Csquared Thoughts

labyrinth

We now have a labyrinth at Good Shepherd. It's been in the planning process for several years. There'd been a lot of discussion and debate, and I think at times some dissension regarding its construction. What materials should be used? Should we pay for a pattern? And so on.

Finally some of the guys at church just got down on their hands and knees and laid down bricks. They simply got in there and did it. And now it's done. It's not the most refined or elegant of labyrinths, as labyrinths go. But it is a labyrinth, and It's our labyrinth.

And I'm so glad we have it. Thanks guys.

what we are here for

We struggle endlessly to learn what life means and what we are here for, and yet the answer etched out in the life of Christ and discovered by everyone who follows him is relatively simple: we are here to give and cleanse and nourish, and to the extent that we do, we will be fed and sustained in turn... the nourishment we offer another...flows directly and solely out of... the depths we have carved within ourselves. —Marc Andrus, Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of California (apparently quoting himself) on Facebook

letting go

I realized not long ago that I have this odd habit. In the grocery store, I look for what I think will be the fastest line. It may not be the shortest, depending on a number of factors I balance in my head, including what is happening at the cash register and so forth, but I select it as my best guess for being the fastest. If I'm wrong I react to myself as if I have made a mistake, failed, lost the game.

I think I want to change that mind set, slow down, and not worry about a couple of minutes lost here and there.

cleaning house

I've been on a cleaning and arranging tear. In the past couple of weeks, I've purchased a bunch of containers for our grains and legumes. Last week I cleaned out a pantry drawer that contained a lot of stuff (mostly gifts) that we just weren't using. On Sunday I cleaned out the freezer in the garage.

In my Religious Science days we said such outer activity reflected inner work.

I still think that's true.

only the light inside you

From Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior:

Only the light inside you can guide your way through those dark nights of the soul. So let your heart lead you onward. You may, or may not, reach the pinnacle of your hopes or dreams. But you will grow in the enterprise.

confusion is not a bad thing

From Patrice Vecchione quoted on Inward/Outward:

Mystery and spirit run through our days like rivers and sustain us. Life is a blend of possibility and impossibility. From chaos comes clarity. It was there all along. You just couldn’t see it. To come to clarity, you have to enter the chaos. Dive in or enter inch by inch. Confusion is not a bad thing.

All real living is meeting

It was good to be back in church today. It was nice to have a break, but it's important for me to hear the Word and receive the Meal.

I'm working my way through The Life You Save May Be Your Own. I was not aware that Thomas Merton discovered Martin Buber and was captivated by his book I and Thou. The central idea behind I and Thou is that:

All real living is meeting

There are times when I would prefer to take a more isolationist approach to life, but I realize the truth of what Buber has to say. In fact, I read I and Thou right after I graduated from high school. Time to go back and read it again.

The Quest

The Quest was the title of my freshman seminar at Pitzer College, way back in those days when Pitzer had freshman seminars.

But for those of you who have read novels, biographies, and memoirs of the quest, pilgrimage, or journey by the likes of Paulo Coelho and others, I thought you would appreciate this.

More from Joan Chittister

From Jim Wallis' God's Politics blog. More from Joan Chittister:

Why do people think the spiritual life demands withdrawal from the ordinary? Because they've been taught, at least by implication, that the physical is a block to the spiritual. When we assume that the spiritual, unlike the physical, is impervious to corrosion, then we assume that all things material are not to be honored. But the fact of the matter is, the material is the vehicle of the spiritual. - Joan Chittister from Alive Now! July/August 1994

On Happiness

Tammy at Zen Pizza writes on happiness.

I have decided to look at the world in a way that jives with who I am, while giving the world permission to be the way it wants to be.

If one can achieve that, it goes a long way to reducing one's level of stress in life. The tough part is getting there.