Attitude = Gratitude

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attitude, gratitude, light, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, virtual liturgy

I cannot escape this world that I live in, even if I wanted to with my whole self, that is: body, mind and spirit. So here is what seems quite evident to me on this first day of the week. I woke up with the thought that I need to change my attitude toward the present state of the world. I recognized that I have been devolving into a reactive mode with the negative forces (restrictions, political rhetoric, etc.) rising while my normal state of optimism was receding. The miracle of the day is that everything is converging to feed the good on my path.

Kitchen conversations at “coffee hour” just now were all about the spiritual lessons of yesterday given free of charge on the internet by spiritual leaders of East and West. Today’s lectionary readings at usccb.org were like stepping stones into light. Then more gifts from bloggers followed and I am now set to join a virtual congregation of Mass-goers at my favorite local Church to touch back into my heritage of beautiful Catholic ritual where approximately 300 believers will join with the exquisite singing voices of Pat and Jan and to listen to the wisdom of Father Charles whose presence as presider is a gift in itself. Additionally, every time I participate in this virtual Sunday liturgy, it seems that the seven necessary participants are joined by others. The resonance and volume seem to indicate many more participants in the church when in reality we are elsewhere but joining in spirit.

How can I not be grateful for this day, this opportunity to live in light – even in the face of what appears to be opposition? I am convinced of the call to shake off “the deeds of darkness” and bathe in the Light. Might you find ways to join in this attitude of gratitude today?

20-20 Vision

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20/20 vision, A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, appreciation, attitude, clarity, experience, gift, hear, meditation, messages, prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It seems incredible that we have already traversed an entire month of the year 2020. It is shaping up to be a challenging time for many reasons, some from natural causes and some of human initiative. It seems imperative that we be constantly awake to the broad spectrum of events and stay true to our own integrity, which includes watching our own behavior and response to challenges.

The impetus for this line of thought is (as usual) something I read just now from A Deep Breath of Life by Alan Cohen. In his reflection for this date, Cohen says the following:

Through prayer and meditation, you can sensitize yourself to hear important messages before they are played out in the physical world…Rather than fight life or adopt a victim position, look for the gift in the experience. Imagine that the universe is conspiring not to hurt you, but to free you. An attitude of appreciation, rather than resentment, will soften and transform otherwise difficult lessons.

It isn’t always easy to admit our less than stellar behaviors and reactions to life events great and small but if we stay awake and practice seeing the lessons in our days, in the long run our vision improves and we can learn to accept ourselves and others without a need for obfuscation or excuse.

What better year for working on clarity of vision? It is 20-20, after all!

Sowing Seeds

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attitude, cheerful giver, Corinthians, generous spirit, giving, sower, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s always interesting to see how the lectionary readings develop themes and contrast examples to modern times. Take for example today’s lesson about being a “cheerful giver.” (God loves a cheerful giver, we are told.) We may think about our capital campaigns, other fundraising activities, or the passing of the plate in church services. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (9: 6-11) speaks of supplying seed to the sower and bread to the poor…A simpler time, same message. The important thing – also the same – is the attitude with which we give.

When Paul says that those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly, he isn’t talking about seed any more, thus the reference to being cheerful in the giving. I am reminded by that of a poetic quote on a card that I received a very long time ago. It said, in part, ” Give it away, give it all away. Give life away. All…all is gift.” I see the gospel sower walking through a field made ready for seed. Smelling the newly turned soil and feeling the breeze and the warmth of the sun, I join that one with a full complement of seeds in my shoulder bag, reaching in and flinging the seed to the winds, enjoying the freedom of knowing that the harvest to come will help so many more people than myself – most especially the poor in our midst.

It’s that attitude that creates a generous spirit, I think. Letting go becomes the motivation. Bounty in God is the result.

Pruning

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attitude, habit, lesson, negativity, pruning, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I learned a long time ago the necessity of pruning: that even though it may seem cruel to cut off any part of a plant, cutting it back may cause the possibility of a stronger and healthier plant in the long run. It was the tomato section of our garden that taught me that hard lesson many years ago. I learned what “suckers” were that summer and the fact that the longer you left them, the more they drained the energy of the whole – without bearing fruit themselves.

We have thirty overgrown and tangled forsythia bushes lining the border of our property, planted in honor of our mother from whom we learned to love their freedom and beauty. It is always a disappointment for me to see a forsythia bush clipped into a perfectly manicured spherical shape rather than the energy of one that has been pruned from the bottom (the advice of my cousin) and left to fly free in the breeze.

I have been woefully inattentive to our bushes over many years now, noticing their plight but not having the time or the energy to tend to them. The result has been lots of greenery (so I know the life force is still there) but no flowering or colorful vibrancy.

Yesterday I was blessed with a companion – younger and stronger than I – with whom I began the task of freeing the forsythia to fly again. We not only freed seven of the original bushes from their tangles and dead branches but found in so doing that there was a second generation of bushes in the mix as well! By the end of the summer I hope to have completed what John helped me to begin that was as much an internal learning as an external work task.

What I know now is that the sooner I clip a bad habit or attitude, the less time and pain there is conquering it or in letting it go. The longer I let negativity of any kind take hold, because of laziness or inattention, the more obscured it becomes and the more difficult it is to correct my vision of what is happening.

Enough! The sun is shining already and it’s time to take up my clippers and get to work.

 

 

 

 

 

Of Work and Workers

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acceptance, attitude, character, dignity, fulfillment, Good Shepherd, happiness, John, love, pay, rich inner life, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, work, workers

There’s a passage in the “Good Shepherd” gospel from today’s lectionary (JN 10: 12-13) that has me thinking about the power of intention. It says the following: “A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.”

I have always been blessed with fulfilling work that I have, therefore, done motivated by love – of the people I encounter and the work itself. In that way, I understand the shepherd who “knows” his sheep, able to tell one from another and willing to do whatever it takes to keep them safe. But I am thinking this morning about people who work in jobs that are onerous, yet necessary to allow even a subsistence lifestyle. I presume it would take a very strong will to be able to be happy in such a situation. It would necessitate digging deep to find a purpose for getting up in the morning. It has been said that “Happiness is an inside job.” Thus, there must be something deeper than the work itself to motivate the worker.

As I write, I recognize that this truth is universal and is definitely an aspect of one’s character and attitude. Think about the clerks in a store that you frequent. Two people who are paid the same salary may be quite different in the way they greet you or work the checkout counter. It’s the same for heads of large corporations. So while I would like to see a more equitable pay scale and better conditions for workers, I come to the conclusion that if one has a rich inner life anything can be a blessing if it moves us toward acceptance and even love.

Let us pray today for an appreciation of the dignity of work and all workers as we examine our own attitudes toward what is our own work in the world. Let our intention be the building up of community in whatever we do and what we achieve, not for our own glory but for the good of all and the praise of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Divide

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attitude, closed, compromise, criticism, furloughed, government shutdown, hopelessness, lifting up, negativity, non-essential, sadness, solution, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Our federal government is in shutdown mode today. It’s difficult to comprehend what a sweeping statement that is. It does not mean that just the senators and representatives are not working. It isn’t like a holiday when the banks and post offices are closed. All “non-essential” federal employees are “furloughed” and won’t be paid until the situation changes. This affects entities like the military, the Centers for Disease Control, security at airports…just to name a few. Not being paid until the situation changes is as much a psychological issue for some as it is the physical lack of a paycheck. As I read what is termed “non-essential” I feel a sense of sadness and the hopelessness that comes of the inability in any relationship to reach a compromise. It’s difficult enough for two people who don’t agree on something and cannot seem to find a way through the impasse, let alone 100 senators and 435 representatives! At this moment in our history, this “shutdown” is emblematic of the divide in beliefs and the inability or unwillingness of people to listen deeply so as to hear and find ways to solutions.

What do we do now? Call me crazy but I think “solution” starts with attitude and the willingness to give up criticism as a way of social interaction. What is the content of our everyday speech? Do we find ways of lifting people up rather than finding their faults or just ignoring them altogether? Negativity is insidious and rampant now. Perhaps our efforts to turn things around will have farther reaching effects than we realize. And why not start by praying for our senators and representatives…and even the President…for a swift and amicable compromise?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gain and Loss

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attitude, declutter, gain, Jesus, life, losing, loss, Matthew, Philippians, posessions, profit, soul, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

In today’s gospel we find a paradoxical statement in which Jesus gives his followers the pattern of living that he, himself, has espoused and in the following of which they will find the fullness of life. (MT 16: 24-28) He says: Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. To clarify, he asks the following question: What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his [her] soul?

St. Paul speaks in the Letter to the Philippians of the great willingness of Jesus to surrender everything to teach us what is important, that is, the primacy of love. He writes: Have among yourselves the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather he emptied himself…(Phil. 2:6-11) Later in that letter, Paul affirms that teaching/example of Christ in his own life by saying: I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Jesus Christ, my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things…(3:17)

So how might we interpret these words in today’s world? Especially in the cultures of the developed nations of our time it is difficult to let go of striving and of possessions to find interior peace – even when we assent intellectually to the value of such surrender. But more and more frequently I hear people speak of their need to “de-clutter” not only their closets (as I am doing with some success!) but also their lives which are so busy that there is little or no room for silence and communion with the Divine.

The point of Jesus and Paul was made simply and clearly for us at the end of the 20th century by Jesuit spiritual teacher, Anthony De Mello, who wrote: “How would spirituality help a man of the world like me?” asked the businessman. “It will help you to have more,” said the master. “How?” “By teaching you to desire less.” A paradox surely but one that can be proven truthful by those who have removed themselves from the “race to the top” in search of deeper meaning. We have many examples of how this works – from billionaires like Warren Buffett, whose countenance shines with the happiness of one who understands the value of “sharing the wealth” to people like the man in the news yesterday who walks the streets with his hair-cutting tools serving the homeless by shaving and cutting their hair for free.

It is the freedom that comes from this “losing” that is the “gain.” Not tied to riches or status or anything at all, we are free to serve whenever and wherever we are called. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to know this truth – but we can all start somewhere to “let go and let God” work in us. Every day is a new beginning and, for me, this one has just begun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Delight

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attitude, delight, do your will, God's will, Here I am Lord, Psalm 40, purpose, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes life depends a lot on attitude. Often when “bad things” happen people are heard to say, “It’s God’s will.” Rarely have I heard anyone proclaim that it is God’s will when they are steeped in unbounded joy. To be fair, we tend to use other ways to express God’s presence in our lives at those times, saying things like “God has been good to me.” I wonder, though, if it would make a difference, even slightly, if we sang with the psalmist, “To do your will, O my God, is my delight and your law is in my heart!” (Ps. 40) And what if we woke up every morning with today’s psalm refrain on our lips: “Here I am Lord; I come to do your will.” For me, that line has a feeling of happy urgency, as if I am running toward God because I can’t wait to serve whatever purpose it is God is asking because it gives me such joy. I might even make a sign for the inside of my bedroom door with that line printed on it so it accompanies me each morning to the coffee pot. Can’t hurt – might help!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The One Thing Necessary

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attitude, evil, Learning to Love, let go, love of money, money, Paul, status, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, Timothy

It is amazing how a word or two can change the whole meaning of a text. I came across an example of that this morning in Paul’s advice to Timothy where he is talking about money. I have often heard that money is the root of all evil. What the text actually says is that the love of money is the root of all evil. (1TM 6:7-12) What a difference that makes! Quite often now we hear in this country about very rich people who are joining Warren Buffett in giving away at least 50% of their fortunes. What a blessing that they have become financially successful but are not enamored of keeping their money to themselves! It seems they have also heard in their hearts what Thomas Merton offers as an expansion of Paul’s advice to Timothy, when he says: “Let go of all that suggests getting somewhere, being someone, having a name and a voice, following a policy and directing people in ‘my’ ways. What matters is to love.” (Learning to Love, 15) So whether we’re rich or poor or somewhere in between, it’s our attitude toward money and status that is important on this journey of life, this opportunity to love.

The Attitude of Christ

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attitude, Christ, compassion, example of jesus, love, Philippians, St. Paul, sympathy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians contains (2:1-11) a summary of the willingness of Jesus to surrender everything – by letting go of “godliness” to become human – in order to teach us how to become like God, surrendering everything that does not spring from love. It is a foundational text for those desiring to “put on the mind of Christ.” Paul begins by exhorting the people of Philippi to do just that with an impassioned plea that is just as appropriately addressed to us. My suggestion is that you read it aloud – with all the passion of the “Disciple to the Gentiles” – to get the full effect :

Brothers and sisters, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing! Have in you the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus.

Following the example of Jesus, then, means working ever more consciously toward unity of mind and heart, thinking and loving without judgment, surrendering ego to become our truest selves. It’s a big order but one that will lead us directly into the heart of God.