In or Out?: 27 September 2009

A group of kids head out to the playground for a game of kick ball. The captains, usually two of the most popular kids, choose players for their team typically based on who they like. A family is gathered for a holiday celebration and after the meal, one group of people (the original family members) is seated at the table engaged in conversation and around the perimeter of the room are the in-laws…separated. Oddly enough, these two brief scenarios have something in common: who’s included and who’s not.

I’m not sure just when it happens during the course of our childhood socialization – what I call the discrimination factor – but at some point we do learn the concept of “us and them”. Taken to the extreme, as fairly recent history in our own country has taught us, this discrimination factor has produced judgments and segregation of people based on their ethnic origins that still have not completely dissipated. We are keenly aware of the tensions between people of different cultures, beliefs, even religious traditions. And if we listen closely to the language, at some point in life we will likely hear comments that include the words “those people” or “it’s us against them”. With healthy, playful competition we learn how to be gracious winners and not sore losers. But competition becomes unhealthy, even hurtful, when it serves as a means of deciding who is superior or worthy – who’s in and who’s out, who gets our attention and care and who does not.

Just because someone may not be at the “right” place at any given time as were Eldad and Midad (Numbers 11: 26) or the “right” station in life does not mean he or she is less blessed, less gifted in unique ways or even less of a person. I haven’t decided which, but I do muse whether our Sacred Creator is color blind or delights great variety when it comes to people. Maybe it’s both! What I do believe is that the Divine One lavishes each of us with unconditional love.

Perhaps one day all the lines of intolerance and prejudice in our world will be blurred and we will begin to see each other more clearly – as wonderfully made in the image of our Creator.

Peace on the Journey.

Sustained: 20 September 2009

This is such a beautiful time of year. Being out and about several times over the past couple of weeks I’ve had the opportunity to watch as little by little the vibrant colors of the landscape begin to emerge. With each day the various wooded areas change in appearance showing bright and muted oranges, yellows, reds, and browns. This is also a busy time of year for those who are gardeners. Much of the late vegetable harvest is ripening and all too soon the gardens will need cleaning out. Leaves have begun to fall from the trees, some would say littering their yards, and so the seemingly unending fall task of raking begins. All too soon that first “killing” frost will arrive and this season of beauty will fade into the deep, long rest of winter.

It has become uncommon to hear the psalm of the day as it is written in the lectionary proclaimed or sung at Sunday service in the Catholic Church (at least in our area). Often we are blessed with hearing another psalm or the same one but with slightly different words sung by cantor or choir. I write this not make a judgment but merely to state an observation. This week I made a point of reading the psalm for this Sunday and found in it one line that really sticks in my mind and heart: “…the Lord sustains my life” (Psalm 54:6). Through all the seasons of time and life no matter what they bring, our Sacred Creator, Companion and Protector is always so deeply intertwined in the fabric of life sustaining all that is with gentle care and love.

We have become so prone to turn our thoughts toward the future, wondering what the next day, week, month, season or year will bring. We plan, make preparations for gatherings and holidays, schedule vacations and appointments. But for all our careful planning, at times life just doesn’t go according to plan; we find out we really aren’t the ones in control. Sometimes we may feel so overwhelmed – with work, busyness, grief, sadness, disappointment, even with the sameness of our daily routine. But there are other times, if we happen to take the time to observe, when we are delightfully surprised at something so ordinary, almost routine, and yet at the same time a most profound sight, insight or revelation it simply takes our breath away. And when we do take notice, we come to realize how blessed we are – how we can feel so utterly sustained by a Sacred sunrise masterpiece.

Peace on the Journey.

Balancing Act: 13 September 2009

A buzz word I’ve heard many times over the past months is balance. We balance our checkbooks, gymnasts balance on beams, there are scales that balance. From what I’ve observed, our four-legged and feathered friends who live in the elements of nature instinctively know how to achieve balance. For example birds migrate at the appropriate times of the year and other animals hibernate during winter. They just know when it’s time to head north or south or when to rest. But when it comes to us humans and our lives, having or feeling an inner sense of balance can be so illusive.

We sure can be a driven people – always doing, working, engaging in some or another activity. Then throw in an unexpected crisis and we are called upon to navigate our way through difficulties that in a flash drains any sense of balance we may feel. As we get older and our children have grown, left home and started families and/or careers of their own we find they are no longer so dependent upon us. For us, we thought this would be a time of “clear sailing” freeing us up for enjoyable and relaxing times. Like many, we found out that though our nest was empty, our family elders needed us to tend to them. It is a blessing to be able to do so though our energy level certainly isn’t as high as it was in our twenties. And we soon came to discover finding balance in our lives at times became more illusive as ever.

At first glance the author of James (2:14-18) appears to be writing a back and forth on which is better – to have faith or to do good works. But in reality this is not a written balancing act of either faith or good works. It’s yet another both/and. Our Sacred Creator calls us to tend to our world, our sisters and brothers in need and to each other. And indeed we do demonstrate our faith in the Sacred and the blessedness of all life by our works; the ways we spread goodness and love.

Our preferences for finding or making time for relaxation and renewal are as individual as each of us. So too are our daily tasks; activities; and ways supporting, caring for and encouraging our loved ones and those we encounter. What is common to all of us is our need to find rest for ourselves – to offer thanks for our blessings, to refresh our spirits and to find a sense of inner peace and…balance.

Peace on the Journey.

Being Opened: 6 September 2009

There’s a lot that grabs our attention during the course of any given day. If we work outside our home perhaps we focus on things such as the work in front of us, what our colleagues are doing, phone calls, meetings, schedules, agendas, appointments, deadlines, etc. Work days can become a frenzy of activity and at times leave us feeling exhausted at the end of the day or the work week. Those of us who are no longer working by choice or because of circumstances beyond our control can be no less busy during the day as our fellow nine-to-fiver’s. We may very well find our days filled with a great many activities some of which may range from tending to elderly family members or perhaps job hunting to running errands, babysitting the grandkids, garden and lawn maintenance, keeping up with housework, and so many other activities that we too can find ourselves quite drained at the end of the day. We certainly are a people who tend to focus on doing something…anything to stay busy. This is not necessarily bad or wrong but we can miss much when we so often immerse our selves and our minds in a flurry of activities day after day and…at the end of the day find ourselves vegging out in front of the TV or busying ourselves with even more activities. After all, grandma used to say, “Idle hands are the devil’s handiwork”. Another saying I often hear is: “If you’re standing still, you’re falling behind”.

Imagine the following scenes: First we have a family with kids in school. After school a son is busy with sports practice, a daughter has dance lessons and of course, neither of which happens at the same time. Their mother is constantly on the go providing transportation to and from her children’s activities. Their father often works late. It is a very rare occasion when all their schedules coincide so that they can, as a family, actually sit down and enjoy a meal together. In another household husband and wife both work and here too their schedules and activities do not always offer them the “luxury” of being able to spend evenings truly connecting with each other. They both get home from work, the TV gets turned on to catch the evening news, the woman begins to prepare the evening meal (most often a quick and easy “packaged” sort of meal) while her male partner may bury his attention in the newspaper or go off to do a “quick” something or another that needs tending to before supper is ready. (At our house there is no such thing as a “quick” project.) Oh, the members of these two families do talk to each other but more often than not the focus is on doing, keeping busy and with different schedules, not to mention that TV blaring in the background. All this hectic busyness of these two fictional families should cause us to wonder just how often, at times, we deliberately/intentionally stop our busyness and open ourselves up to good old fashioned communication and really concentrate on hearing and listening to the dear ones with whom we live.

And the people brought to Jesus the deaf man with a speech impediment. Two little but oh so powerful words from Jesus: “Be Opened” offered this man both a cure and great opportunity (Mark 7:32-34). No longer could this man be labeled as “the deaf man” – he could now speak, hear, tell people his name, carry on a conversation with anyone and for the first time really listen to others. Not only were his ears and mouth opened, his whole life and way of being was opened to great and wonderful possibilities to connect with people in ways that were previously not available to him.

Amid the busyness of all our doing, how open are we to the many opportunities we are given each day for rich and meaningful connection and communication with those closest to us? And how open are we to looking for, seeing, hearing, taking into our hearts the multitude of Sacred wonders all around us? The already bright orange leaves on one tree in the woods at the edge of the pond and the little fawn prancing effortlessly across the field this morning caused me to pause a while for they truly imaged to my eyes and soul the great abundance of sacred gifts all around!

Peace on the Journey.