Oh my mama told me 'Cause she says she learned the hard way She say she wanna spare the children She say don't give or sell your soul away 'Cause all that you have is your soul
[chorus]
So don't be tempted by the shiny apple Don't you eat of a bitter fruit Hunger only for a taste of justice Hunger only for a world of truth 'Cause all that you have is your soul
Well I was a pretty young girl once I had dreams I had high hopes I married a man he stole my heart away He gave his love but what a high price I paid All that you have is your soul
[chorus]
Why was I such a young fool Thought I'd make history Making babies was the best I could do Thought I'd made something that could be mine forever Found out the hard way one can't possess another And all that you have is your soul
[chorus]
I thought, thought that I could find a way To beat the system To make a deal and have no debts to pay I'd take it all, I'd take it all, I'd run away Me for myself first class and first rate But all that you have is your soul
[chorus]
Here I am, I'm waiting for a better day A second chance A little luck to come my way A hope to dream, a hope that I can sleep again And wake in the world with a clear conscience and clean hands 'Cause all that you have is your soul
[chorus]
Oh my mama told me 'Cause she say she learned the hard way She say she wanna spare the children She say don't give or sell your soul away 'Cause all that you have is your soul
All that you have All that you have All that you have Is your soul
* * *
St. Francis of Assisi is hoeing the garden. Someone askes, "What would you do if you suddenly learned that you were to die at sunset today?" He replies, "I would finish hoeing my garden."
* * *
The late author Robert Pirsig wrote about this matter of living and working wholeheartedly - "The Buddha resides as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a [holy] mountain." We could say it this way - "Christ is as at home in the garden, grocery store, or pub as the church, sees washing dishes, raking leaves, or talking with a friend as equal to worshipping his Father at the temple."
* * *
2005 -
Today, I shuffled through some mail, made phone calls to some sick church members, visited and prayed with a dear lady who lost her son in an untimely and sudden death, laid hands on and had healing prayer for a little girl who had missed school due to a headache she awakened with, stood beside the hospital bed of a man of eighty-nine years and listened to stories from his earlier days—especially he was delighted to tell me of how he met and fell in love with his late wife—, …
Now, I am writing this for you. I feel the peace and contentment of knowing that if I were to die before darkness sheds its veil over this earth tonight, I would be glad I spent my day the way I did today. The details of this day was the Will of God for me.
* * *
We can be trapped in what I call the "keep seeking what God wants me to do" syndrome. This viewpoint can be called the "what am I supposed to be doing?" or "ought to do?"
What we are meant to do is usually to do what we are already doing or what comes as what needs to be done. Of course, sometimes Life reveals an unplanned direction to follow the Will of God, but that is the exception, not the rule.
The key is not first what we do but how we do. A Christian scripture points to one way of doing the ordinary or extraordinary - Whether therefore you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10.31, NMB). This guidance does not mean thinking about "God" in all you do. That is not what we do to practice the Presence. Wholeheartedly do what you do - that is to the glory of God. Then, our activities become worship.
In Buddhism, this wholehearted doing is exemplified in a famous story. A Zen master was asked, "How do you practice Zen?" He replied," When you're hungry, eat; when you're tired, sleep." "Isn't that what everyone does?" The master said, "No, not at all. Most people entertain a thousand desires when they eat and scheme over a thousand plans when they sleep."
Another Zen story shows how a holy being works. A man asked the sage, "Now that you've awakened, what do you do?" "Before being awakened, I chopped wood and carried water. After, I chop wood and carry water." The doing is the same. Yet, something is different. There is a quality of being, of presence, that a spiritual being brings to their life. In the above words about worship, we worship when we become worship.
* * *
Wholeheartedly living is worshipful action, is enlightened living. We relate to our everyday lives with gratitude. We do apparently insignificant acts with heartfulness. We do not discrimate between less or more holy, less or more enlightened. We just do. The quality we bring to what we do is key, a quality that reflects what we have become and are becoming, which are one.
* * *
*(C) Brian K. Wilcox, 2023. Permission is given to use photographs and writings with credit given to the copyright owner.
*Brian's book is An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love. The book is a collection of poems Brian wrote based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
