It seems that our beautiful Ash Wednesday has turned into a drizzly second day of Lent. The life-giving rain is feeding my garden, relieving me from watering and giving me time to write! As I sit in prayer this morning, I envision our world returning to order…perhaps a new sense of order…as we move through this time of adjustment brought about by a global pandemic. I trust that each of us is finding a way to whatever comes next for our personal lives and experience. And in doing so, we create the next-yet-to-be for our world. In my morning prayers, I continue to know for each of us an unshakable Faith and committed Willingness to let go of what no longer serves our lives or the life of our planet AND a wholehearted and Grace-filled movement into greater Love, Compassion, Peace, Generosity, Freedom, and Abundance! I let it be here, I let it be now, I let it be…Amen.
As we approach this time of reflection, of considering what is serving our experience of life and what is not so that we might begin the process of letting go, I have offered the opportunity to look at our individual world views. I trust that this was an insightful exercise for those who engaged. Today I would like to introduce a topic, also presented by Fr. Richard Rohr and Patrick Boland in their book Everything is Sacred: 40 Practices and Reflections on the Universal Christ. I will mostly summarize their ideas, adding to them from my own experience and study.
As we move through life, it is natural that we change and grow through many cycles of development. Common to each cycle of change is a process that moves us from order to disorder to reorder. In other words, here I am, just living my life. Everything seems pretty easy, pretty normal. Every day is pretty predictable, nothing out of the ordinary. I am maintaining an illusion of control and I like it that way. Let’s call this order. Then, out of the blue, I turn on the news and the reporter is talking about a global pandemic. It seems that it is extremely contagious, people are dying. Within a day or two, a mandate has been given – businesses are shutting down, and each of us is to stay within the confines of our homes until further notice. Suddenly I am in the grip of fear and the unknown. Wow! I didn’t see this coming…none of us could have. Let’s call this disorder. Now, almost a year later, we have had the time and opportunity to adapt, to reflect on our lives, to contemplate what this means to us personally and to our world. We are changing in big ways and small, so that we might return to whatever a normal life will look like moving forward. Let’s call this reorder.
In the Appendix II of his book The Universal Christ, Fr. Richard Rohr refers us back to one of the world views that we addressed yesterday. “Even inside an incarnational worldview, we grow…through a usually painful and seemingly unnecessary disorder.” Patrick Boland, in their companion book Everything is Sacred, says “Although the incarnational worldview teaches us about this pattern of spiritual transformation, our lived experiences of loss and disorder are still difficult for our psyche to embrace. It often takes many cycles of loss before we begin to accept this ‘down-then-up’ pattern of spiritual transformation.” I agree that this tends to be our pattern of spiritual development. But does it have to be that way? I don’t think so.
I recall one of my first spiritual teachers, speaking from the podium on a Sunday, saying these words: “You will either grow through inspiration or desperation…you choose.” I have found this to be absolutely true. Unfortunately, most of the time we seem to wait until desperation strikes before we are moved from our comfortable place of order. What is the old adage…comfort is a deep hole? Rather than staying actively engaged in psychological, emotional, and spiritual growth, consciously and willingly moving through the stages of life with more and more wisdom emerging from our purposeful intention (let’s call this inspiration), we settle in, get a little too comfortable. Inevitably, because by our very nature we are evolving beings, disorder strikes and we are moved to re-engage.
The Lenten Season is a time when we are invited to consider inspiration as our path of growth. Why wait for disorder to shake our lives? Why not begin the process today? In Unity’s 2021 guide, Release and Renew: A Spiritual Practice for Lent 2021, Rev. Sandra Campbell invites us to “Release any belief in limitation,” and “renew (our) sense of possibility.” We have been talking a lot about the Infinite Intelligence and Possibility that is Spirit. What might It have for us if we were to surrender to Its inspiration and expression? As we begin to reflect on the things we are allowing to limit us, and on the possibilities that could exist instead, let us be inspired to step into disorder (if necessary), and to allow Divine Guidance to lead us to whatever our next Highest Ideal has to offer, bringing re-order, a new way of being that is more Loving, Compassionate, Joyful and Free than ever.
Know that today and always, I am here to support you.
Know that today and always, the Christ Light shines within you.
May we be well…know our unity…and thrive! And…
May we know the Absolutely miraculous nature of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day!
