{"id":2683,"date":"2014-01-29T07:48:30","date_gmt":"2014-01-29T14:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?p=2683"},"modified":"2014-01-29T07:48:30","modified_gmt":"2014-01-29T14:48:30","slug":"being-pulled-through-the-knothole-david-brooks-on-paradox-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2014\/01\/being-pulled-through-the-knothole-david-brooks-on-paradox-presence.html","title":{"rendered":"Being Pulled Through the Knothole: David Brooks on Paradox & Presence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>There\u2019s a phrase used to describe the experience of intense or traumatic life events that leave us forever changed. \u201cBeing pulled through the knothole,\u201d means going through a situation so singularly intense that many of the beliefs and assumptions we clung to before we were pulled through the knothole, simply fall away when we get to the other side of the fence. The result is often a significant transformation. It doesn\u2019t happen to everyone, despite the fact that all of us are offered at least one natural knothole experience at midlife.<\/p>\n

From the outside it seems as though\u00a0New York Times<\/em> columnist David Brooks is being pulled through the knothole. His writing has changed over the past months as he and his wife of 27 years are going through a divorce<\/a>. The result is a more raw, real writer who seems as though he is reaching toward a deeper wisdom, although many conjecture<\/a> that he\u2019s having some sort of a nutty. I tend to think it\u2019s hard to make it through the knothole with much or our dignity still \u00a0intact. Perhaps this is because dignity isn\u2019t quite as essential is one might think. Two of Brook\u2019s most recent columns have been thoroughly spiritual \u2013 he\u2019s quoting\u00a0Sojourners<\/em>\u00a0and Abraham Joshua Heschel \u2013 and are both worth a read.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Art of Presence<\/a>\u201d is an interesting reflection on how to engage with somebody who is going through a tragedy: show up, just be there and be present, don\u2019t compare your tragedy to theirs, bring food and physical aid, don\u2019t say things like \u201cyou\u2019ll get over it,\u201d or \u201cit\u2019ll all work out for the best,\u201d and don\u2019t try to frame their situation or help them make sense of it all. When people are living the worst day of their life, what they truly need from you is not your wisdom or advice, it is your presence<\/em>\u00a0\u2026 so just be present.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlone, Yet Not Alone<\/a>\u201d chronicles the spiritual journey of Catholic songwriter Audrey Assad. True to his sincere Jewish faith, Brooks celebrates the power of mystery and paradox, and the nefarious impact of rigid certitudes. He writes, \u201cHeschel understood that the faith expressed by many, even many who are inwardly conflicted, is often dull, oppressive and insipid \u2014 a religiosity in which \u201cfaith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere must be something legalistic in the human makeup,\u201d Brooks writes, \u201cbecause cold, rigid, unambiguous, unparadoxical belief is common, especially considering how fervently the Scriptures oppose it.\u201d Having all of our beliefs in good working order is not what makes us fully human as human was intended to be. Wonder, awe, mystery, amazement\u2026 this is the goal of the spiritual life; not a holding on<\/em>, but a being held<\/em>, or what some have called a second naivet\u00e9\u00a0<\/em> To illustrate, Brooks uses one of my favorite Heschel quotes:\u00a0\u201cOur goal should be to live life in radical amazement\u2026get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal. \u2026To be spiritual is to be amazed.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be spiritual is to be amazed\u2026 that\u2019s dang right.<\/p>\n

\u2026 feeling grateful for the reminder of the subtle graces of presence and paradox today \u2026 hoping the Brooks will continue to chase wisdom and tell us about what he\u2019s learning.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a phrase used to describe the experience of intense or traumatic life events that leave us forever changed. \u201cBeing pulled through the knothole,\u201d means going through a situation so singularly intense that many of the beliefs and assumptions we clung to before we were pulled through the knothole, simply fall away when we get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[869,867,151,868,429,529],"class_list":["post-2683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-abraham-joshua-heschel","tag-dark-night","tag-david-brooks","tag-knothole","tag-spirituality","tag-the-new-york-times"],"yoast_head":"\nBeing Pulled Through the Knothole: David Brooks on Paradox & Presence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There's a phrase used to describe the experience of intense or traumatic life events that leave us forever changed. 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