Tags
Arizona, Cynthia Bourgeault, experiences, faithful friend, Ordinary Time, Peru, return, shelter, Sirach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travel, Wisdom School
Here I sit, finally home again and happy to be. As I often think and sometimes say, I believe travel to be one of the best means of education. I’m sure it will take a long time for me to understand exactly how much I have learned from the people and the environments of Peru and Arizona over the past six weeks. How amazing that both of those experiences happened in such a short period of time and how wonderfully expressive of today’s first lectionary reading they both were.
In the Book of Sirach, chapter 6, we find that a faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; the one who finds one finds a treasure...and, as I read it this morning, faces flooded through my consciousness. The welcome of our Sisters in Lima and the joy of my longtime friend and traveling companion, Maryjean, created a virtually seamless and delightful dive into a very different culture in Peru. Several familiar faces from past Wisdom Schools became a comfort zone in the desert during this past week and the sharing with many seekers of deep spiritual truths whom I met for the first time bolstered my confidence that the world will indeed endure. To share such an experience under the tutelage of the extraordinarily gifted Cynthia Bourgeault is always a privilege – never more than in this experience.
Not the least notable were the moments of return, sitting in our living room with photos and attempts at recounting all the happenings as well as hearing what had happened in my absence. And there will be phone calls and meetings in the days ahead with the others who share the “ordinary time” of my life. In knowing all of this, I know too that I am most blessed with all those who make up the collage of my life.
Who makes you grateful to be living in this moment of time?
Today I sit staring at a blank page, feeling a bit empty, as happens sometimes on the Monday after an important holiday. While I was not counted in the millions of people who took to the road or the sky over the weekend to be with faraway relatives or friends (the return trip perhaps not concluded yet), the Thanksgiving holiday just concluded seemed to me to hold more energy than usual in the wishes of “Happy Thanksgiving!” shared sincerely among friends and strangers alike. Maybe we needed some distraction from all the distress of our country and the world that made us try harder to find the joy of sharing. Maybe it was just the slowing down and relaxing together that pervaded our household. Whatever the source, I feel the need to regroup today so that I will live consciously throughout the wonderful season of Advent leading to Christmas. As the world turns from another beginning to a conclusion marked by the calendar of feasting and celebrations, I am heartened and challenged by Thomas Merton’s words to wake up and get about this new day.
Half paying attention to Psalm 102 in today’s lectionary texts, I began to hear it in a familiar chant: O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer. When I call, answer me. O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord hear my prayer. Come and listen to me. As I was moving on to the gospel I finally came to consciousness with a two-pronged question: What are the things that I (usually) pray for? and does my approach to God take such a hurried (and seemingly demanding) tone? In one translation, the way the psalmist ends the prayer is that God answer speedily. I wonder how often my “Amen” is followed by “Thank you,” or if God needs to wait until the request is fulfilled to hear my gratitude.
I heard on the news last night that (if I remember exactly) 49.6 million Americans will be traveling during this Thanksgiving holiday week. I presume that means driving or flying somewhere, rather than walking down the block or across the yard. It’s always “iffy” at this time of year and with the weather of the past few days I’m sure there have been a lot of disappointed and/or frustrated folks on the highways and in airports. Then there are people like my sister who arrived from Pennsylvania yesterday as she wraps up a two-week “road trip” to visit friends in Virginia, Washington, DC and Maryland. She sat on Route 81 in Pennsylvania which had become a parking lot, waiting for only a bit less than an hour for a large boat to be resettled on its carrier. Not knowing what had happened up ahead, she sang at first with the music of her CD that was playing but then reached for the book next to her on the seat (an essential companion on any trip) until things got moving again.
I’m awake early today, making lists already for what I need to remember. I’m leaving later today for a week of travel that will place me at three different locations for three important conversations. It begins tomorrow at a reunion celebration with the women who arrived at St. Joseph’s Provincial House fifty years ago seeking to test a vocation to religious life. Some of us found that by God’s miraculous grace we stayed; others left us over the years to find their life’s purpose elsewhere. We will be happy to hear their stories tomorrow as we gather for ritual and sharing of a meal. By tomorrow evening I will be on a plane traveling half-way across the country to meet with other women. Eight of us have been privileged to be together several times over the past two years in prayer and purpose, designing processes for all of our Sisters (nearly 1,000 still) to discern a future that will see us as a smaller number but still strong to serve. Our efforts have been blessed by the participation of hearts and minds willing to jump in and speak to each other about vision, fears and fearlessness as we look ahead to a future that only God can know in the present. The end of my journey will bring me back East to New Hampshire by next weekend for different but just as worthy discussions. We six are the advisors to the trustee of our dear departed friend, Helen, whose gift of her fortune has facilitated the spread of “Wisdom Work” in the past four years to a degree that we could never have imagined. We have eight proposals to consider for the next calendar year, which may be the last. It was Helen’s desire that her money be dispersed within five years and it seems that she judged it correctly! Perhaps we may need to continue (and Helen’s wish was not a command). We won’t know until we sit together – again in prayer and deep conversation – to come to clarity on what projects are in keeping with her intent and vision.
I’ve been thinking lately, because of recent experiences in a number of situations, of the value of good conversation for deepening understanding and recognition of how similar we are, even in all our diversity. It wasn’t a surprise, therefore, when my copy of Turning To One Another, a book by Margaret Wheatley that I’ve had for years, showed up when I wasn’t looking. The book is subtitled “simple conversations to restore hope to the world.” This morning I read what might be a good reflection for those of us who are preparing to travel – near or far – during this Independence Day holiday time. Here’s some of what she said:
