• About The Sophia Center

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

~ Spanning the denominations in NY's Southern Tier

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Tag Archives: compromise

Kick-Start

27 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

compromise, excuses, God, gratitude, inertia, intention, Lynn Bauman, meditation, praise, psalm 96, refreshed, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes it’s just the vocabulary of a line or two that snaps us open to possibility. Occasionally there is a convergence of small events that sparks a new knowing. Let me give this morning’s example. 

In the semi-darkness of the kitchen as I poured my coffee, Sister Paula mentioned yesterday’s blog and the essential nature of what Dave Peters had written about intention that I had quoted. Ten minutes later, settled in my chair looking out at a tree stripped of any sign of life and then back at a blank computer screen, I picked up and read Lynn Bauman’s enthusiastic translation of today’s lectionary psalm. 

Come sing to God, O earth, sing out this song anew. And bless God’s holy name in praise, for day by day we are renewed, restored, refreshed again by glory’s light. Proclaim good news among the nations of the earth, tell all the peoples everywhere God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does…This is your God, bring all you have and offer it in honor of that sacred name. (Ps 96: 1-3, 8)

At that moment I recognized that I had been moving on “automatic pilot,” slipping deeper and deeper into a place of inertia. I didn’t need to search for explanations, blaming the weather or the political climate or anything external. I just knew that the discipline of intention had somehow leaked out of me and left me in that state. As I resumed reading the psalm something in me began to lift and let me know that today needs to be different.

O, heavens rejoice with fullest joy. O, earth express your deepest praise. O, oceans roar in satisfaction and delight, and lands from sea to sea join in. You trees on earth and mighty forests deep, shout out to welcome God’s return. For God has come to us as fairest judge to settle all our wrongs with right. (vs. 11-13)

No compromises today will be tolerated. No excuses will be good enough to give in. I’m due on my meditation mat right now, then to the shower and soon to work, all with determination and deep gratitude.

The Great Divide

20 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

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

ashutdownOur 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?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Middle

01 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

behaviors, compromise, consensus, curiousity, extremes, hulility, Luke, Meg Wheatley, middle, perseverance, polarities, strong emotions, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

family father mother daughter dispute screaming silhouette

one caucasian family father mother daughter dispute screaming in silhouette studio isolated on white background

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance. (See LK 8:15)

Good advice from this gospel acclamation for today sent me on a search that was quickly satisfied. Not being otherwise inspired by the Scriptures for the day, I turned toward my reference shelf located just beside the chair I’m sitting in. My eye fell (of course) on the perfect answer, Meg Wheatley’s book Perseverance! I opened to a page called “Middle.” It rang enough bells in the six short paragraphs to make me want to send out the whole thing – but maybe snippets will suffice.

We live in a world of extremes and polarities. People take positions at the far edge of an issue and then scream across the distance they created…Living at the extreme consumes enormous resources. We spend energy on justifying our position, on attacking our enemy, on defending our ground, on protecting our position… Somewhere in all the furor and drama, we’ve lost sight of the middle. Yet it’s in the middle where the possibilities reside. Some call the middle “compromise” or “consensus” – terms which have come to mean failure, mediocrity and loss. We don’t remember meeting in the middle as anything but negative.

Perhaps because we’re so addicted to strong emotions and loud noises to motivate us, we no longer seek the quiet space of center. But all spiritual traditions speak of moderation, harmony, balance – the middle way.

One way to rediscover middle is to notice your everyday behaviors. Notice where you’re positioned on an issue important to you. Are you sitting out on one side, justifying your behavior, assuming you’re right and others are wrong? Or are you open to the possibility that you can’t see very well from where you’re sitting, that you don’t know all the facts in the case?

Humility and curiosity are what shift us to center. Just by being curious we move toward the middle ground, with its fertile promise of new ideas and new relationships.

Unable to be comfortable leaving out more than a few sentences of the page, I hope it is something that’s helpful for all of us as we seek to move toward common ground. Remember perseverance!

Donate to The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Donate

Our other websites

  • Main website
  • Facebook page

Visitors

  • 100,574 hits

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,046 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • The “O Antiphon” Meditations
  • Memorial to be held this Sunday
  • Mark your calendars
  • A note to readers
  • “Hope Springs Eternal…”

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Join 560 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...