Hope is the spark which lights the fire of inspiration. Without hope, why would we go on trying? What is hope? Some people say hope is a feeling, or a positive attitude. People tell me they are more hopeful in the morning, less hopeful as the day continues. Some people tell me we receive what we are looking for, what we expect to receive. Now, I do not know about you, but there have been plenty of times when life did... Read more
We generally think of leaders as striking figures who inspire people to follow them. Leaders tend to stand out in a crowd. We see leaders persuading people with their words, their ideas, their larger-than-life personalities. A leader has a strong vision and guides people into working together toward shared goals. We think of a leader standing in front of a large group, motivating people to take steps forward. We assume leadership requires a certain level of experience and sufficient education. Our leaders need the ability to know what... Read more
I am a member of a church where one liturgical season ends and another begins this week. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season we call Lent. Lent is not about giving things up; not about chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, or social media. During Lent, we take an honest, insightful look at who we really are. We reflect on what we hold onto that holds us back from becoming our truest selves. We look ourselves in the eye... Read more
There are people who spend their entire lives searching for the right path. Some of us have very specific requirements for the path we will choose to take. We want a good balance of sunlight and shade, not too wet and not too rocky. Some may prefer a gentle grade which is not too challenging to follow. We may be looking for a path with spectacular views. Some of us would appreciate a good guide or a book to reveal our path to us. Others... Read more
From Egyptian deserts, to Italian caves, to stone monasteries, each generation creates monastic life. Our Story So Far It is easy for us to think monastic life is far away, hidden behind walls, shrouded in secrecy. We have pictures in our minds of robed religious people, chanting or being silent. Monastic life has always been for people more focused on spirituality than religion. The first hermits and monks to head into the desert were not priests, but regular people. They... Read more
The spiritual story of where we live is about land and water. We may disagree about politics, but we fight about land and water. As the drought developed over the last few years we slowly began to conserve water. One dry day at a time we came to see water, like our land, is something we needed to protect and share. The drought showed us hard, deep truths. Some people gave up hope for the future. We live in a place of... Read more
We know we are not supposed to get angry, or at least not show our anger to anyone else. Anger is not nice, not polite, and we are supposed to be nice and polite to other people. We are taught that when we respect other people, they are more likely to respect us. People tell us anger is an indicator of fear. When we get angry, we are showing people we are afraid. We are told that anger does not help... Read more
A friend of mine, when she was a little girl, was faced with a difficult decision. Her class in school was having Career Day. Even though she was quite young, she needed to choose between two possible career paths. For her, it was a choice between becoming a ballerina or becoming a saint. My friend thought carefully about her dilemma, and finally decided, for that day, to dress as a ballerina. It came down to the fact that she could wear her ballet tutu, but... Read more
Things were much easier when I was a child. When I was growing up, the boundary between spiritual life and everything else was clearer. The spiritual stuff happened one day a week, when we worshipped and read scriptures. We did things a certain way, and spiritual life fit neatly into our schedule. The rest of the week was for normal stuff, like work and school and playing. Now it seems like everything runs into everything else. It is like when the gravy... Read more
It may be hard for us to believe there are any monastic extroverts. We think of monks as people hiding from the world of human contact behind stone walls. We assume monks want to escape the anxieties and responsibilities we face every day. It is a challenge for us to imagine monks laughing or even having a sense of humor. We tend to associate the idea of being contemplative with being introverted. Contemplative spiritual practices may feel very comfortable to... Read more
Strategic Monk
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