Kindness

Tags

gift, goodness, kindness, love, Spirit

Kindness is soft and strong.  It is accepting of where people are and who they are.  It does not judge, but instead respects thoughts and emotions.  It acknowledges the good, the bad, the easy, the hard.  When shown kindness, a person feels safe, is healed, is accepted.  Kindness shows that one is listened to and heard.  Kindness is generous.  It can also be fierce! (‘Because I love you …’).  Kindness sometimes means being vulnerable and risking the loss of things or people.  A gift of kindness can mean loss while also delivering the most incredible peace.

Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit of God.  It is an expression of grace and a means by which we can love one another and get along together giving us a real experience of dwelling with God and each other.  Kindness feels warm, refreshing and sustaining.  It often brings with it a strong sense of being valued and belonging.

Kindness looks like the Good Samaritan; the person who understands what it means to love God, love themselves and love others (their neighbours).  When Christ’s listeners asked ‘Who is my neighbour?’ (i.e. Who should I be kind to?), Christ answered with the story of the Good Samaritan and a question, ‘Which person in the story do you think was a neighbour?’

Kindness is often recognized by actions and sometimes magnified by attending to the small intricate things in the life of another.  Developing a kind thought-life and affirming others with kind words are also important expressions of love.  Other virtues that accompany kindness include generosity, integrity, steadfastness and compassion.  We should be able to receive kindness as well as give kindness and it should be a virtue devoid of superiority or inferiority.  Self-righteousness, selfishness and judgementalism oppose and hinder kindness.  Kindness can be used as an agent of change when we ask the question: ‘How can I bring kindness, love, grace into this awkward (or challenging, or volatile) situation?’

Why be kind? Because our God is kind.

The Hebrew sacred text says,

‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’ (Jer 31:3)

The story of Ruth as told in the bible is full of kindness and in Colossians we are instructed to be kind:

‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.’ (Col 3:12-14)

Shalom, and may we remember to consider the Lovingkindness of God often (Psalm 107:43) and not conceal it from others (Psalm 40:10).

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Peace

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Christ, love, peace, shalom, well-being, wholeness

Peace is something we all want, even if it is amongst an adrenaline-filled pacy existence.  As our lives are filled with appointments, visual stimulation and stress, we become aware of our essential need for calmness alongside our busyness.  Is this a possibility?

In English, the word peace implies a rather passive picture of the absence of disturbance or hostilities.  It conjures up pictures of a personality free from internal and external strife.  However, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom and this word has a much fuller meaning.  It rests heavily on the root slm which means to be complete or to be sound.  It speaks of wholeness, of life, of health.  It refers to right relationship between two parties or people.  The word, shalom, implies prosperity, success, fulfillment and victory over our ‘enemies’.  It refers to things that are quite disparate, like wellness of body and an absence of war.  Encompassing so much meaning in the nature of the word, shalom is as complete a word for well-being as we could find.

In Jewish communities, shalom was (and still is) used in both greetings and farewells.  It is meant to act as a blessing on the one to whom it is spoken: ‘May your life be filled with health, prosperity and victory’.  And what a wonderful blessing that is!

Some Christian gatherings include a time when people pass the peace to each other. When I first came across this small ritual, I panicked.  I had no idea what it meant; whether I had peace to pass, who I was suppose to pass the peace to if I did have peace to pass, how many people I could pass the peace to before I would risk being left with none?  I jest a little.  Passing the peace in a church simply involves shaking another person by the hand and saying ‘peace be with you’ and they reply ‘and also with you’.  This greeting is also founded on the word shalom and affirms the Christian belief that Christ has established a pure shalom between Yahweh (god) and humans through His living, dying and rising experience.  In believing and receiving Christ, each person is given friendship with Creator and an eternal shalom.  This speaks of a well-being freely given based on grace and faith instead of good works or rule-keeping.

When shalom is used as a verb , it conveys both a static and a dynamic meaning; to be complete or whole or to live well.  This implies that it is both a state of being (a gift given to us) and a state of doing (a gift received by us).

Now that I am totally overwhelmed by the beauty, generosity and love contained in the meaning of this word,  I must sincerely pass shalom to each one of you:

‘Shalom’.  

And may we all have the courage and humility to receive it.

At the cross-roads

Tags

direction, discernment, faith, Lost, pathway, wisdom

I was thinking about this again today…

God and me

We were recently on a car rally where we were sent around some beautiful countryside, navigating with the aid of a tulip diagram. These are simple schematic images of how an upcoming intersection will appear. Of course, the 3-dimensional reality is spectacularly different from this simple line drawing and so there is a challenge in first recognising the intersection and second navigating through it.

People sometimes talk about “being at the cross-roads” as if they have magically arrived at some moment in their life where they are faced with a clear cut decision. A decision that is a significant change or where they can choose to keep going along the current path. I think that life is seldom like that. Decision points can build gradually, or they can sneak up on you, or they can arrive suddenly and demand an immediate response.

Perhaps the most “cross-roads” like moments are when you are…

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Of Wonder and Worship

Tags

consciousness, cosmos, creation, God, universe, wonder, worship

I was reading recently an article that discussed the insistence of Ignatius that we give God reverence.  The author was uncomfortable with how this might be lived out until he learnt that the correct translation of the term “reverence” from the Spanish was to include a happy consciousness of the divine and an awe suffused with love – which really sounds quite delightful!

Creation often draws wonder and awe, even from those who would claim to be atheistic, agnostic or non-spiritual.  Such is its magnitude, complexity, beauty and ingenuity that few of us are left unmoved when immersed in it or when taught about its mysteries.

One of the capacities of the human brain that sets us apart from the “other” animals is our ability to wonder.  You don’t expect to see a dog gazing at a sunset in longing, or a bird captivated by a mountain range.  Clearly some part of our brain function has been set aside for wonder, and dare I say it, worship.

I know people who struggle with religion that prescribes worship of a Deity, regardless of one’s circumstances.  I think they see it as servile and not in keeping with how a Deity would want their creation to relate to them. Or perhaps they feel uncomfortable with its expression, such as singing, dancing or other physical actions. And yet I wonder how many of them have a profound wonder for the Universe and everything in it, and delights to understand how it works. To me, that is very close to Ignatius’ reverence and not too far off worship as well.

Blessings

Sacred moments

Tags

divine, kairos, moment, sacred, spirituality, Thin Places

Some time ago we talked about Thin Places – those times in life when you felt that you could “see through the veil” and have an awareness of the presence of a divine being. These can be special times as they help us along our journey. In recent times however we have been aware of Sacred Moments – those times that are like Thin Veil places but are even more specific for an individual. They may be short-lived or take some time. They may come without warning or be part of a searching process. They may be profound or hidden in the prosaic moments of life.

If you are privileged enough to encounter one you might be shown the vastness of the universe and yet paradoxically feel your uniqueness in that vast scheme. It can seem like, for an instant, the universe stopped its motion, just for you. These times can be difficult to understand and may not be easy to put into words, yet they are sacred to the individual.

Sometimes Sacred Moments are markers on the journey, helping you to see fresh paths or new directions. Sometimes they allow you to feel especially held at a time of personal doubt or grief. Sometimes they are just a gift to help you keep on track. Sometimes they simply defy description.

Perhaps one way to describe them is that the Seeker has found you. Oh, what a moment!

Acknowledging the divine within

Tags

divine, spirituality

“Namatse” is a greeting common among the Hindus of Southern Asia. It is typically spoken and simultaneously performed with a palms-touching gesture and it means “I bow to the divine in you”.

What a wonderful way to greet a friend or a stranger! A simple recognition that we are all capable of carrying something of the Divine within us.

While Christians believe that they have the Holy Spirit within them, those of the New Age believe that they are part of the Divine itself. However you view this particular aspect of theology, it is worth considering just how wonderfully made all living creatures are, and in particular, how blessed humans are as we are capable of being in touch with the Creator.

I find it changes my view of the people I meet if I try to see the Divine within them, if I see this particular encounter as being somehow inspired. It doesn’t happen often but when I think that way my antennae are awakened as we meet, I am primed for what the Divine may be revealing through this person.

And while we are looking for the Divine in others, perhaps we should even take a moment to “namatse” to ourself in the mornings!

At the cross-roads

Tags

discernment, faith, guidance, trust

We were recently on a car rally where we were sent around some beautiful countryside, navigating with the aid of a tulip diagram. These are simple schematic images of how an upcoming intersection will appear. Of course, the 3-dimensional reality is spectacularly different from this simple line drawing and so there is a challenge in first recognising the intersection and second navigating through it.

People sometimes talk about “being at the cross-roads” as if they have magically arrived at some moment in their life where they are faced with a clear cut decision. A decision that is a significant change or where they can choose to keep going along the current path. I think that life is seldom like that. Decision points can build gradually, or they can sneak up on you, or they can arrive suddenly and demand an immediate response.

Perhaps the most “cross-roads” like moments are when you are deciding on a course of study or considering your first job after leaving school. The choices can be quite clear cut and mutually exclusive and the moment of decision can be stark. After that, future decisions about vocations can start with a gnawing dissatisfaction or can be thrust upon you by retrenchment or sacking.

In a similar way, other life decisions can grow organically in your thoughts or can arrive “out of the blue”. Sometimes things can just feel right or can just feel wrong and you move into the decision with a hunch or intuition, other times you can decide quite objectively by weighing up the pros and the cons. Some of my friends claim they make their best decisions when under stress!

I sense my life is moving through a time of change and decision and I spend some contemplative time wondering about the type of changes ahead and the changes I would make if I could. In some way I hope that this prepares me for the process of change, with its grieving and its anticipation.

My time in communion with Creator helps me to consider life’s flow and the inevitable changes in direction that occur. I try to discern what are “good” choices and what may be for me stagnant paths. In that way I hope I am less surprised by what happens in life.

I hope you can seek and find guidance along your path.

Thin places

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Thin Places

‘Thin Places’ is a term that can be used to describe those moments in our lives when we are aware of the presence of some kind of divine being.  For me, these ‘moments’ come in the form of understanding that this moment is a part of my unique significance and destiny. Following the birth of each of my daughters, I experienced such ‘moments’.  There was a stillness, a sacredness, a knowing, a sense of timelessness, an experience of wonder and deep gratitude.  My body wanted to worship something/someone.  I was deeply moved and needed to say thankyou.  I felt held.  I wept.

This kind of experience is typical of how I respond to the ‘thin places’ in my life.  Other ‘moments’ that have provided these significant times for me include:

• Standing on a mountaintop surrounded by a sea of misty blue mountains.
• Lying in the arms of my lover after being consumed by passion and satisfied by such intense pleasure that I do not know (or care) where I am or who I am.
• Smelling the air in a forest with my eyes shut.
• Holding hands with someone else.
• Watching an attentive mother (or father) with a baby or a toddler.
• Leaning against a large tree, and stroking its bark.
• Lying face down with my nose in the grass on a warm spring day.
• Being in the Ocean.
• Watching animals

I hope you find rest and a ‘thin place’ this week.

Where to start?

Tags

practices, prayer, spirituality

So, you are interested in personal spirituality and don’t know how to start? Perhaps you are a little overwhelmed by the vast array of choices? From the tried-and-true to the ridiculous? You want to try something but feel foolish asking?

Why not start with a question to Creator/God/Goddess/One, and keep it simple. Then you can go to a local library and browse the life and religion section, which is right at the start of the Dewey Decimal numbering system. Grab a handful of books and flick through them until you see something that holds your attention. (I would use the Web as a last resort because the pages you are given tend to be the ones that are trying to sell you something, and there are lots of quacks and scams in this field). Talk to a friend or trusted mentor.

Then start practising moments of quietness. Switch off the distractions. And I mean OFF, not just on “silent”. Go for a walk, but with your eyes and ears open. Eat a meal alone and savour each mouthful. Pause whatever you are doing and just be you.

Start practising quiet, simple prayer. Words of gratitude, words of wonder, words of simple truth. Repeat your simple words rather than keep creating new ones. Keep it all very simple.

One book that I found helpful was Finding Sanctuary by Abbot Christopher Jamison. It is written by a monk but has a very broad and practical approach to spirituality. I am sure there are others.

I hope it goes well for you.