How often do just the right words land in front of you? "Just what I need" words.
This week that seems to be the case for me.
#1
Use what you have, use what the
world gives you. Use the first day
of fall: bright flame before
winter's deadness; harvest;
orange, gold amber cool nights
and the smell of fire. Our tree-
lined streets are set ablaze,
our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples
bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg,
cider, warmth itself. The leaves as they spark into
wild color just before they die are the world's oldest
performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one
last violently hued hurrah before the black and white
silence of winter.
Shauna Niequist
Now, I love fall and I love winter too, and rejoice in the glories of both seasons, but this quotation reminds me that whatever the season, I have what I need, as long as I am awake to what is around me and am open to use what the world offers.
#2
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:14
Re-entering the work of revising my manuscript has been difficult (!) since returning from our road trip, but these words, which concluded the reading of the First Lesson on Sunday, reminded me that my goal of writing a spiritual memoir is a response to the call of God. Later that day I heard writer, teacher, and writing coach, Elizabeth Jarret Andrew say "God continues to create through my life," and I felt myself open again to this long and complicated and often arduous process.
#3
...our own path is for us alone to explore. We have
gifts to offer that no one else can offer in quite the
same way and so we are called for our own sakes and
for the sake of the world. The more we awaken to our
deep self (the place within where God dwells), the
more we bring that to the collective energy of
awakening consciousness of our fragile planet.
Christina Valters Paintner
These words encourage me to examine the energies I may be neglecting to share with others and also to take time to use my energy in ways that both nurture the person I was created to be and to support the people and causes that matter most to me.
#4
Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater
our integrity and awareness, the more original
and creative our time will become.
John O'Donohue
Yes, I know this to be true.
Teachers and lessons, encouragement and clarity abound if we open to and integrate them. I know this to be true, too.
An Invitation
What words have spoken to you recently. I would love to know.
If you read my previous post, you will know how enamored I am of Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache books, http://www.louisepenny.com/index.html including her most recent one, The Long Way Home. Good fiction is not just about a plot that carries you along or characters who interest you or a setting that makes you want to buy a ticket or get in your car. Good fiction also imparts wisdom; words and ideas that make you think and even examine your own way of living. With each succeeding book in the mystery series by Penny there seems to be more food for thought, more reason to pause and reflect.
In this first week of September, which always feels like a new beginning to me, as perhaps it does for you, I offer you some words of wisdom from Penny's books, and invite you to reflect on their meaning for your life.
Chief Inspector Gamache recites the following four statements to all his new agents as a pathway to wisdom.
I don't know.
I was wrong.
I'm sorry.
I need help.
Try saying these statements aloud. How do you feel as you hear yourself saying them? Is one harder to say than another? When was the last time you said and truly meant one of these statements and what happened when you did?
Think about your life right now. Is there someone in your life who needs to hear one of these statements from you? Is there a situation in your life that could change in a positive way if one of these statements was sincerely and genuinely expressed? Who is waiting for the next step from you?
Think about a time when someone has looked you in the eyes and said one of those statements or written a letter saying, "I was wrong," or "I am sorry." How did that feel? Even if the words didn't wipe a slate clean or make whatever was damaged, repaired, did you feel some measure of healing? At least an intention of healing?
One thing each of these statements has in common is the first word: "I." It is not enough to say "sorry," especially when the hurt is deep or the offense is serious--even if you don't know what the big deal is. What needs to be said and known is "I am sorry." Even though the statement begins with "I" and might seem to glorify the ego, the opposite seems more the case. When we say "I was wrong," for example, we become "freed from the imprisonments that keep us in exile from the true heart of another." (The Rebirthing of God, Christianity's Struggle for New Beginnings by John Philip Newell, p. 55) http://heartbeatjourney.org/j-p-newell/ These statements can be representative of "dying to the way in which our ego, both individual and collective, tries stubbornly to be in charge, rather than faithfully letting go to the Self who is within all selves." (p. 113)
Our six year old grandson Peter often says, easily and casually, when you ask him a question, "I have no idea." Not knowing is not a source of embarrassment to him nor does he worry we might think he is weak or stupid. He simply doesn't know, and he doesn't try to fake knowing. He admits it, and we move on. I hope he will retain that ability to be so open, but life seems to teach us to cover up, to hide behind a facade of false self-assurance. Sometimes we don't even know what we don't know. I have no idea!
Inspector Ganache's words of wisdom remind me of four other statements to live by:
Please forgive me.
I forgive you.
Thank you.
I love you.
Ira Byock, M.D., http://www.irabyock.org an authority in palliative and end-of-life care, offers these statements in his book The Four Things That Matter Most, A Book About Living. These are words, Byock maintains, that can mend and nurture our relationships and our inner lives and help us get through the unpredictability of daily life.
Four statements. Eleven words.
An Aside: At the book talk where Louise Penny spoke recently, she said that along with her husband saying, "I love you," the most important words he ever said to her was when she was struggling with the decision to quit her job and begin writing full-time. He said, "I support you."
Just imagine if we each integrated Gamache's and/or Byock's words of wisdom into our daily lives as our spiritual practice or our rule for life. As we maneuver through the rough spots, the times when we feel out of control or too in control, imagine those words sitting lightly within always available when needed. Just imagine what could happen if we set aside our ego and met one another heart to heart.
An Invitation
What has your experience been with any of these statements? Is there a time you wish you had made one or more of these statements or when you wish someone had expressed them to you? What can you do about it now? I would love to know.
