“Mem’ries light the corners of my mind…”
The appeal of revisiting happier, simpler, more peaceful times remains strong in all of us even if we are not nostalgic by nature. Those we have loved dearly and who have dearly loved us live on in our hearts becoming a place of refuge and solace.
And yet maybe, just maybe, the “good old days” were not all that good. Perhaps now have become too painful to remember.
Barbara Streisand poses the question in her song,
“If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we? Could we?”
“the trip“
This month we are examining the short story Burn by Elizabeth Genovise about a family vacation that would henceforth be known as the crowning achievement of the Baskin family or simply “the trip“.
The protagonist points out twenty-five years later, “what I am most struck by is how much we didn’t know, how closely we skirted an edge we would inevitably plunge over in just a few years.”
kairos time
Chronos time is measured with calendars and clocks, but kairos is Greek for the suitable time for something to occur or be accomplished.
It is a moment in which God makes it possible for something of lasting significance to occur. This time is sacred by its very nature, because a window of opportunity is briefly opened allowing us a glimpse of our destiny.
As much as we want to do better, so often, we can only do different . . . like the Baskin family, we are struck by how much we don’t know.
We need to be aware of these times so that we don’t miss out on the things God wants to do in our life and in the lives of others. As much as we want to do better, so often, we can only do different . . . like the Baskin family, we are struck by how much we don’t know.
spiritual bypassing
Spiritual bypassing, a term first coined by psychologist John Welwood, is the use of spiritual practices and beliefs to avoid dealing with our painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs. “It is much more common than we might think and, in fact, is so pervasive as to go largely unnoticed, except in its more obvious extremes.”
The supplemental piece entitled Spiritual Bypassing: Avoidance in Holy Drag by Matt Jongbloet is offered to give insight into the lives of the Baskin family.
magic that can transform our lives.
Our companion piece, Everyday Life as Spiritual Path by John Welwood, is an excerpt from Ordinary Magic. John speaks to a kind of magic that opens the mind to the wonders of being alive. In Zen, it’s called satori, that sense of enlightenment that there is much more to life than we usually recognize. “We do not have to be confined by the limited views that our family, our society, or our own habitual thoughts impose on us; our life extending far beyond our familiar beliefs and concepts.” And yet we tend to lose the sense of magic as we grow up. We get caught up in the “ambitions and burdens . . . the increasingly routine, humdrum and one-dimensional life” of an adult.
And yet we tend to lose the sense of magic as we grow up. We get caught up in the “ambitions and burdens . . . the increasingly routine, humdrum and one-dimensional life” of an adult.
In cultures where people lived closer to nature, “rituals and symbols. . . helped people remember the larger sacred dimension of life in the midst of their daily activities that were endowed with religious or symbolic meanings that helped individuals connect with the larger, universal forces shaping their destiny.”
We have become disconnected — preoccupied with our many thoughts that distract us. Thoughts that pull us away from being fully present in each moment.
“It is only in the stillness and simplicity of presence—when we are aware of what we are experiencing, when we are here with it as it unfolds—that we can really appreciate our life and reconnect with the ordinary magic of being alive. . .”
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