Yesterday, in my post called "Forget Yourself," the idea was to slow down at least once a day, to pay attention to ordinary things, to what is happening in your own back yard, where Nature is doing what she always does, but most of us tend to miss it as we rush through our lives.
There was a context to that post that I did not share, which I want to write about now. I was waiting for the appropriate time, as you will see.
Last night at church we ended our three night Lenten mission with guest Paula D'Arcy. It was a mini-retreat in 3 evenings. And it was a wonderful experience.
Lent is a time for contemplation of one's life, for considering what you are doing, and where you are going, and for conversion of heart, bringing oneself back into alignment with what God calls us to become.
Paula didn't speak much about Lent directly. Instead, her three talks opened up the three aspects of the Pilgrim's Way, the walk we Christians take throughout our lives. The first is to Walk Humbly, knowing that we don't know, but trusting in the voice that guides us. The second is to Open our Hearts, to receive what God is giving to us, even when we experience disappointments and setbacks, when it isn't what we prayed for. And the third is to Let Go of what we are carrying, so that we can continue to walk into the mystery that is the Further Journey.
She talked about all of the above through the use of her own personal stories, stories of devastating loss and stories of incredible hope and love.
When the mission ended last night, each person I turned to in the church seemed beautifully dazed by what they had just experienced with our speaker. One person said, "How does she remember all of those stories in such detail? I can barely remember what I did yesterday."
In that comment, I believe we have one of the keys to living the Pilgrim Way. We need to start paying closer attention to our own life stories.
Paula herself gave us the formula:
Listen - God is with us always, speaking to us, offering Life to us. Paula said that He often comes to us in ways that we do not recognize. God comes in disguise, she said. Even in the midst of life's disappointments and disasters. We must learn to trust and to begin to listen to the "small voice" that is trying to break through.
Pay attention - Our own unfolding lives are books full of stories for us to read, to learn from, and to tell to others.
Slow down - And the only way to really do the first two ingredients, listening and paying attention, is to stop rushing through life.
Paula said that the love of God is flowing like an immense river through our lives, but we miss it. How can we be so blind?
The problem is that we are asleep, spiritually speaking, most of the time. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus tells us to stay awake, to watch, and to pray.
But for most of us, this is exceedingly hard to do. Thus the famous passage: "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
So my prayer this Lent, for myself and for you, is to grow in mindfulness of the Pilgrim Way that we walk throughout our lives. Practice the three-part discipline of Listen, Pay Attention, and Slow Down. Start to pay closer attention to the stories of our lives. Look for the God who comes in disguise, and listen to His voice.
Paula told one story about meeting a spiritual guide who shocked her with this question, "What are you becoming?"
Lent is a great time to ponder this question.
Posted by Terrence Seamon on Wednesday March 14, 2012
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