Strange Thought for the Day

Tags

A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, breathe, COVID19, ending, flow, normal, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

A common question these days for many of us is: “When will this be over?” or “When will we get back to normal?” Everyone knows what we’re talking about. People are busy making masks and scouting stores for much needed cleaning products and trying not to talk politics. The surprising thing for me is how little of what I plan to do is achieved in a day. Especially now that the temperatures outside are so stifling, there seems little energy for all the cleaning projects around the house or the phone calls that have fallen by the wayside. The answer to my first question seems to be the same each day: Nobody knows when or if there is an ending point to this “season” that we’re experiencing.

While I hesitate to do so, I want to share a short paragraph that Alan Cohen wrote long before we ever heard the term COVID-19. I do so because of the frustration hidden in every day when I come to the evening annoyed by my failed attempts to get anything done. It has given me this morning a chance to hit the re-start button on the day and a determination to be where I am rather than where I would choose to be. I hope you are similarly blessed by his wisdom when trying to see it as valid even now.

Trust that you have enough time to do everything that needs to be done. Love does not worry or force: it flows. Relax into what is happening, and the peace you enjoy will be accompanied by the clarity and efficiency you gain. (A Deep Breath of Life)

I never would have ascribed those thoughts to what we are experiencing now but, having read them earlier, I have begun to feel their relevance. Just breathe into the thoughts and see if you are able to see the value in it at all.

Alleluia in the Ordinary

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Alleluia, calm fears, Christ, Easter, insights, normal, path of rejoicing, psalm 118, rainy days, reiterate message, resolve, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

After all the trumpets and Alleluia! of the past 24 hours most people are re-setting their inner scheduling devices that will bring their minds back to “normal.” It’s rather ironic that today is gloomy, dark  and rainy – and in our part of the world really cold. Nevertheless, the verse before the gospel for today proclaims (with gusto, I imagine): This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it! (Psalm 118:24) I take that as a reminder that staying with a “mountaintop experience” where we have come to deep insights or great resolve about bettering our spiritual lives, i.e. putting the Easter message into practice, is unrealistic. Rather what I need to remember is that rainy days are days that the Lord has made and we need them as well as the sunny ones to keep us awake.

The seasonal cycle in Church life is instructive as well. We have 50 days of the Easter season to delve the post-resurrection narratives where wonderful stories of Christ deepen the reality of how we are to live. Jesus has passed the torch to his disciples but stays around during their first days in the new reality to calm their fears, to reiterate his message of love and unity and to grow their confidence in their ability to follow no matter the consequences. So my plan is to take a deep breath, repeat the psalmist’s message to myself and grab my raincoat for my continued walk on the path of rejoicing.