Waking Up

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adversity, awake, Brian Johnson, COVID19, growth, living in the moment, Optimize, The Practicing Stoic, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Ward Farnsworth

I feel as if I have been in this state of “suspended animation” long enough. If you are floating along (as I have been), waiting for the pandemic to be over, you have perhaps reached the same point as I have. Some would call it like the adage “sink or swim.” The shift began yesterday when quotes from what I was reading in the morning—tidbits from the internet—came crashing through my brain one after another. I resisted because of Mother’s Day but hurriedly wrote some of what I read in a little notebook, in hopes that the energy of the words would keep until today. Some of it is still legible and comprehensible. It began with Brian Johnson’s Optimize.com. He was talking about stoicism. Listen: (from The Practicing Stoic by Ward Farnsworth).

Some adversity is NECESSARY for our growth. Indeed, the aim of the Stoic is something more: to accept reversal without shock and to make it grist for the creation of greater things. Nobody wants hardship in any particular case, but it is a necessary element in the formation of worthy people and worthy achievements that, in the long run, we do want. Stoics seek the value in whatever happens.

I have been hearing similar sentiments expressed in many conversations lately and can point to historical and present events that illustrate it. (Consider the rush to find a vaccine—or several—to match and conquer COVID 19.) It seems that necessity is often truly the mother of invention.

I’m going to spend some time today considering this concept and reality. I hope to shape the beginnings of a plan for living in this “moment” regardless of how long it lasts. Whether the plan is ever activated is not important; the planning itself is a worthy enterprise for now, I trust.

Are you already awake? What are you doing today?

Transformation

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acceptance, adversity, COVID19, Franklin Roosevelt, Holy Week, self-discipline, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transformation

For the past three days, my housemates and I have chosen to watch the PBS series, The Roosevelts, together as sort of a “dinner theater” event. Although it is a departure from our normal Holy Week schedule, we have found the practice worthwhile for the study of both our national history and human behavior in the relatively recent past. Most compelling was last night’s segment which chronicled the rise of Franklin Roosevelt from the beginning of his participation in the political sphere to his election as President of the United States. It was during this period that he was stricken with polio.

FDR went swiftly from being a rich, strong, entitled man to whom all things came without struggle to becoming a helpless invalid who could do virtually nothing for himself. It was fascinating to see the transformation from a proud, independent, self-assured person who refused to allow anyone to see evidence of his disability to a man who became a champion of others like himself who not only survived but thrived. The transformation began when he opened his home in Warm Springs to polio victims of all ages and found possibility in sharing his lot with them. He came to a deeper understanding of people and grew in a new openness, born of his own struggles and the sharing with those dealing with all manner of distress. It was the era of the Great Depression in our country.

Acceptance of self and others is writ large throughout this series, both by those in this dynasty who learned the life lessons and those who did not. Adversity was a teacher for those who stepped up to the challenges they faced for their own good and the benefit of others. (Franklin’s wife, Eleanor, has already begun to shine by episode three and is clearly one of the winners in the willingness to go out of herself for others.)

Perhaps it is a stretch to compare our time to theirs but there are moments when the connection seems clear to me and it is the consciousness of what is possible and acceptance of what is not that will determine the outcome of this crisis of COVID-19 that we are now experiencing. And in what may seem a huge leap, may I quote St. Paul who reminds us that Jesus “did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at but rather emptied himself…”

May we contemplate the power and possibility of transformation during these next three days in a way that will open us to deeper understanding, stronger self-discipline and the great love of God in light.

Disciplined Disciples

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adversity, Alan Cohen, challenge, compassion, discipline, Easter, gift, greatness, humble, love, Mark, opportunity, remain firm, sober, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vigilant, wisdom

I was a little surprised in this second week of the Easter season to read that today’s second reading was Mark’s version of the gospel for the feast of the Ascension of Christ into heaven. Then I realized the date; March 25th is the feast of St. Mark, Evangelist. Knowing that, I read again the advice that Jesus gave to his disciples before leaving them “in charge” to carry on his mission. Simply stated, his advice was three-fold: humble yourselves, be sober and vigilant, remain firm. Each of those imperatives takes discipline, certainly, and we can expect some false steps along our way to perfection.

I checked Alan Cohen’s thought for today and found a little solace for the road. In a page entitled “Best When It’s Worst” Cohen wrote the following: Adversity is a gift if we make it work on our behalf. Challenge is not a curse or a punishment, but an opportunity to shine. If life were easy all the time, we would not deepen in love, compassion, and wisdom, or learn how to sink a pipeline into the well of true strength within us. Often we do not know how powerful we are until we are faced with a challenge that draws forth our greatness.

When an act in life counts, there is a source of strength within us that grows to meet the challenge. Some people demonstrate superhuman abilities, such as pushing a wrecked car off an injured person. Where do they find the strength? It was within them all the time; the worst brought out the best.

Whatever our challenges today, may we remember to forge ahead, remembering that we are not alone and that our strength does not come from outside us – in external circumstances or events – but from inside where the living Spirit of God is our strength and our guide.

Not Yet?

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adversity, care, certainty, faith, Jesus, Mark, Sea of Galilee, strong faith, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, traumatic moments

Sometimes the gospel stories are so familiar I have to really pay attention not to miss little words that add some new thought to the meaning. For instance, this morning in Mark’s account of the storm at sea (MK 4:35-41), at the beginning of the narrative where Jesus says he wants to cross to the other side, it says that he got in the boat “just as he was.” It sounds to me that he was living out of his advice when he sent the Twelve out in ministry saying to them, “Take nothing for the journey.” That’s pretty risky especially if you don’t bring a lunch or have a reservation at a decent hotel. It also speaks to the necessity of readiness in all circumstances for the disciples to do what Jesus asks – in this case getting in a boat as evening is coming on, crossing the Sea of Galilee for a purpose they obviously know nothing about, when they probably thought they were finished working for the day. Those thoughts are not new to me.

This morning, however, there were two other little phrases that got me thinking in somewhat new ways. When the disciples thought they were going to die and woke Jesus up, they didn’t just say – as we sometimes hear, “Save us for we are perishing!” They asked him, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” That’s a whole different situation that points up the reason for the response of Jesus whose questions to them (after he deals with the wind) are: “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” To be fair to the disciples we might argue that this is rather early in Mark’s account so we don’t know how long the disciples have been following Jesus; this exchange might have been the end of the “honeymoon phase” of their relationship.

These little phrases made me think about how I respond to traumatic moments either in my life or in the world. It’s easy to believe when one isn’t challenged by adversity, but, at the most terrifying moments, do I ever think that God doesn’t care about what’s happening? or worse, about me? My answer to that is usually a quick, definitive: “Of course I believe God cares!” It behooves me, however, to look deeply at how glib my answer is – out of habit – going to the root of my distress to be certain that my faith is as strong as I think it is. May we all be blessed today with a new certainty and a willingness to persevere in faith no matter what the outer circumstances of life and living.