Hello TSJ Peeps!
I hope you are enjoying your summer. I am enjoying my new home and wonderful neighbors. I am experiencing much kindness and care here. More than I can say or even return adequately. But it is what our shared journey truly is about. Neighborliness and kindness seem to be synonyms.
Still, the days are flying by, leaving me wistful and nostalgic. Wistful for more time to experience life fully and accomplish my to-do list and nostalgic for times past.
Truthfully, every so often, I try to slow time down by slowing me down. While Solomon constantly says this is one of my wiser moves, it is like trying to hold onto something very slippery.
So this morning, as I sat on my back patio having my “sip it and zip it” time with God … thinking about my new home and neighbors and relationships … the sounds of August burst forth. That is when I became aware of feeling unsettled.
I noticed myself lingering between two mental worlds…the world of what was … and … what is. I wonder if this isn’t a common condition of any kind of grief or loss. I texted my beloved sister (a long time blessing and bridge between both worlds for me and, John, a more recent blessing).
The in-between space of “what once was” and “what now is” can be good to visit but not a place to linger for long. Why? Because it can be precarious, like standing with one foot on the dock and one foot on the boat. I know, because I have done that lately.
If I have one foot in each place I risk losing balance and plunging into the yucky weedy water between boat and dock – surely a consequence that wastes time and does more than hurt my dignity.
As vacations or seasons show signs of speeding by I think it is common to feel wistfulness, even sadness. And as I age and having lost Tom, I am increasingly aware of the cycles of our human journey.
So how can we deal with our unsettled states of mind?
It is okay to feel “both-and” feelings, but how do we move through them?
This week, my spiritual curriculum seems to have offered a lesson started by acts of kindness from my neighbors. I pondered the larger meaning of what being a neighbor means.
I was reminded of a biblical story with the question “Who is my neighbor?” (from Luke 10) posed to Jesus by a learned Jewish lawyer who was apparently hoping to avoid dealing with his prejudices against the Samaritans (outcasts).
He asked Jesus two questions…both of which are age old….and worthy of consideration even for us.
First, question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
I love that Jesus addressed him with dignity and respect for his knowledge and profession and counter questioned, “What is written in the law?”
It was common for Jesus to answer questions with unsettling questions.
The lawyer responded with what I need to remember when feeling unsettled, the to-do list is still long, time flies and I am discouraged.
He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus’ answered: “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”
Wow. This alone is a show stopper for me. What does it mean to live, to truly live? Starting now . . . in this moment.
But the lawyer (still wanting to justify himself) asked his second question, “Who is my neighbor?”
Here we see the second common teaching style Jesus used… story telling.
What follows is a story he told of a man beaten and wounded by robbers and left at the side of the road. He was was overlooked or ignored by a priest and a Levite (both considered righteous and respectable, likely very busy too) but was treated kindly, tangibly, and with sacrifice by one of “those people”… a Samaritan. An outcast.
Then Jesus asked another question. “Which one do you think was a neighbor to the man…?.”
The expert in the law said, ‘The one who had mercy.’
Right again. And Jesus adds, “Go and do likewise.”
This week, I have been the receiver of mercy from neighbors who have done things I have not had time nor correct equipment to do. They sacrificed their time, energy and tools for me on very hot days.
Yesterday, I spent the morning in the city of Rochester at the Social Security Office.
John took me, fortunately, but as he and I were figuring out how to get our parking ticket a man gave us a free one and would take no money. It saved us some time and we were blessed. Our first “good Samaritan.”
Then we met other people who are marginalized by society who also were truly “Good Samaritans” to me.
The place was mobbed with sweaty humanity. I was confused about where to go. And people who clearly did not have appointments were there with kids, babies and a very long wait ahead, helped me know where to go and what to do.
The security men were amazing too. They used humor and showed many acts of kindness to people, including me.
So, if you are in any kind of an in-between mental space, I hope you can remember these two most important life-strategies for well being: loving God with all we are and passing it on to one another. We are all each other’s neighbors at TSJ.
The boys and Sigmund all agree: We have all we need to “seize the day.” (Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society – 1989).
Margie
