Breathe then, as if breathing for the first time, as if remembering with what difficulty you came into the world, what strength it took to make that first impossible in-breath, into a cry to be heard by the world.
Your essence has always been that first vulnerability of being found, of being heard and of being seen, and from the very beginning, the one who has always needed, and been given, so much invisible help.
This is how you were when you first came into the world, this how you were when you took your first breath in this world, this is how you are now, all unawares, in your new body and your new life, this is the raw vulnerability of your every day, and this is how you will want to be, and be remembered, when you leave the world.
With gratitude to sister Amina for posting this in her Love, Harmony, and Beauty blog #104
Wake up early Get out of your way Don’t lock your doors Share what you have Don’t try to put the world back to the way it was Ask for help Complain less, love more Stay steady Trade, don’t steal Do what is obvious Take zoo animals back to their homes Tear down tall buildings Don’t be rich Don’t follow orders Make music without electricity Play without keeping score Get your hands dirty Work next to children Protect libraries Live lean Don’t worry about dying Pretend the air is God Feed the ground Pray into moving water Build temples in forests In the evenings tell good stories Give America back to the Indians Pay reparations, never enough Don’t make gunpowder Don’t be smug Love anyone you want Make things beautiful this time Add to this list
As I move through what Fr Richard Rohr has called the third half of life, I am deeply humbled and honored by my beloveds who call on me to hold the space and presence of the elder.
The most important lesson in that space is to remember we know nothing and to be open to new learnings with each breath and to hold each lesson, whether exciting or challenging, with deep gratitude.
The following quotes and practice from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations blog speak to that ripening.
“Old age, as such, is almost a complete changing of gears and engines from the first half of our lives, and does not happen without many slow realizations, inner calmings, lots of inner resistance and denials, and eventual surrenders. All of them by God’s grace work with our ever-deepening sense of what we really desire and who we really are.” —Richard Rohr
“]What looks like falling can largely be experienced as falling upward and onward, into a broader and deeper world, where the soul finds its fullness, is finally connected to the whole, and lives inside the Big Picture.” —Richard Rohr
“There is no more noble way to spend these years than to become an elder, to bear witness to the world as placeholders for peace, love, wisdom, and fearlessness.” —Kathleen Dowling Singh
“As we grow old we realize that, in all we have been through, Love has been using us for its own purposes. And for this we feel immensely grateful.” —James Finley
“The soul of the “grand” parent is large enough to embrace the death of the ego and to affirm the life of God in itself and others, despite all imperfections. Its spaciousness accepts all the opposites in life”. —Richard Rohr
Practice
I Will Sing a New Song
We invite readers to join theologian and mystic Howard Thurman (1900–1981) as he prays for the courage and ability to stay renewed over the course of his life:
The old song of my spirit has wearied itself out. It has long ago been learned by heart so that now it repeats itself over and over, bringing no added joy to my days or lift to my spirit. It is a good song, measured to a rhythm to which I am bound by ties of habit and timidity of mind. The words belong to old experiences which once sprang fresh as water from a mountain crevice fed by melting snows. But my life has passed beyond to other levels where the old song is meaningless. I demand of the old song that it meet the need of present urgencies. Also, I know that the work of the old song, perfect in its place, is not for the new demand!
I will sing a new song. As difficult as it is, I must learn the new song that is capable of meeting the new need. I must fashion new words born of all the new growth of my life, my mind and my spirit. I must prepare for new melodies that have never been mine before, that all that is within me may lift my voice unto God. How I love the old familiarity of the wearied melody—how I shrink from the harsh discords of the new untried harmonies.
Teach me, my Father, that I might learn with the abandonment and enthusiasm of Jesus, the fresh new accent, the untried melody, to meet the need of the untried morrow. Thus, I may rejoice with each new day and delight my spirit in each fresh unfolding.
I will sing, this day, a new song unto Thee, O God.
My wife keeps finding new books about relationships with bees. That’s what first drew me to this article. And his spiritual connection to bees is moving and profound. But I found much more to love and recommend you take the time to read it all.
For instance: “…
What I have seen is if you don’t follow your heart, you will regret it, because your mind is a coyote. It thinks it knows what it’s looking at, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. Even though the coyote tells a great story, he has no concern whether the story is true or not. He tells a good one, so we listen to it. But your heart is an eagle, and it operates on a whole different level. Eagles never experience the storm. They’re always flying above it. The storm is like a foreign concept to an eagle; it doesn’t worry about what’s happening down there. The eagle in our heart is not a good storyteller, but it always tells the truth. The truth is often simple, so the eagle doesn’t really talk much.
We spend a lot of time fretting over the past or imagining the future, and maybe we imagine to the point where we become anxious about it. Like, I got this appointment tomorrow, or I should have said something yesterday and I feel so bad. We live in the past or we’re thinking about the future, but what the rewilding part loves is this particular moment in time.”
It was behind a pay wall so I copied it in its entirety into a Google doc for all of you, my beloveds. However please don’t share it except with a small group of your own beloveds.
Maybe it’s just me, but this question posed by the inimitable Sufi poet, Rumi, truly resonates. And his poetic insights are spot on as we muddle through this “prison for drunkards.” As my teacher often quotes, “we’re all just bozos on this bus.” Enjoy.
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All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness began in some other tavern. When I get back around to that place, I’ll be completely sober. Meanwhile, I’m like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary. The day is coming when I fly off, but who is it now in my ear who hears my voice? Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul? I cannot stop asking. If I could taste one sip of an answer, I could break out of this prison for drunks. I didn’t come here of my own accord, and I can’t leave that way. Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.
This poetry. I never know what I’m going to say. I don’t plan it. When I’m outside the saying of it, I get very quiet and rarely speak at all. ~Rumi
It’s okay to be broken. It’s okay to not be where you thought you’d be right now, where you want to be. Truth is, nobody else is either, or at least most of us aren’t. It’s okay to be flawed. It’s okay to have blemishes. It’s okay to be beautifully imperfect. It’s okay to be human. The weavers always wove a mistake into their rugs to remind themselves only Creator is perfect. We are here to be refined, but to need refinement means first you are rough. Unpolished stone. Corners and bumps and cracks. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to acknowledge the pain the world has put you through. It’s okay to sit in the weight of it all and be “incapacitated.” Because within that brokenness is the stillness we need to honor our emotions. After they are truly and deeply honored, then they can be released and we can MOVE on. Thus stillness is sometimes the fastest pathway to true movement. Brokenness the fastest pathway to reassemblage and becoming whole. Don’t let the glitter and gloss fool you. When the lights go out and the night is quiet, we all fight our demons. We all struggle up our mountains. The trick is to see the beauty in the struggle, the beauty of our journey, however imperfect it can and will be. Stepping to the side of the path to rest does not mean you are giving up, it just means you are resting before you begin again. They are not asking us to be perfect. They are just asking us to try.
These quotes and practices from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations, are beautiful and germane to all of our hopes for change and provide the tools we need to keep working toward a more sane and equitable world.
“If you listen to the Spirit, you will be drawn toward an opportunity to serve. At first, the thought will frighten or repel you. But when you let the Spirit guide you, it will be a source of great joy—one of the richest blessings of your life.” —Brian McLaren
“The contemplative life is not, and cannot be, a mere withdrawal, a pure negation, a turning of one’s back on the world with its sufferings, its crises, its confusions, and its errors.” —Thomas Merton
Practice GRACE
Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax describes a method of collaborative discernment with, and on behalf of, others.
GRACE [is] an active contemplative practice. . . . GRACE is a mnemonic that stands for: Gather attention. Recall our intention. Attune to self and then other. Consider what will serve. Engage and end. . . .
Gather Attention: The G in GRACE is a reminder for us to pause and give ourselves time to get grounded. On the inhale, we gather our attention. On the exhale, we drop our attention into the body, sensing into a place of stability in the body. . . .
Recall Intention: The R of GRACE is recalling intention. We recall our commitment to act with integrity and respect the integrity of those whom we encounter. We remember that our intention is to serve others and to open our heart to the world. . . .
Attune to Self and Other: The A of GRACE refers to the process of attunement. . . . In the self-attunement process, we bring attention to our physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts—all of which can shape our attitudes and behavior toward others. . . . From this base of self-attunement, we attune to others, sensing without judgment into their experience . . . [and] engage our capacity for empathy. . . .
Consider What Will Serve is the C of GRACE. . . . . We ask ourselves, What is the wise and compassionate path here? What is an appropriate response? We are present for the other as we sense into what might serve them, and we let insights arise, noticing what the other might be offering in this moment. . . .
Engage and End: The first phase of the E in GRACE is to ethically engage and act, if appropriate. Compassionate Action emerges from the field we have created of openness, connection, and discernment.
Dear Amina recently posted this on her blog Love, Harmony & Beauty #99. It is a compelling statement from John O’ Donohue that reminded me of Kim Stanley Robinson’s quote I posted earlier, “…pessimism is a dereliction of duty…”
We can never be reminded enough of how important it is to remember our power and practices that allow us to continue our critical social and earth justice work in these profound and challenging times.
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The world is not decided by action alone. It is decided more by consciousness and spirit; they are the secret sources of all action and behaviour.
The spirit of a time is an incredibly subtle, yet hugely powerful force. And it is comprised of the mentality and spirit of all individuals together.
Therefore, the way you look at things is not simply a private matter. Your outlook actually and concretely affects what goes on.
When you give in to helplessness, you collude with despair and add to it.
When you take back your power and choose to see the possibilities for healing and transformation, your creativity awakens and flows to become an active force of renewal and encouragement in the world.
In this way, even in your own hidden life, you can become a powerful agent of transformation.
