Why I Write

Yes, push! Dad said until the end.

His strong will urged, "Write on, my friend,

to souls who need encouragement

to trust in God, to give consent.

"They wait a word or two or more

 to mend their hearts then to adore
 the One their soul is longing for.

Oh, hold not back! Write on! Explore!

"Be not afraid to write your truth.

 Stand strong like poor Naomi's Ruth.

Strip off your pride. Step on your fear.

Your time to write is now, is here.

"Don't you hold back, just let her rip.

Dry souls all need a quenching dip

into the Word that you have heard.

Tell them it's love. Don't feel absurd

"To speak of the one, only thing

that springs from trust so peace can ring

that softest bell within all hearts

that souls know well ne'er departs.

"It's love above, below, beyond.

No need for some old magic wand

to dispel darkness in your night:

It's love, sweet love, God's subtle might.

"That's what you know so write it well.

It is the truth that makes hearts swell

in knowledge from antiquity

of undivided unity.

"Your words are strong, your words are clear.

They sing along as God draws near.

 They give us freedom, finally

 to melt into eternity.".

Clothes, Logs, and Window Washing

Entertainer Ruby Gettinger posted the following story recently.

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating their breakfast, the young wife notices her neighbor hanging her wash out to dry.  "That laundry is not very clean.  She doesn't know how to wash correctly.  Perhaps she needs new laundry soap."

Her husband observes but says nothing. Every time her neighbor hangs her wash out to dry, the woman makes the same comments. A month later, the woman sees a nice clean wash on the line and says to her husband, "She's finally learned how to wash her clothes properly.  I wonder who taught her this?"

Her husband replies, "I got up early this morning and washed our windows."  And so it is with life.  What we see while watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look.

This simple story reminds me of the lesson Jesus taught about removing the log from your own eye before dealing with the speck in your neighbor's eye. Matthew 7:5       My father was a great teacher.  Like the husband in this story, his actions taught more than by his words. He'd show me something once then walk away. I'd protest loudly to no avail. Then I settle down to figure out how to do it, knowing it could be done, and leaned into his belief that I was more than capable.

Wether it's Muslims, gays, fourteen Presidential candidates, or Confederate flag wavers that get us flapping our tongues, we all have a few windows to wash of our own before we speak too many words about neighbors.  I was taught years ago that when I point a finger at someone, three others are pointing back at me.

When you've said something wrong.

Truth. There are several layers to that onion, some of which make us cry.  I used to pride myself on witty double entendres that had a little sting to them. It was leftover behavior from childhood when we would mercilessly tease and name call those who were outliers. Often they were family members since we saw them the most.
     One day, I was on the receiving end. It was a vulnerable day. I felt the sting of words directed at me like a paper cut that keeps reminding you of its painful presence with every bend.  I made a vow to stop the cutting remarks. I took a second look at the pride I felt at being witty and now saw a new truth of pain I was unknowingly delivering.  I had believed the smiles I had received. They were fake. I didn't realize that back then. We learn to pretend, to display an emotion we do not feel in order to pass in society as acceptable, especially when we're broken or vulnerable inside.
     On that day, I made a vow to stop being sarcastic.  Pain is a great teacher.
     I still allow evil to override my lesson or vow sometimes, when it prompts me with an enticing barb. I recognize that the prompt is wrong and not taking the bait is the high road. Sometimes, I  take the bait. We all do. We're human. When I do, Love immediately steps in with "the look" that pierces  me at my still point. You know what I'm talking about. Just about every parent has cultivated "the look" they give their children which warns them they're about to push all the wrong  buttons and make Mom or Dad really mad.  I  pull back if there's time to do so, or make reparations quickly when the comment is already out of my mouth. I don't want to cause pain, to myself or others. I've learned to do it quickly like tearing off a bandaid. Waiting to apologize because my pride must bend low is like pulling off a bandaid one hair at a time.
    Afterwards, I sit in God's lap for a while and let Him soothe my soul the way a mother strokes the head of her little ones. My pride is such a big baby.

Calming End of Life Fears

I've never had a near death experience, but those who've had one, report the extraordinary view of their body from above it, usually in a corner of the ceiling. To me, this is the soul's view. One of my friends described the overwhelming sense of peace she had while she watched the doctors working on her body, and told me she no longer fears death because of it.
      Priest and author John O'Donohue tells a story of a 26 year old young man who died in a village in Connemara, Ireland. At the cemetery as his body was being lowered into the grave, his younger siblings began crying. Their mother spoke to them in Gaelic. The English translation: "Don't you be crying now. There's no need to be sad. He's not there. That's just the covering he used while he was here on earth."

     If we're talking soul here in Soul Matters, let's address the elephant in the room. What is soul anyway? Something under our body's covering? We use the word 'soul' loosely, it seems to me, in American culture. We list it as a genre in music and food. Spiritually, we're aware of it peripherally at the edge of our consciousness, but unsure of its existence, much like a ghost.  

     The Catholic Church teaches us that the soul is life, that when the body dies, the soul leaves it. The human soul is created for immortality. Without knowing that who you are has an existence above and beyond your body, it is easy to understand the fear about what happens when the body dies. It seems to be an end.  We imagine when the person  dies, they go somewhere to eternity far, far away.  We think spatially and imagine heaven and hell as places somewhere in a world well beyond our own.

      Meister Eckhart was asked once, where does the soul of a person go when a person dies.  He answered, "No place." The eternal world isn't a place at all. It is a different state of being. 

       "When the soul leaves the body," says John O'Donohue, "it's no longer under the burden of space and time. In other words, the soul can be anywhere that it wants to be now. That's why I believe the  the dead are our nearest neighbors. I believe that the souls of the dead are all around us."  The only difference between us and the souls of the dead are that they are in an invisible form, O'Donohue proffers.  I can buy that. Many of us have had experiences of sensing the presence of dead relatives, children, or spouses very near us.  On Father's Day this year, I stood in the hall of my house, my hands akimbo, and knew my father was standing very near me.

     The soul is the part of us which is not our physical body. That which knows its Creator. That which is meant to live with God forever.  It is the ground in which my heart is rooted. It is to whom God speaks when He reaches out to me. It is the part of me that recognizes the nearby presence of familiar souls who are no longer living in their human bodies.

     What does soul mean to you?

Sabbath year

In this age of productivity, I consider one of my great successes the simple choice of resting for my first year of retirement.  I made no demands on myself, no deadlines; I let go of any ideas of producing some written work to be able to "show" the world something I did.  I simply rested.  I let my spirit breathe and my mind unwind from decades of working at high levels of leadership.

Deep peace is my reward from this rest.  I now feel ready to start making lists of things to do and accomplish again.  A sabbath year is a gift to yourself worth working to achieve.

The separate self is the problem

I love this medi
ta
tion

mixed media by Sarah Fishburn

 from Fr. Rohr.  Why can't we get this through our heads and eliminate our core anxiety of not being good enough?

Seven Themes of an Alternative Orthodoxy

Fifth Theme: The separate self is the problem, whereas most religion and most people make the shadow self the problem. This leads to denying, pretending, and projecting instead of real transformation into the Divine (Transformation).

Horse First, Cart Follows

Meditation 44 of 53

One of Jesus’ most revealing one-liners is, “Rejoice only that your name is written in heaven!” (Luke 10:20). If we could fully trust this, it would change our whole life agenda. This discovery will not create overstated or presumptuous individualists, as religion usually fears, but instead makes all posturing and pretending largely unnecessary. Our core anxiety that we are not good enough is resolved from the beginning, and we can stop all our climbing, contending, criticizing, and competing. All “accessorizing” of any small, fragile self henceforth shows itself to be a massive waste of time and energy. Costume jewelry is just that, a small part of an already unnecessary costume.

Most of Christian history has largely put the cart of requirements before the “horsepower” itself, thinking that loads of carts, or the best cart, will eventually produce the horse. It never does. The horsepower is precisely our experience of primal union with God. Find God, the primary source, and the springwater will forever keep flowing (Ezekiel 47:1-12; John 7:38) naturally. Once you know that, the problem of inferiority, unworthiness, or low self-esteem is resolved from the beginning and at the core. You can then spend your time much more positively, marching in the “triumphal parade” (2 Corinthians 2:14), as Paul so playfully calls it.

Adapted from Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self, pp. 14-15

Does it get any better than this?

On Facebok this morning, a friend posted:  

The sun is shining, the kids are healthy & happy, and I love my husband. Does it get any better?

I wanted to say no, as someone else did.  Instead, the following poured out from my spirit:

Yes, there is SO much more.  Look around at all that you have, all possibilities, all that is present, all that God has made for you this day.  There is gratefulness; peace - both inner and world-wide we help create through actions and mindfulness; eyes that see the yellow finch and blue jay, sparkly quartz in granite, and squirrels scampering in the woods; ears that hear the baby's cooing, the birds chirping, the shallow breathing of those transitioning from this life to their heavenly reward, and symphonies that play composers' works so exquisitely that tears well from a filled heart; the touch on your fingers of the velvety feel of lambs ear leaves, worn teddy bears, and soft cheeks of young men about to grow their first whiskers... There's friends strong enough to speak truth to you, and hands willing to lovingly hold yours, and a God Whose love is so tender, merciful, and unconditional that your legs cannot hold you up in His presence.