Don't miss the splendor on your journey

Reading from Eve Eschner Hogan's work, "Way of the Winding Path - A Map for the Labyrinth of Life," I came upon these words - and I paraphrase a little - 

"Backpacking on the (island) of Kauai along a magnificent coast, I weaved my path toward the sacred destination eleven miles in the future.  After three days at the destination, I took a boat back along the shore and viewed my journey from a difference perspective.  I had missed all of the splendor of the journey because I spent the entire walk looking toward my destination, thinking about how much further until I was there, and counting the miles."

These words were such powerfully personal words to me today as I am striving to live every moment in the presence and not as it will be when I do this or that.  Entering one's late autumn (ha) one's early winter (?) years, looking back can be an incredible experience and exercise in seeing and realizing what blessed events I might have missed in my own life.  

I'm not going to lose sleep over those missed events but I do want to remember some of the most precious ones in my life and to simply treasure the events of this day as they unfold for me.  The blue sky - there is a teeny bit showing - the breeze making the spring day feel colder than it is, the squirrels drinking at the bird bath - assuring the birds that it's a squirrel possession rather than a bird hangout, with the birds ignoring the squirrels!  The peace and quiet of our home, often interrupted by the raucous barking of our two beloved dogs, and the good fortune of housekeepers who temporarily will upset the quiet as well later today.  The blessing of friends dropping by for tea and a chat, and my weekly brain-clearing spiritual formation group studying excerpts from Annie Dillard's, "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek."  The sight of my beloved busily transforming thoughts into sermons, blogposts, or letters at his computer or taking a snooze in his favorite chair......

These unheralded moments surrounding me are indeed mundane and too numerous to count but they bring me peace and God's love on a daily basis.  Would that I count these days as the splendor of my life no matter how small are inconsequential they might seem as I list them.

And you, do too many days pass when you don't count the splendor of routine, of your shelter, your transportation, your friends, your family.........please count them today for me and for you. 

Surprise

My reading for this week, so far, has involved scripture, a book about labyrinth journeys,  authors - Thomas Merton, John Baillie, Annie Dillard, Christine Valters Paintner, favorite bloggers, and 4 books currently on my Kindle. Chapters and quotes from these sources send my mind off smiling and pondering at the selections that, excuse the pun, seem to kindle my spirit's fire and bring my pen straight to journal pages. This popped onto the page this a.m.

Waiting, praying, hoping,wondering

When will I see, truly see

When will I know in my heart

and all my fragile being that your

Holy Spirit is present

Practicing, striving, yearning

for the revelation

for the wind on my skin

for the whisper in my ear

Continuing, questioning as a child-like disciple

Where's the evidence

Prove it to me

Or is this all just a waste of my time and energy

Oh God - I am so dense
Good morning
and must you always surprise me?!

STOP - is that love or control you're seeking?

Image via Wikipedia

If you read yesterday's post here at the MindSieve, you'll know that I included some eclectic bits of reading from my Lenten studies.  Couldn't resist sharing just one more with you today.  It's from "Way of the Winding Path - A Map for the Labyrinth of Life" by Eve Eschner Hogan.

p. 43 - "Remember, our true essence is love.  The problem here isn't the love, but rather the need to love and be loved.  While our souls are love, our egos misconstrue this and interpret love as an ego need, instead of just who we are.  The ego thinks that in order to love, it must approve of someone else.  In order to approve of someone else, they must behave the way we want them to.  In order to get them to behave the way we want them to, we must control them.  Suddenly our soul's desire to be itself - love - is  showing up as a need to control others.  Likewise, the ego thinks that in order to be loved, it must be accepted and receive approval from others, thus being loved suddenly turns into a need for approval."

Eve's sentence regarding in order for us to love, we must first approve, i.e, change or control - was such a stop sign for me.  Isn't it the way I, maybe you,  make friends, view the news, critique our fellow citizens, try to change those we love into what we want, how we want them to behave, how we expect them to view the world?  If the opposing political party or my neighbor doesn't agree with me, it's easy, I don't have to love or even like them (as other children of God) I can just demonize them and make myself believe that everything they say is stupid, hypocritical, inane, not worthy of hearing!  So simple!  Oh, that we could just give each other a chance in this world to really, really listen without formulating our reply while the other speaks..........our reply about how our way is so much better!

How 'bout you?  Do you think, along with me, that by just suggesting how our friends, our spouses, significant others, and/or our political opponents should speak, believe, or act, will make these persons more lovable or even likeable to you?  Will we change them one bit?  As self-observers, do you or I think we might have just a few "control" issues that are speaking out, begging us to pay attention to our own selves rather than everyone elses' selves?

I think I have a control issue, I should say, I know I have a control issue.  Sometimes I seem to act as though I know how to do everything and that is so NOT true!  Any of that ever show up in your lives?