all the little things we breathe
we think that are not there
are for you a food
that rejection
wouldn't dare
did you think they
were not there
because you could not see?
on and on they smite you
on and on you swear
the soup of sinisters simmers
spreading darkness and disease
all our lives we breath these things,
heedless, unwitting, merry
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wanna get away?
Do we really need to get away, with our problems just waiting for us when we get back? Or do we just need to find God where we are, in the ordinary circumstances of our lives, and let Him transform our hearts. Only then is everything okay.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Stacking Stones
Stone stackers. Ever seen a stack of stones? Many Buddhists stack stones as a spiritual exercise, though I know nothing about it. If you've ever seen one, they're strangely beautiful. On my commute to work everyday there is a house with several stacks in various places around the yard.
Driving home one day I started to wonder why these teetering towers of Babel are so attractive to me. The question needed to be answered because these things seem reach out to my very soul. Do these things have some sort of inherent spiritual endowment that is palpable to my soul? The thought was a little disconcerting, so I had to have an answer.
It turns out to be a simple answer that does not lead us to new-age energies, false mysticism, or even Buddhism. It is a simple answer that has three aspects, all pointing to the same person in a different way.
The first is aesthetics -- beauty itself. Stacked stones are just neat, and pleasant to look at. They have a certain symmetry and balance that make them pleasant to the eye.
But any time we encounter beauty, we encounter a little sliver of God Himself. God is beauty so perfect that it is not merely attractive, but is efficacious. Were we to behold it -- or rather, on the day we hope to behold it -- it will be sufficient to satisfy all our desires completely. So our attraction to beauty is attraction to God Himself. Therefore, my attraction to these little stone towers reveals my attraction to God.
The second aspect is order. The topic of order is probably something that could be explored at length, but I'm not going to do that. I think there is an attractiveness to order on multiple levels. There is the sense of predictability and control that order brings, and stands in opposition to all the disorder in our lives. Order itself is attractive, and again is reflective of our attraction to God, who is perfectly ordered in everything.
The third aspect is the indication of another person. Stones don't stack themselves. They are stacked by a human person, and the stack is an expression of that person. When we see it, we know vaguely the existence of the other. And as human beings created to be in relationship with others, when we encounter another, we experience, however dimly, our innate need to connect. In this case, the mystery of this anonymous other probably heightens this instinct, and we are left with just the raw need, the raw desire. It is, again, a reflection of our need to connect with Him who alone can complete us sufficiently.
So now whenever I see these little monuments of peace, I ponder gratefully the great gift that is the desire for God, and beg him to enter into my heart.
Whether any of this is universally true, or is just my personal experience, I do not know. I have a feeling that it's a little of both. But my purpose is not to define anything. Simply to share my experience and thoughts, such as they are.
Driving home one day I started to wonder why these teetering towers of Babel are so attractive to me. The question needed to be answered because these things seem reach out to my very soul. Do these things have some sort of inherent spiritual endowment that is palpable to my soul? The thought was a little disconcerting, so I had to have an answer.
It turns out to be a simple answer that does not lead us to new-age energies, false mysticism, or even Buddhism. It is a simple answer that has three aspects, all pointing to the same person in a different way.
The first is aesthetics -- beauty itself. Stacked stones are just neat, and pleasant to look at. They have a certain symmetry and balance that make them pleasant to the eye.
But any time we encounter beauty, we encounter a little sliver of God Himself. God is beauty so perfect that it is not merely attractive, but is efficacious. Were we to behold it -- or rather, on the day we hope to behold it -- it will be sufficient to satisfy all our desires completely. So our attraction to beauty is attraction to God Himself. Therefore, my attraction to these little stone towers reveals my attraction to God.
The second aspect is order. The topic of order is probably something that could be explored at length, but I'm not going to do that. I think there is an attractiveness to order on multiple levels. There is the sense of predictability and control that order brings, and stands in opposition to all the disorder in our lives. Order itself is attractive, and again is reflective of our attraction to God, who is perfectly ordered in everything.
The third aspect is the indication of another person. Stones don't stack themselves. They are stacked by a human person, and the stack is an expression of that person. When we see it, we know vaguely the existence of the other. And as human beings created to be in relationship with others, when we encounter another, we experience, however dimly, our innate need to connect. In this case, the mystery of this anonymous other probably heightens this instinct, and we are left with just the raw need, the raw desire. It is, again, a reflection of our need to connect with Him who alone can complete us sufficiently.
So now whenever I see these little monuments of peace, I ponder gratefully the great gift that is the desire for God, and beg him to enter into my heart.
Whether any of this is universally true, or is just my personal experience, I do not know. I have a feeling that it's a little of both. But my purpose is not to define anything. Simply to share my experience and thoughts, such as they are.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
August Sun
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Birthdays
Birthdays. Love them, hate them, or ignore them. But whichever you do, chances are you've given some thought, at one time or another, to the significance of your birthday. If you haven't, maybe you should.
For some of us, a birthday is little more than the commemoration of -- as one person put it -- having completed another circuit around our star. Just another passing year. Others seem daunted by the great futility of another year, or of life itself. For still others, a birthday is a day of inordinate self-indulgence, and celebration of self.
But all of these sentiments miss the significance of our birthday. A birthday is not a matter of getting older, or of completing another year, for if that is all it is, then a birthday is indeed just an empty, pointless celebration. And maybe that's why we sometimes look at the prospect of another birthday and find nothing but death, or the droning march toward death -- because the author of life has been left out of our thoughts.
A birthday is more than just another year passed, more than just a personal New Years Day. This is because the day is, as ironic as it may seem, not about us. It is about about God, who is the author of our existence. It is a celebration not of ourselves, but of God. So it can and should be a day of thanksgiving, prayer and reflection that emphasizes the goodness of God - not ourselves. Whether we've had a good year or a bad year, whether we like ourselves or not, whether we're happy or sad, we can (and should) always celebrate our birthday in a spirit of profound gratitude.
For we have indeed been given another year in which to grow in Love, but we have been given much more. We have been given many gifts -- not according to what we have earned (thank God), but entirely according to the gratuitous generosity, mercy and infinite Love that is God.
The most profound of these gifts is the gift of our existence. And it is precisely the commemoration of the miracle of our existence that we celebrate on our birthday.
Therefore, a birthday is time for renewed awareness of our intimate connection with Him who is the source of our existence -- with Him Who IS existence itself -- Who has given us a share in His life, and Who desires to unite us to Himself. It is a time to rest in reverent awe at the gifts of life, redemption and eternal life.
When we live our birthday in recollected prayer and thanksgiving we may find that the worldly events of the day become less important. Whatever happens, good or bad, the answer to the question "did you have a good birthday" always becomes "yes, I had a great birthday."
For some of us, a birthday is little more than the commemoration of -- as one person put it -- having completed another circuit around our star. Just another passing year. Others seem daunted by the great futility of another year, or of life itself. For still others, a birthday is a day of inordinate self-indulgence, and celebration of self.
But all of these sentiments miss the significance of our birthday. A birthday is not a matter of getting older, or of completing another year, for if that is all it is, then a birthday is indeed just an empty, pointless celebration. And maybe that's why we sometimes look at the prospect of another birthday and find nothing but death, or the droning march toward death -- because the author of life has been left out of our thoughts.
A birthday is more than just another year passed, more than just a personal New Years Day. This is because the day is, as ironic as it may seem, not about us. It is about about God, who is the author of our existence. It is a celebration not of ourselves, but of God. So it can and should be a day of thanksgiving, prayer and reflection that emphasizes the goodness of God - not ourselves. Whether we've had a good year or a bad year, whether we like ourselves or not, whether we're happy or sad, we can (and should) always celebrate our birthday in a spirit of profound gratitude.
For we have indeed been given another year in which to grow in Love, but we have been given much more. We have been given many gifts -- not according to what we have earned (thank God), but entirely according to the gratuitous generosity, mercy and infinite Love that is God.
The most profound of these gifts is the gift of our existence. And it is precisely the commemoration of the miracle of our existence that we celebrate on our birthday.
Therefore, a birthday is time for renewed awareness of our intimate connection with Him who is the source of our existence -- with Him Who IS existence itself -- Who has given us a share in His life, and Who desires to unite us to Himself. It is a time to rest in reverent awe at the gifts of life, redemption and eternal life.
When we live our birthday in recollected prayer and thanksgiving we may find that the worldly events of the day become less important. Whatever happens, good or bad, the answer to the question "did you have a good birthday" always becomes "yes, I had a great birthday."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)