately for each of us, “Now,” that is, this very moment, always holds the potential to “outmaneuver” anything in our personal history. Right here, right now I can choose to see Steve’s compliment as something that propels me into the future rather than drags me into the past. This emancipating idea lies at the heart of Jesus’ story about the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32 NRV) in which we’re told about a young man who “came to himself,” that is, realized that his past didn’t have to define his future. Period.

Whether we read the Bible or not, we all long to experience what this story offers: the grace of “now.” Living in the grace of now doesn’t change the past. It does something better. It puts the past in the past so we can still learn from it--but it no longer has power over us. That was then. This is now.

STANDING INVITATION

You call out to me, God.
From somewhere
beyond all my “to do” lists,
beyond my incessant needs to produce—produce—produce,
beyond my misguided attempts at always getting it right,
and then feeling badly about myself when I don't,
you call out to me.

But you don’t just call out to me.
You call me out.
You call me out of the world I think is the only world there is.
You say, "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away..."
You beckon, "Let me speak to you as your beloved who knows only love for you...
then listen...
and listen again."

But God, much of the time, I don’t hear you.
And frankly, some of the time I don't want to hear you.
Immersion in a world that places almost all my worth on accomplishment
takes its toll.
It's what I've been taught.
I blindly follow.

Sometimes though,
amidst the din of daily life,
I do hear you.
I hear your small voice.
It stills me.
I feel what your love is saying.
I hear you calling me out of my constant doing, doing, doing,
and into my being
for my well-being.

And, I see.
This "beyond" world
that's so easy to miss
is not so much beyond as within.
This is the world of being where you dwell within me.
This is the world where you invite me to dwell within you,
so you can quiet, and comfort, and create.

I know, God.
When I do have the courage to spend even a little deep time with you,
I know you're right.
You're right about my proclivity for productivity,
my piquant for perfectionism
...and all the rest.

And so,
I accept your standing invitation once again.
Today.

“My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away…”’ (Song of Solomon 2:10 NRS Version)

PRECIOUS LITTLE

Meditation is a form of prayer which is a time for receiving glimpses…glimpses of deeper meaning to things happening in our lives, glimpses of beauty and/or inspiration for the difficult times, glimpses of joy and peace in the midst of them, or, as I like to think of it...glimpses of Life with a capital L. I don't always experience these glimpses, but when I do I say, “Thank you, God!”

These momentary epiphanies are wonderful, but still, I want more. I'm not fully satiated--at least not for long. I don’t like to admit it, but like the bumper sticker says, “I want it all…and I want it right now.”

It appears, however, that it doesn’t work this way most of the time. Of course, God could give us the all we desire, but God seldom does. (Hopefully, there’s a good reason behind this behavior, God!) And here’s the real irony—and maybe a reason.  When we take the time to examine our own behaviors, we discover we don’t do so well when we actually do get it all--no matter what “all” is. We've heard stories about what often  happens to people who win the lottery or receive some other huge windfall of wealth. Or, consider the biblical story of spoiled excess manna (Exodus 16:1-31) and the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-32). Or, if you're feeling particularly brave, consider your own track record.

In the material realm of our lives, all too often when we get it all we waste much of it. We really don't appreciate getting a lot any more than we appreciate getting a little...and we squander it. Or, we may even go in the opposite direction and hoard it! Insofar as this is true of our relationship to material things, might it also be true of spiritual things as well…”things” like glimpses of deeper meanings, of beauty and inspiration, feelings of joy and peace--of Life with a capital L?

Maybe God gives us precious little in the hope that we will come to perceive the infinite abundance that exists in all things, even little things, precious little things…like glimpses.

May it be so as we enter into the abundance of a whole new year...one precious glimpse at a time.

Through and Through

I call to you like your friend Karen calls to her dog. She lowers her voice, calling softly to him. And Cosmos hears her.  Does he always come when called? No.  But does he hear her? Yes. Does he recognize her quiet call? Yes. Does he know what she wants? Yes.

I am like Karen. I lower my voice.

You hear so many voices, most of them strident, assertive, aggressive, loud, bossy, in your face, it’s-all-about-me voices, needy voices, harsh voices, nosy voices, not-so-pleasant voices, sweet voices, syrupy voices. They are not all necessarily bad voices. Some of them are very good, very legitimate, and very important. You need to listen for them because they genuinely need you or have some legitimate claim upon you. And, like it or not, you are in relationship with every one of them. Near or far, friend or foe, they share the same world and this same moment in time with you.

But I am different. I lower my voice.

Because I do, I understand that it is sometimes difficult for you to notice when I’m calling, speaking, seeking to enter into conversation with you and wanting to teach you something. I get that! And I don’t do this to manipulate you, forcing you listen harder. If I did this, then mine would be just like all the rest of the voices out there.

No, I do it to separate mine from all the rest…so you will be able to distinguish it and hear it even in the midst of these other voices. Yes, you’ll have to work a little harder, be a bit more observant and discerning, and listen with love instead of ego.

But you'll know it is me. And I promise, I will always be here. You will always find me available when you want to talk. And if you will listen for me, I will teach what to listen for in all the other voices you are hearing. You will lengthen your days and soften your nights. You will experience the awareness of that flow which is Life itself. Me.

Listen for me. I’m here. I’m here for you and I’m here with you…so I can be here through…and through you.

You Called?

YOU call to me through the one who is the love of my life. You call to me through my children and their lives. You call to me through my friends. You call to me through the people I see each day but know nothing about. You call to me through those who are truly complete strangers in my life…those whose path my feet will never tread upon. You call to me through the terrorist who bombs my fellow Americans. You call to me through Obama and Putin and Iran and ISIS and Republicans and Democrats and the ultra rich and the utterly impoverished.

You call…as you have called all of my life…without ever stopping, without ever letting up, never ceasing long enough to take a breath. You call morning and evening. Again and again. Day and night. Night and day. Out of the dawn and into the dusk.

Am I listening? Do I hear you above the fray and beneath the din? In those rare moments when I actually do hear your call, it is always a sweet beckoning. It is a call that feels bathed in love. Bathed in compassion. Bathed in forgiveness. Bathed in joy. Bathed in a deep yearning for all people and all life to live knowing, sensing, listening for and hearing it.

There is no trace of judgment in your voices. No trace of condescension. No trace of anger, malice or vengefulness. Just the pure simple clarion call of love coming to me through the beat of a hummingbird’s wings.

It is a call to life…a call that rings out to all that you have made…every creature, every cricket.  And it is the call to life. It’s here always. But it’s a call that, most of the time, I’m missing…because I’m not listening.

The Path To Freedom

Richard Rohr, contemporary Franciscan mystic, wrote the following helpful explanation of the way to experience true freedom in our lives...

Authentic spirituality is always on some level or in some way about letting go. Jesus said, "the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). Once we see truly what is trapping us and keeping us from freedom we should see the need to let it go. But in a consumer society most of us have had no training in that direction. Rather, more is supposed to be better. True liberation is letting go of our false self, letting go of our cultural biases, and letting go of our fear of loss and death. Freedom is letting go of wanting more and better things, and it is letting go of our need to control and manipulate God and others. It is even letting go of our need to know and our need to be right--which we only discover with maturity. We become free as we let go of our three primary energy centers: our need for power and control, our need for safety and security, and our need for affection and esteem.

If you'd like to see more of his writings, visit www.cac.org.