I have returned from my six-week sabbatical. I am happy to be home and back to work. Several people have asked me if I had any revelations while I was away. I don’t know that I would call them revelations, rather conscious realizations of things I already knew and needed to be reminded of.
You may be
hearing more about one of more of these in my future blogs or Sunday messages,
but for now here are the highlights.
Nature has a
great deal to teach us if we pay attention.
You don’t need to go in search of yourself.
You are where you are. Does the tree ask, “Why am I
here?” or “Why am I not an oak instead of a
pine?” or “Why do I grow beside the water and
not in the middle of the forest? The tree does not question. The tree just is.
We can be like
the tree. We can choose to be right where we are without questioning why or how
or why?
I have spent a great deal of time and energy trying to figure out who I am, and all the time I am just me wherever I happen to be. I am just me. You are you, right where you are.
While it is helpful at times to step away from the daily routines of life, we can and will know ourselves best as we are willing to pay attention and honor our reactions and responses to everyday stimuli. As we become self-conscious, we can make informed conscious choices.
Being in nature can support us in connecting with God/Source/Life energy, but the sacred does not reside in nature. It is all around us all the time. We simply must stop and notice it. The realization of the sacred lives in us. As Jesus said in the Gospel of Thomas, “the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, but men do not see it.” Open your eyes. Open your heart!
Sometimes the past is best left there as it can corrupt the present. Be present for what is, rather than focused on what was or on what could have been.
I have heard that deep loss, such as the death of a loved one or serious illness changes people. Not always. We have to be willing and make the effort to change. It does not happen automatically.
Prior to this trip, I had considered whether I could possibly move back to the southeast after retirement. I discovered that the answer is 'NO!' While I am drawn to the verdant natural beauty there, I think that I would not adjust well to the conservatism, both religious and political, I observed and felt there.
I also learned that, while I enjoy my solitude, I have my limits. I think one week to ten days would suffice in the future.
I am extremely
grateful to have had this time for rest, renewal, reflection, and fun. I highly
recommend it for everyone. Whether it is six weeks, six days, six hours or six
minutes, I encourage everyone to take time to deeply connect with Spirit, self
and others. It has the power to change your life.
Thank you for sharing some of your insights, David. They remind me of my own conclusions at the end of a Christian history trip through Italy. I had stood in the chapel of St. Francis of Assisi, the jail that Peter was held captive in, and in front of some of the greatest pieces of Christian art ever created, such as Michaelangelo's Pieta. The minister who was leading the trip kept asking us "where do you feel closest to God?" as he was preparing his sermon for the Sunday following our return, to be titled "Thin Places," a term borrowed from Christian history scholar and mystic Marcus Borg. My answer was the same as yours; God is always present, inside and out. I felt the presence as much when I looked at the colourful laundry hanging between apartment buildings and in the faces of the elderly people sitting on their walkers in St. Peter's square as in the most beautiful, "sacred" places. I didn't need relics, sculptures, historical accounts or glorious music to be moved by the sacred. It is always within us. The minister was disappointed by my mundane conclusion. That helped me realize that there must be a place like USCD that taught insights that resonated with my own inner discoveries. I'm glad you are back to share more of your wisdom and insights. Welcome Home!
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