Where we find the Sacred

“The sacred is discovered in what moves and touches us, in what makes us tremble.”

                                                                                      Sam Keen

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we look for Sacred

in think

in all the wrong places

in moments of ecstasy

powerful words

and mighty acts

in spires

and stained glass

songs of praise

and powerful words

it is not that Sacred is not to be found here

but in these things

Sacred is trapped

By our expectations

our desires

our perceptions

and is often lost

and we are left with only our pale and weak caricature

of the Divine

Sacred is to be found

in blood on the sidewalk

in the tears in a mother’s eyes

and in the emptiness in the face of one numbed by violence

Sacred is to found in the despair of the oppressed

in the hopelessness of the homeless man

curled in a doorway

it is to be found in the empty stare of the alcoholic

and in the lingering fear and pain of the woman

who has been assaulted

Sacred is found most powerfully

in the places we least expect it

in the people we least expect it

that is just the way Sacred works

it is in the darkness

in the lower places

that our hearts are opened

only when we have allowed our hearts to be troubled

can we hear the sacred say

you need not let your hearts be troubled

neither do they need to be afraid

for now

you will find

my

peace