Where’s the Evidence?

Tags

interpretation, reconciliation, relationship, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

We have watched a lot of Hallmark movies this year. First there were the ones that led us up to Christmas – all rather formulaic, but preferable to much of what else is on television lately. The one thing that always bothers me (and always is present in the stories) is a moment when the protagonist overhears a conversation or sees a situation that s/he interprets incorrectly, which subsequently leads to a rupture in the burgeoning relationship of the two main characters. Within five minutes of the “denouement” there is a reconciliation, of course, and the final kiss that seals the relationship and enables a “happily ever after.”

What bothers me about this universal set of circumstances is the fact that none of the characters investigates the perceived change of heart in the love interest. There is never any conversation, never an answer to “what could be a different outcome here?” People just leave without an explanation or a trace. Of course, they are swiftly back in the scene before the clock strikes and just in time for the kiss, frustrating me with the shallowness of the characters and their behavior.

This rant about my TV time distress is similar to the reading today from the Book of Daniel (ch. 13) where two elders plot to violate a woman and, if they are found out, to lie about the situation to avoid shame or punishment. Luckily for the young woman, Daniel steps up and makes things right by quick thinking (a great story), but it does remind me of our tendency to judge by appearances rather than by deeper thinking and/or evidence.

The lesson here is for myself (and maybe some of you). Why does it bother me so much? I really do think it has to do with the simple formula of the episodes, at least somewhat, but I wonder if there isn’t sometimes a mirror being put before me to check on my own rush to conclusions in certain situations.

We Sisters of St. Joseph have a maxim that provides us good advice from our founder. It says: “Always interpret everything in the most favorable sense.” Maybe I should send that to the Hallmark writers…or maybe just try harder to take it to heart myself.

The Power of Image

Tags

image, interpretation, Jesus, mindful, putting the mind into the heart, spiritual teachers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom work

I’ve been sitting for quite awhile this morning with nothing worthwhile to say and nowhere to go to find assistance from one of the many books that surround me. I was on the verge of admitting that this moment — while obviously of great import in the life of the world — is unable to be captured in any language that I possess. While that is still true, I now have something to offer.

Each day I wait to see what our talented and thoughtful internet expert adds to my blog as a visual message. I love the pictures that Mary Pat finds to enhance my words. I am sometimes challenged, often amazed and delighted but always grateful for her skill and interpretation. Today as I clicked on the “admin” page, ready to admit that all I had to offer was my silence, I glanced at yesterday’s post which I had yet to see published and immediately found today’s message in the image that greeted me.

One of the most important tenets/objectives of the wisdom work that I have attempted to understand and make real in my life is “putting the mind into the heart.” It isn’t easy to let go of thinking and measuring and judging and all the things that keep us from opening to grace and willingness and, in a word, to love. That is, however, what I have come to know as the most important and reasonable and simple (but not easy) message of Jesus and other spiritual teachers. And there it was in an image this morning on my very own blog page from yesterday. A perfect way to begin another week of dealing with the pandemic that has stopped us in our tracks and calls us to be mindful of our every move and moment.

Who could ask for anything more?

Choice

Tags

acceptance, choice, interpretation, judgment, Meg Wheatley, perseverance, react, respond, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Life sometimes seems to be offering us little choice. When we’re young we have to go to school, we eat what our parents put before us, we do what we’re told, etc. When older, sometimes it feels the same when our patterns are established and we go to work, we spend our money on necessities (or not) and sometimes life seems to winnow the list of choices we have to fit into how much time we have in our busy schedules (but who makes the schedule?).

I am considering the topic of choice today not because I feel constrained by the number of hours in the day (although as I get older that sometimes rankles) but because of Margaret Wheatley’s book, Perseverance, that I chose for my morning reflection. Here’s a little of what she said – which you might choose to consider as I did, whether you are making judgments about time constraints, other people or anything in your life.

We need first to notice that we’ve made choices about everything in our lives. How we react and respond, every single feeling, is a choice. Every situation has infinite possibilities for interpretation and reaction. But we collapse all those possibilities the second we assign a feeling or judgment to the situation. (Page 103)

So, really, it’s more about how we feel about our choices and/or how we judge them that makes the difference in our acceptance of them. I will be spending some time with this thought today. Will you?

.

Lost in Translation

Tags

interpretation, letter of james, nature of communication, nuances, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, translation, words

There’s a line in the Letter of James about faith and good works that has always been a stark reminder for me about the necessity of both. It shows up in the second reading for this morning (JAS 2:14-18) in a slightly changed translation that alters the effect for me. I’ve learned the line as: “Goodbye and good luck; keep warm and well fed.” Today I read: “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well.” Admittedly, they might seem somewhat the same but tone of voice that gives one of the nuances of “Good luck!” in America today indicates that good luck is probably not likely. In other words, the first translation can be seen as an indication that I have no responsibility to help you at all – a good bet if you read the previous line in the text where Paul says, “If a brother or a sister has nothing to wear or no food for the day, and one of you says to them…” The punch of the lesson is lost for me with “Go in peace.” I’m still doing nothing to help but at least I seem to care about the inner state of my hungry brother or sister.

As I struggle here to make my point, which is definitely culturally based and may only be grasped if the lines are read aloud, I recognize even more about the nature of communication. It is so important to think – to take a breath – before we speak. Our words can so easily lift up or harm someone depending on our delivery. And as I write, I know the difficulty of interpretation as my words lie flat on the page unless they are read aloud to be interpreted by the reader. So today is a day to choose carefully, so that the words we speak will be reflective of our motivation for using them and that what we write will state our intentions as clearly as possible. And in the best way possible I wish you “Good luck with that!”