Leadings #1

if what i want is to make the most of my life (whatever that means), what do i need to do? the closest i can get to a Guiding principle is this: following Leadings is where we can find the really good stuff of life. tricky to write about, since Leadings are by nature highly individual.

i think it’s ok to think about this from a religious or non-religious perspective. regardless of what i believe, i want to make the most of my life, and there are clues along the way. my own sense is that the Divine is inside all of us, but i can think of this Inner Teacher as my own Wisest Self if that helps. I like Thomas Merton on this: “At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives . . . It is in everybody, and if we could see it, we would see these billions of points of light . . . I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere.”

so here goes: a series of posts with some thoughts on following Leadings, finding a Right life, doing what we came here — or were put here — to do, etc. this is the first of about ten, i think.

take responsibility for my part

i used to try to find the Right way of looking at the world and life. actually, i still do this — i’ve just stopped looking for the one way. now i look for more puzzle pieces.

i like systems and principles, so i naturally wanted some sort of uber-system that would make it all clear. but there is deep paradox in the world of Spirit, and subtlety between what’s Good and not, and that’s part of the sheer beauty. it’s easy to twist any Truth. and here’s a quote i love: “the opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.” (Niels Bohr)

i don’t believe in great clashes of Good and Evil, at least for the most part. for me, the interesting part (and the real work) is in the little details of living, because unconsciousness is so seductive and there is so much cultural support for it. becoming conscious — waking up, being aware, showing up, being present, paying attention, becoming enlightened — is a prerequisite for a life that’s just right.

i also used to look for some one wise person to reveal the Truth, but no one can hand me my Truth. i have to get it myself. i have the capacity to recognize Truth whenever i encounter it — not that i am consistently that wise, but my capacity to resonate deeply and note that resonance gets stronger with practice. i’m better at distinguishing when i am encountering Truth from when i’m justifying.

everyone has some of the Truth and these bits of Truth are everywhere if i’m looking for them. i can collect them and make them mine. [one nice side of all this is that i no longer need my mentors to be perfect. we all have some Truth and we’re all still human.]

the bottom line here is that i must stop waiting for a meaningful Right life to somehow appear on my doorstep. i have to look for it, and the place i have to look is inside. in fact, i have to really look for it, invest in finding it, give it my time and energy. i have to make this a priority, not just some idle wish. i think this is what Jesus meant when he said, “seek and you will find” and “seek first the kingdom” — not that i will find whatever i look for (though there’s an argument to be made here), or that this is some kind of magic that always works, but that if i want a rich, meaningful, joyful life that perfectly suits me, i first have to find my own unique sources of richness, meaning and joy, and if i really look for them, i’ll find them. this is not to take over for the Divine, but to step up and do my part. then, as the quakers say, Way will open.