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calm, consciousness, healthy, helpful, mindfulness, negativity, positive, restorative, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, toxic, words
In a rare move this morning, I chose to explore the NY Times briefing instead of queuing up the readings of the day from the Roman Catholic lectionary. The stimulus for my choice was a headline that read “Oxford Dictionary International Word for the Year.” I had to read through several headlines to find that entry but that in itself was instructive of the culture we live in and what seems to be – or is – important to know of the world today. Much of it was still political as we wait for election results, some of which may be delayed due to unreadable ballot signatures – part of the fallout from the fact that children are not always taught good writing skills in this electronic age. Then there was the potential impending downfall of Theresa May because of her unsatisfactory planning for “Brexit,” and so on around the world.
I was not happy to find that the chosen word for the year was “toxic.” I do find it appropriate as a theoretical explanation for much of the malaise that seems to be infecting our nation and the world these days but I was taken aback a bit by the breadth of definition in what I read. The traditional definition of “poisonous, virulent, deadly, dangerous, noxious, pernicious” (that always leads me to think of chemicals) is just, as we say, “the tip of the iceberg” today. What I read related to chemicals, of course, but so much more!
There are now toxic games, and even an award winning video game development studio called Toxic Games, a song by Britney Spears (which I will not quote here), toxic foods, toxic relationships, a toxic thriller movie (entitled Toxic), toxic people (jealous and judgmental people who “have so much internal self-hate that they can’t be happy for anyone around them”) and – in an urban dictionary – “people who are trolls and a 6 year old trying to be cool.”
In desperation I needed to google “antonyms for toxic” and heaved a sigh of relief to find 60 of these in the Power Thesaurus. Here are some: harmless, healthy, nonpoisonous, helpful, safe, good, beneficial, curative, wholesome, life-giving, mild, hygienic, therapeutic, benign, agreeable, restorative…etc. Even just writing those words calms me a bit and reminds me of the power of words.
So what is the point of all this? As usual, what I derive from such exercises is a desire for deeper consciousness. I need to be aware of how I speak, what I say and whether or not my conversation is positive or negative in tone and/or content. This does not mean I will simply avoid difficult conversations but rather try to handle difficult topics in ways that avoid blaming, emotional reactivity or negativity. As always, mindfulness is key. Perhaps, in time, if we are diligent, we will succeed in righting the world.
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.
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.
As the 9:00 hour approaches this morning, I look for something that makes sense to share. Jan Phillips never disappoints to urge me on – especially from her book, No Ordinary Time. I go to Monday at Terce, the monastic 9:00 hour, and find two paragraphs which, taken together, give me enough for today.
Interestingly on this “ordinary day” – Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time in our Church calendar, to be exact – there are two possible gospel readings from which to choose. If I’m not mistaken, that usually happens on big feast days or when a long gospel passage appears first and is followed by a shorter version of the same one. Today we have two completely different texts – the first being the familiar aftermath of the feeding of the five thousand that includes not only Jesus but Peter walking on water (MT 14:22-36). There’s a lot to talk about in that passage. It is the second text, however, that caught me this morning (MT 15:1-2, 10-14). It’s all worth pondering but it includes a sentence that I think is uniquely timely and important for each of us and all of us as foundational to our spirituality. Jesus says, It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles a person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 