Month: August 2017

These two virtues can be summarized by the phrase:

“Things are to be used, people are to be loved”

Self Indulgence and inordinate attachment to things often leads to  sadness, loneliness, and boredom.

Temperance is having the proper balance in the use of things , and Detachment is the ability to hold lightly the goods that we receive without inordinately clinging to them.  These two virtues are not easy to acquire or keep.   It is a lifelong battle, but one that is worth never giving up on.  Two steps forward and one stop back. It is a constant struggle for self control and spiritual maturity, but without it, there is no peace and joy.

If we seek first comfort and pleasure, and try to grasp them tightly, the peace and joy that we are really seeking, will slip through our grasp.

Our culture confuses peace and joy with comfort and pleasure. There is a big difference!

Fear is perhaps the biggest obstacle to love because it holds us within ourselves. Fear is a form of clinging to a false security and and identity.

Love is a self emptying. It requires a leap into the unknown, with no guarantee of safety. It is like being tied to the mast of a ship that is sinking, but sinking into fullness. Ultimately it is a gift, a grace that fills us up just when we feel we have reached the end of ourselves.

Our separation from God is an illusion, our vulnerability is an illusion. We are safe in the Father’s hands. And yet we are still afraid.

It is the ego and the false self that make us so vulnerable. It takes courage to let them die.

We are all born into a battle. Our thoughts and habits are the chief battleground. The best defense is a good offense. If we choose which thoughts we will hold onto and let the others pass by we are on the offensive. If we hold to our good habits even when the going gets tough, we are on offense. However, the moment we start entertaining our fears and negative thoughts, we are in retreat and on the defensive. Our habits will soon follow our thoughts and then our defenses become further weakened and we find ourselves out in the open and vulnerable. If we are surrounded by good friends and we are open with them, then we still have a great defense, even out in the open field of battle.

So it comes down to the thoughts we chose, the habits we form and the friends we keep.

Can I take my fatigue, and sense of powerlessness and just let that be my prayer? No words, no concepts, just let the felt weakness be the doorway, the entrance in.

If I am called to transformation and a higher state of awareness and service to others, it will not come by escaping my situation or dreaming or wishing for a different circumstance. It is making use of “what is” that reveals the path. When your limitations become a prayer, and your happiness is grounded in just being, rather than doing, and your guilt and regrets dissolve into gratitude, then you know the “Kingdom of God is within You”

I love to look into my dog Holly’s eyes and talk to her. Of course if I want to have a dialog then I have to answer for her.

It goes something like this:

Me:
“What’s it all about ?   Do you feel any sense of purpose and meaning?”

Holly:
“I want to eat, sleep, and be with you”

Me:
“Is there anything else you want?”

Holly:
“Nope. I am here to be with you”

There is something deep and rich about the humble loyalty of a dog.

What if I were so humble and so available to others?

What if I could truly say that —

“Life is not about me, I am about life”
(unknown)