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flexibility, let go let God, plans, spiritual practice, tension, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
This morning I sit waiting for the snow/sleet/rain that has been predicted. Nothing is happening outside and there is no sound except one mourning dove and a small cheeping bird of some kind. I am supposed to leave in an hour to be part of a work detail helping friends to pack up dishes and other belongings in preparation for a move to a new home. It’s one of those days when everything could be tinged with tension if we go ahead with the plan, knowing that the return home could be difficult because of slippery roads. Why not wait until tomorrow when there will be clouds but no precipitation expected? But we had this plan…
Flexibility is so easy for some people and so difficult for others. I credit spiritual practice for any melting of rigidity in my life; letting go usually means letting God do the deciding. You must have heard that phrase: Let go and let God, yes? Easy to say but sometimes difficult to achieve. If we start with the little things, however, like allowing a schedule change when an alternative presents itself without a problem, we can learn to deal with the bigger things with less distress. Staying in touch with God is key.
Last evening we sat, a group of 12 seekers, to begin what is the last in a series of events that have taken place over the last six years in different places in the Northeast United States. We call them “Wisdom Schools.” Drawn first by the work of our teacher Cynthia Bourgeault to delve into the Wisdom Tradition of Christianity, we have joined an ever-growing network of people who choose spiritual practice as a discipline for deepening our living. Explaining how that happens, we admit, is something difficult to do and generally only seen in retrospect. We will spend the next three days “swimming in that sea” and hope to go home ready to meet the challenges of our everyday lives with more determination and willingness because of having been together.
As the days of September slip away too quickly, I am trying to find a rhythm that will make me feel as if I am living the days in the best way I can. Turning for help from Sister Joan Chittister in her book Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, I found the following familiar story that made me smile but also gave me a practical reminder.
At the retreat center where I am privileged to live, we are in the midst of our “high season.” Every weekend we welcome people of diverse beliefs and religious traditions who come seeking to deepen the spiritual content of their lives. Thus, the simple but appropriate name of this place: The Spiritual Center. It is not only those who come as participants to the programs we offer who are changed in some way or newly committed to spiritual practice. The presenters and we ourselves know the value of what is transacted here, most often in the brief space of a weekend.
Today’s lectionary offers us the shortest of psalms for response to the first reading. Ancient Songs Sung Anew gives a good idea for a spiritual practice using this text, saying that since it is one of the most universal in its meaning, “it could rightly be said by almost any person from any nation on earth.” Here’s the psalm, the challenge and the rest of the commentary.
Today is one of those days that does not have a schedule. Don’t think I mean there is nothing to accomplish! Rather, there are no appointments in my calendar and no set time to do anything except respond to what steps up and asks to be next in line for completion. I know there is a trip to the bank and the grocery store to be accomplished and some more work on the workshop soon to come. There are phone calls and e-mails and laundry…You see how the day is likely to go. This is the perfect set-up, however, for the spiritual practice of living in the moment and letting go in response to what is asked of me. I have no way of achieving every task that is floating on my virtual list so my first task is making a determination to expect nothing except to be in the flow of the day. Proceeding from that center, I know that at bedtime God and I will be pleased with the result.
Again yesterday I was reminded of the importance of spiritual practice but this time that message came in a group gathering. Five of the seven members of our “practice circle” who were able to be present came together in Estelle’s lovely living room for what has become an increasingly important monthly meeting. As we first checked in with present events in our personal lives – some painful or difficult – we also expressed our gratitude for the sunshine and promise of spring (regardless of the 25 degree temperature and mounds of snow outside!) as well as our enthusiasm for being together.
When I was leaving the kitchen with my coffee this morning, one of my housemates asked, “What today’s blog topic?” My answer was as simple as it was true: “I won’t know till I get back upstairs.” So up I came. I sipped my coffee. I looked out the window. I wondered about a lighthearted line or two from the Sufi poet Hafiz. I read Alan Cohen’s entry for this date…Nothing felt right.
Today is the feast of Teresa of Avila. Because it is Sunday, always a “first class feast,” we don’t hear about Teresa this year. I find it difficult to let it go by, however, without some mention of this woman who is one of only four women thus far in the history of the Roman Catholic Church to achieve the title of “Doctor of the Church.” Sister Teresa was a mystic, but also very active, tireless in her work of reforming the Carmelite order of nuns in the 1500’s in the most rigorous – some thought too extreme – way. Her writings were extensive and her spiritual practice was constant, although for many years she suffered many physical illnesses and a deprivation of any spiritual consolation. She never despaired, even in the face of investigation by the Inquisition, and her writings are considered one of the great treasures of Christian mysticism.
The prayer we know as “The Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father” can be found in two of the four canonical gospels – Matthew and Luke – and, although translations vary, the wording of the two is virtually the same. What differs are the verses that follow. Luke, chapter 11, gives an example of what Jesus meant by telling a story. Today we have Matthew’s version which tells people how they are to act when doing spiritual practice – not looking gloomy and neglecting their appearance so people know they are fasting, etc. (That always makes me smile as I know how easy it is to moan to let others know when I am in pain from some small injury or distress…). I noticed something in between Matthew’s directives this morning, however, that surprised me and made me wonder if I will ever have a new thought that doesn’t touch on our relationships in today’s world situation. (See the past few entries of this blog.)
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 