Food for the Soul | February 10th, 2021
2/10/2021
Dear Friends,
Quo Vadis? (Latin for Where are you going? Does anybody remember the very very old movie Quo Vadis?) The movie is not the topic here, only the question, ‘Where are you going?’ is.
I recently participated in a workshop led by Mark S. Burrows, a poet, author, translator, and theologian, about Ripening, as seen through the eyes and words of wisdom poets. I love the word ‘Ripening’ instead of ‘aging.’ Many of the beautiful poems we read and discussed described life as a journey. Some posed the question, ‘what is the goal or destination of the journey?’, but the poets never arrived at a concrete answer. The answer was mostly that the journey itself is the destination. An interesting paradox, but so true. It is very intertwined with the other oft-asked question: What is the meaning of life?
When we look back on our lives we can stop at various milestones we passed along the way and see them as temporary destinations; these were often not real goals we had put in front of ourselves but they became such when we arrived at them and now reflect on them from a backwards looking vantage point. Our life itself is a path and we don’t know where it will lead us. We choose our steps carefully following the compass of our hearts and trusting the path will take us to a good place. When Jesus said to his first disciples ‘Follow me’ they had no idea where Jesus was going. Eventually it became clear that the path to follow is that of transformation.
The poem below speaks of a thread that we hold on to for dear life. We never give it up. It provides the continuity of life. I am inclined to say that the thread represents our true self which is changeless. Yet as we walk on our journey, outside events and phenomena have an impact on us and the path we follow, and have the capacity of transforming us without ever letting go of the thread. I invite you to reflect on your own life journey.
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PRAYER
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that
I think I am following your will does not mean
That I am actually doing so. But I believe that
The desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from
that desire. And I know that if I do this you will
lead me by the right road, though I may know
nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you
always though I may seem to be lost and in
the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you
are ever with me, and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude
PRACTICE
We have now passed a one-year milestone on our journey in a Covid-19 infused world. What impact has it had on your life? What changes do you notice in yourself? What have you learned on the way? I invite you to write in your journal on these thoughts.
And for some breathing practices (from An Introduction to the Self Salutation, by Simon Timm):
With every fiber of my conscious being, I call forth a state of complete acceptance of my life situation at this point in time.
Here and now, I release my tight insistence that things go my way.
With all my heart, I call forth the part of me that trusts in the flow of life.
I summon the deepest state of acceptance that I’m capable of manifesting at this point in time.
With every inhale, I fill myself with strength to let go.
With every exhale, I release whatever I am holding onto that does not benefit me.
POEM
The Way It Is
William Stafford
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.