Faith is not belief unexamined
But belief born of deep thought…
Religion is not the captive of automated hearts
set to march in silent obedience
nor the museum of final thoughts
beyond which no questions are asked
it is the forum of the wise and wondrous,
the company of the healed and healers
the school of human imagination,
the blessed community of the Spirit
Gathered in the clear light of the open mind
Steven
Charleston, Spirit Wheel, Broadleaf
Books, p. 211
___________________________
There are those moments
when sadness falls like a winter night
shrouding joy
blurring the space between precious souls
We sit, companionably
siblings
in a comfortable space forged by a lifetime
and yet there is a disturbance rippling
born of ideologies disparate
that odd rippling that comes when certainty meets
questioning
that comes when final thoughts are nestled
and questions no longer rise
to the lips
where assumptions are held
assumptions about God and faith
assumptions about the other
my questioning soul meets the certainty
of one who is settled in her place
rooted
not just in the land, but also in
the communities that exist in this slow space
nestled in the mountains
but my questing mind which challenges everything
forgets to challenge
its own conclusions
and I assume much
and my assumptions shatter the ties that bind
Clinging precariously to my sense of rightness
and my hurt and resentment too
officiously opining
I challenge their certainty and replace it
with my own
openness lost
paradise lost
until my certainty circles around
and confronts me
and my heart is broken
open
and one estranged becomes
again
one loved and valued
now and always
and in the rubble of that liminal space
understanding grows
and the old wineskins crack and break
and new wineskins are created to contain
love, and compassion, and
we find each other
No comments:
Post a Comment