Ever New

Truly, my life is one long hearkening unto myself and unto others, and unto God

 

We must defend Your dwelling place inside us to the last

                               Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life

 

We melt down a little each day.  The candle burns down.

And it may wonder at times, it may wonder:

What will become of me?  What will happen to my precious flame?

O, so much brighter, my dear, you will become so much brighter.

                               Hafiz

_____________________________

 

it all comes down to what is inside us

being spiritual, it seems, is a matter of soul

 

and we learn a lot about what our core is made of

in times like these

when greed abounds

and abusers rule

 

when we are bombarded by hate and falsehood

hate and fear

from all side

 

it is as if we are sinking deeper and deeper

into a primordial swamp

and the deeper we go

the more we are squeezed

 

the pressure builds and builds

and we threaten to crack

 

and here is the truth

if we are empty

if we have spent our lives living from the outside in

seeking to fill the empty place within

with the stuff of the world

 

with money and power

with sex and other pleasures

with “things’

 

we are still empty

and being empty we are easily crushed

 

we must be filled

and the only way to be filled

is to be awake to the indwelling

 

to the presence of the Sacred within us

the Spirit, in us

Christ, in us

Sacred (God) in us

 

and presence is eternal

it is persistent

it is ever new

 

it is like a spring welling it

it is like the wind that blows

it is like a flame that cannot be extinguished

 

and the more we are “attached” to this presence

like a branch to a vine

the more there is

 

the more power

the more hope

the more kindness

the more compassion

the more love

 

and as all of this flows through us

as we are conduits of the Sacred

as our lives are a “one long hearkening unto myself and unto others, and unto God”

 

the more there is

and the more the Presence is ever fresh, ever new

 

poor Donald

poor all of us

thinking that our titles, and our wealth

our flimsy power

our things

 

can define?

 

poor us

trying so hard to protect empty shells!

 

when will we stop

feeding on what does not satisfy?

when will we let go of our addiction

our need for more and more and more of what does not work?

 

this is the hard truth

if we do not let God well up inside us

if we do not take the time to stop

breathe

connect

 

the world will control us (squeeze us into its mold)

the world will crush us

we will melt away

 

but if we do that?

Isaiah put it this way

 

“those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength

They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint.         (Isaiah 40)