Dear TSJ Peeps,
Welcome to TSJ for another Wednesday moment (or two) where together we seek and find courage, compassion and wisdom for facing the dilemmas life brings.
Solomon has worked overtime this week and through both teaching and learning from SJ (our youth who is full of curiosity) and Lovey the Lamb (who just wants to be loved and feel safe) … Solomon has steadily and quietly been listened to.
I am the listener. As are you. We are listening for ways to be wise and be courageous. That means we listen to matters of the heart. The very word “courage” has its origins in Latin and French from the word for heart. And since life is moving at break neck speed for all of us, listening for heart songs and deep longings is often sorely neglected.
To top off our addictions to fast information, fast food, and fast fixes we also want to flourish without floundering. Or is it just me?
But life happens. People get sick. People lose jobs. People break bones. People die. People hurt our feelings. And people… well … people are “peeps” who both have and need shepherding even if it makes some of us wince at the word. It does not mean we are “like stupid sheep” (which Solomon winces at) but it does mean we are social creatures who share the need for a bounteous planet and a God/Shepherd always Present so we can feel safe like Lovey the Lamb wants, to be curious and explore like Solomon Junior (SJ) wants and to get the bigger picture of life here and beyond and find the inner peace that Solomon says we need to truly flourish.
So, yes, Solomon has been truly nudging me to listen and learn.
Today I awoke (as I often do) pondering unanswerable questions and noticing the vagaries of moods and thoughts. As much as anyone, I wish there were clearer answers on how to handle life’s dilemmas. I do know, however, there are strategies that help us.
And those strategies are different for each one of us. Reading, meditating and exercising all help me. Connecting with trusted people is crucial for gaining new perspectives and exchanging laughter, compassion, and tears helps unite us on the journey toward wholeness. Finally, practicing the attitude of gratitude for even the smallest of graces in our day is a boost to the heart and mind immune system. It staves off all sorts of unnecessary suffering. But avoiding our undesired emotions and challenges all together is neither helpful nor healing. I think part of the art of living well is learning to listen well…to God, people and nature and finding the courage and wisdom to take the next step.
This morning I read a Psalm (Psalm 107 -NRSV) which poetically and profoundly expresses the ups and downs of the human journey. The writer’s strongest message is of giving thanks for deliverance from our many troubles. So the poem starts out with the gratitude strategy: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.”
What a good way to start to a day. Remembering that the Shepherd’s love endures... and forever! Then the writer lists all sorts of calamities of soul and mind people experience, still singing constant reminders to be thankful for deliverance. But one of the verses read, “…their courage melted away in their calamity…” and I felt that.
Sometimes it does seem our courage melts away in our calamities! But because of the Presence of steadfast and enduring Love we have a Source of strength that helps us find courage in our calamities. The Psalmist ends with , “Let those who are wise give heed to these things [we are held in our storms], and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.”
Finally, I want to share with you a quote from a book I am enjoying: Seven Thousand Ways to Listen Staying Close to What’s Sacred by Mark Nepo:
…”As a seed buried in earth cannot imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt or a mind filmed over with despair imagine itself loved or at peace. The courage of the seed is that, once cracking, it cracks all the way. To move through the dark into blossom is the work of soul.”
So on this, our day for bits of wisdom, let’s allow our hearts to crack a little open with gratitude and compassion for the processes life puts us through. Then we truly can discover courage, compassion and wisdom on our path to wholeness.
Solomon is smiling again.
