Say Yes

The great wisdom teachers and mystics say in various ways that you cannot truly see or understand anything if you begin with a no. You have to start with a yes of basic acceptance, which means you do not too quickly label, analyze, or categorize things in or out, good or bad. This is Contemplation 101. You have to be taught how to leave the field open. The ego or false self strengthens itself by constriction, by being against, or by re-action; it feels loss or fear when it opens up to subtlety and Mystery. Living out of the True Self involves positive choice, inner spaciousness, and conscious understanding rather than resistance, knee-jerk reactions, or defensiveness. It is not easy to live this way. It often takes a lifetime of prayer and honest self-observation to stop judging and starting with no.

We see what we are ready to see, expect to see, and even desire to see. If you start with no, you usually get some form of no in return. If you start with yes, you are much more likely to get a yes back. Once you have learned how to say a fundamental yes, later no’s can be very helpful and are surely necessary. Beginning with yes is the foundation of mature nonviolence and compassionate action.

                                                                                                                   Richard Rohr,  Blog, 8/12/2016

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I believe that Sacred is mostly about “yes”

The mountains tell me this --

As do the chickens who devastate my flowerbeds,

the deer who eat my oregano,

And the owl who sings me to sleep.

Jesus was a living illustration of God’s “yes”

and I am to be also

so are you

but we can be so full of “no”

so ready to judge and condemn

even if who we judge and condemn are those who judge and condemn

we say “no” to so many people

for so many reasons

it seems to me this is why Christianity is currently faltering

and it is faltering

through every fault of it’s own

for it has allowed its “no’

to be louder than God’s “yes”

it is scary to say “yes”

it is costly to say “yes” (just ask Jesus, and MLK, and RFK, and Gandhi)

Lord, help me see “yes”

Say “yes”

Live “yes”