Every person is Spirit
Clothed with clay by God
Lover and Beloved, One
Sonnet in the Music of an
Ever-Changing Universe
One Kiss in an Eternal
Love-Making
The sooner the vessel shatters
The happier you'll be
It's like dancing with one leg
Then with a thousand
One instrument becomes
A heavenly orchestra
One solitary voice
A choir of myriads
Don't ask me to make sense
We were created for something more
than such boredom
in Here -
Come join us!
*Brian K. Wilcox
5Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
*Psalm 5.5-8 (ESV)
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Author Parker J. Palmer tells of a moment of spiritual awareness in his life pilgrimage...
Fifteen years ago, I was hiking solo in the high desert at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Taos, New Mexico, when I was overwhelmed by a sudden realization that the universe is utterly indifferent to me and, at the same time, profoundly forgiving and compassionate toward me. I remember stopping and just standing in that knowledge for a long time. I had a simple and quiet sense of, Oh, I get it. I see who I am, where I am, and how I fit into things. I felt joy and lightness, as if my burdens had been taken from me.
Palmer speaks of trying to put the experience into words, saying, "Talking about it almost distorts it. There are experiences that go far beyond words, and this is one of them."
A Jewish mystical tale shares of a rabbi speaking to his disciple. The rabbi says, "Everyone needs a coat with two pockets. In one pocket, carry dust to indicate that you are nothing. In the other pocket, carry gold to indicate that you are precious."
True humbleness shares these two qualities. We seek to see ourselves as infinitely nothing in ourselves, and to see ourselves as infinitely precious in God and others. So much inner suffering arises from a prideful self-focus and, on the other hand, another form of ironical self-focus, one in which a person fails to rightly appreciate oneself as a sacred expression of God, of Love.
We shrug off the burden of self-obsessed ego by realizing that we are nothing, and we transcend self-denigration by realizing that there is something of ultimate value about each of us.
*Parker J. Palmer
* * *
*Parker J. Palmer account and quote, and story of the rabbi and the two pockets is in Phil Bolsta. Sixty Seconds.
*Charitable contributions would be appreciated to assist Brian in continuing his ministry. For contributions, contact Brian at barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
*Brian's book of spiritual love poetry, An Ache for Union: Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major booksellers or the Cokesbury on-line store, cokesbury.com .
*Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist Pastor, lives in Southwest Florida. He is a vowed member of Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in South Georgia. He lives a contemplative life and seeks to inspire others to enjoy a more intimate relationship with Christ. Brian advocates for a spiritually-focused, experiential Christianity and renewal of the Church through addressing the deeper spiritual needs and longings of persons.
