Roots, Ripples, and Still Water

Who are we really? Where did we come from? What were our ancestors like? What did they think about? How did they live? Were they farmers or carpenters or fishermen or lumbermen? How much of them do we possess? What did they pass down to us? I suspect there is more of them in us than we suspect!

From my Swedish grandfathers came a love of woods and lumber – the appreciation of smooth finished wood grain. My love of tools and intricate and precisely functioning machines probably comes from my German grandfathers. Throw in a little English and a bit of Irish and you find me. My thoughts and love of books come straight from my father. But ultimately who I am is my responsibility. The interests, inclinations and instincts that I inherit from my fathers are mine to use to master the knowledge and skills with which I want to form my life. By adding education – not schooling but education – real education where intellect, aptitude and the desire to produce come together – to those traits from my fathers and to those other teachers who come across my path I can begin to master skills to make my life count in the world.

As we master skills and knowledge there is another responsibility we bear. We need to teach the skills and knowledge to those whose interests bring them across out paths – whether our own children or simply others who are brought our way. True mastery is never acquired unless tested. And the purest form of testing is not necessarily in the performance of a task so much as it is in the passing on of that knowledge and skill. But not only the knowledge and the skill but also the passion that is required to actually master something. In that the master begins to send out ripples that will far outlive him. No master can ever be satisfied until those ripples are expanding endlessly around him. And he will know true success when those students begin to excel beyond his own skill.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt

As a man lives he must find time to set aside to reflect and to allow God to speak to his soul. Perhaps a busy man can only find 10 minutes a couple times a day for this important exercise. Other times perhaps a whole day should be side aside for this quiet, still water time. Time to read the Bible and pray – not bringing God a list of things we desire but listening instead of talking – time to allow God to instruct us as to how we should “be”. Life is too short to go through it without some serious consideration as to how we spend our days. Questions need to be asked: Am I fulfilling my reason for being? Is my work the best use of my knowledge and skills? Am I keeping myself in condition physically and mentally to live life as it should be lived? This quiet time is a still water time – not a time to making ripples but a time to dive deep into our souls and remember our God. A time to think about our roots and who we really are. A time to ponder the ripples we are sending out. Time to think about how we are affecting the people around us. Still waters are deep and time there is necessary – more necessary than ever as it is so easy to be distracted by busyness in our fast paced world. Time for still water is time to breathe. Time for a quick compass reading to make sure our “true north” principles are in mind as we continue to seek mastery of our chosen skills and knowledge – as we seek to create the ripples that will affect the world for good.

“The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is “look under foot”. You are always nearer the divine and your own true sources of power than you think,” John Burroughs

“Be not a slave of your own past – plunge into the sublime sea, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-respect, with new power, and an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Be still and know that I am God” Psalms 46:10

Boundaries

BOUNDARY, n. In political geography, an imaginary line between two nations, separating the imaginary rights of one from the imaginary rights of the other.~ Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914)

“Love the moment and the energy of the moment will spread beyond all boundaries” - Corita Kent

"There is a boundary to men's passions when they act from feelings; but none when they are under the influence of imagination." - Edmund Burke

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves arou nd and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favour in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Henry David Thoreau






“Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty.” - Henri Frederic Amiel

"If we presume that the boundary of the universe is a kind of surrounding wall, then we think like ancestors who thought there's abyss at the edge of flat earth."— Toba Beta

"Indeed, the only truly serious questions are ones that even a child can formulate. Only the most naive of questions are truly serious. They are the questions with no answers. A question with no answer is a barrier that cannot be breached. In other words, it is questions with no answers that set the limit of human possibilities, describe the boundaries of human existence."— Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being)







"Don't go overboard in praising required behavior: 'We have only done our duty' (Luke 17:10). But do go overboard when your child confesses the truth, repents honestly, takes chances, and loves openly. Praise the developing character in your child as it emerges in active, loving, responsible behavior." — Henry Cloud






The world owes all its onward impulses to men ill at ease. The happy man inevitably confines himself within ancient limits. - Nathaniel Hawthorne

It is not the weight of the future or the past that is pressing upon you, but ever that of the present alone. Even this burden, too, can be lessened if you confine it strictly to its own limits. - Marcus Aurelius






A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.~ Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Today's Light

I took this picture this afternoon. Sometimes we gain understanding the way this drop gathered the light. Even on the darkest, most dreary days there is enough light. Maybe all the light we can take at this moment. And tomorrow there will be more to add to the light we found today. The key is to look for today's light and let tomorrow's come when it gets here!



^{Matthew 6:22; 32-34 (Amplified Version)}

The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light.

For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own.

I took this picture this afternoon! Sometimes we gain understanding the way this drop gathered the light. Even on the darkest, most dreary days there is enough light. Maybe all the light we can take at this moment. And tomorrow there will be more to add to the light we found today. The key is to look for today's light and let tomorrow's come when it gets here!




Matthew 6:22; 32-33 The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light. For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Since love grows within you, so beauty grows.
For love is the beauty of the soul.
- Saint Augustine



Even from the darkest night, songs of beauty can be born.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Beauty is truth's smile when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror.
- Rabindranath Tagore

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.
- Carl Jung

New Year 2011

For Light

Light cannot see inside things.

That is what the dark is for.

Minding the interior,

Nurturing the draw of growth

Through places where death

In its own way turns into life.

In the glare of neon times,

Let our eyes not be worn

By surfaces that shine

With hunger made attractive.

That our thoughts may be true light,

Finding their way into words

Which have the weight of shadow

To hold the layers of truth.

That we never place our trust

In minds claimed by empty light,

Where one-sided certainties

Are driven by false desire.

When we look into the heart,

May our eyes have the kindness

And reverence of candlelight.

John O’Donohue, Benedictus

My word for the coming year is Light, I want to live in such a way as to be striving toward Light so that those around me feel more Light than Darkness. I want to avoid footsteps in my journey that keep me in the shadows of negative thoughts and patterns and choose trails that keep me more in the light of positive thoughts and expectations. Our world seems full of dire predictions and truly tragic circumstances and for this reason people need to seek Light and the discipline of mind and spirit to expect good and live with a mindset that accepts the abundance that is here in this life. Are there hard things to understand and live through? Of course, but the attitude we approach such things needs to be tempered by the knowledge that “all things truly do work together for them that love God and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) This world was created to us to enjoy life in the Light of a relationship with God. We choose whether we walk in that Light of stay in the shadows. “For you were once darkness, but now are you light in the Lord; walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” Ephesians 5:8-9)

“The tree rises from the dark. It circles around the “heart of darkness” from which it reaches towards the light. A tree is a perfect presence. It is somehow able to engage and integrate its own dissolution. The tree is wise in knowing how to foster its own loss. It does not become haunted by the loss nor addicted to it. The tree shelters and minds the loss. Out of this comes the quiet dignity and poise of a trees presence. Trees stand beautifully on the clay. They stand with dignity. A life that wishes to honour its own possibility has to learn how to integrate the suffering of dark and bleak times into a dignity of presence. Letting go of old forms of life, a tree practices hospitality towards new forms of life. It balances the perennial energies of winter and spring within its own living bark. The tree is wise in the art of belonging. The tree teaches us how to journey. Too frequently our inner journeys have no depth. We move forward feverishly into new situations and experiences which neither nourish nor challenge us, because we have left our deeper selves behind. It is no wonder that the addiction to superficial novelty leaves us invariably empty and weary. Much of our experience is literally superficial; it slips deftly from surface to surface. It lacks rootage. The tree can reach towards the light, endure wind, rain and storm, precisely because it is rooted. Each of its branches is ultimately anchored in a reliable depth of clay. The wisdom of the tree balances the path inwards with the pathway outwards.”

Celtic Reflections on our Yearning to Belong.
Written by John O’ Donohue; Eternal Echoes-

© John O’Donohue. All rights reserved For more information and further reading visit www.johnodonohue.com

WHEN I AM AMONG TREES

by Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks, and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,”

they say, “and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy,
to be filled with light, and to shine.”

Gratitude

“To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful man knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” Thomas Merton; Thoughts in Solitude

Desert

“The Desert Fathers believed that the wilderness had been created as supremely valuable in the eyes of God precisely because it had no value to men. The wasteland was the land that could never be wasted by men because it offered them nothing. There was nothing to attract them. There was nothing to exploit. The desert was the region in which the Chosen People had wandered for thirty years, cared for by God alone. They could have reached the Promised Land in a few months if they had traveled directly to it. God’s plan was that they should learn to love Him in the wilderness and that they should always look back upon the time in the desert as the idyllic time of their life with Him alone.

The desert was created simply to be itself, not to be transformed by men into something else. So too the mountain and the sea. The desert is therefore the logical dwelling place for the man who seeks to be nothing but himself – that is to say, a creature solitary and poor and dependent upon none but God, with no great project standing between himself and his Creator.

…Today, in the century of man’s greatest technological achievement, the wilderness at last comes into its own. Man no longer needs God, and he can live in the desert on his own resources. He can build there fantastic protected cities of withdrawal and experience mentation and vice. The glittering towns that spring up overnight in the desert are no longer images of the City of God, coming down from heaven to enlighten the world with the vision of peace. They are not even replicas of the great tower of Babel that once rose up on the desert of Senaar, that man “might make his name famous and reach unto heaven.” (Genesis 11:4). They are brilliant and sordid smiles of the devil upon the face of the wilderness, cities of secrecy where each man spies on his brother, cities through whose veins money runs like artificial blood, and from whose womb will come the last and greatest instrument of destruction. ” Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude

Porcupine Rim Trail

Porcupine Rim 4x4 Trail is a great trail off Sand Flats Road near Moab, Utah. Not too hard with some deep sand sections and a few rocky ledge sections - its a good warm-up trail for Moab riding!

The Deer's Cry

This is an excerpt from The Deer's Cry, a prayer written by St Patrick as he and some of his followers were being hunted by Druids to be killed in the year 433. The story is that the Druids only found a doe and twenty fawns:


The Deer's Cry

"The Breastplate of St. Patrick"

"I arise today, through the strength of Heaven; light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendor of Fire, speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea, stability of Earth, firmness of Rock.




I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me: God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to secure me: against snares of devils, against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd."

I'm still reading and listening to the words of John O'Donohue - the most recent is his book Beauty; The Invisible Embrace. Some of his thoughts are a little hard for me to completely grasp even though they resonate in me. The things he says forces an examination of my beliefs, values and the external actions of my life. They are also allowing me to come to a better understanding of the deep pull of the beautiful things in my life. I think God has given us beauty - whether in nature or in the soul of a friend or a soothing song or a wild storm - to help us better understand who He is and His purposes for us in this world.

© John O’Donohue. All rights reserved For more information and further reading visit www.johnodonohue.com

Spring in the Blackfoot Valley

"Certainly many instances of earthly beauty - a song, the twilit sea, the tone of the lyre, the voice of a boy, a verse, a statue, a column, a garden, a single flower - all possess the divine faculty of making man hearken unto the innermost and outermost boundaries of his existence"

Hermann Broch, The Death of Virgil

Anchor Points

I’ve been thinking about my own personal values and how to be consistent in applying them to all areas of my life. I think the key is to identify “anchor points” in our lives. Unchanging touchstones that are consistent and solid. Truths that cannot change or people in whom truth has been demonstrated to be consistent.

One dictionary definition of “anchor” is: “a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay”. Another definition: “To fix or fasten; affix firmly”. Another is: “rigid point of support, as for securing a rope”.

Anchoring our lives to solid truths allows us to be consistent in our daily walks. To always be the same no matter how the winds of life are blowing. Our walks become steady as a result of the habit of checking our “anchor points”. If we allow the winds of life to control us we will be blown every which way and a consistent walk toward any destination will be impossible. We not only need our anchor points, but we need to always be facing the winds. With good “anchor points” we are able to identify where the destructive winds are coming from and we can face these winds with the confidence that we can stand strong no matter what comes our way.

But with good solid “anchor points” we can not only stand strong but we can learn to dance in the face of any storm.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

The following are points of faith in the God of the Bible which and the most consistent “anchor points” in my life.

1. God is in control

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
 
2. Life is not about us – it’s all about Christ

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:15-20

 

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; Philippians 1:20-23

3. God has promised to give us abundant life on earth and in heaven through faith in Christ.

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. Matthew 25:34

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 1Cor 2:9

4. We have joy and peace in the Holy Spirit
“Try to realize that the Holy Spirit will give this joy and peace of Christ in our hearts. To many the thought of the Holy Spirit is a matter of grief and self-reproach, of desire and disappointment, of something too high and holy for them. What a foolish thought that the great gift of the Father, meant to keep us in the joy and peace of Christ, should be a matter of self-reproach and care!” Quoted from “God’s Best Secrets” by Andrew Murray
    
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.    1 Peter 1:8  

5. God gives us the grace to live abundantly.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9

6. God allows us personal access to Him through prayer.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7 ESV


7. God will persevere with us to the end.

 “Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and who are effectually called by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere unto the end and be eternally saved.” Westminster Confession - Chapter 17: Of the Perseverance of the Saints by Westminster Assembly

And I shall give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. And no one is able to snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28

 

Irish Thoughts from John O'Donohue

I’ve spent much of my free time this week reading and listening to a man named John O’Donohue. He was an Irish Catholic priest for 19 years before leaving the church to study early church fathers and Celtic wisdom to develop a more real relationship with God and with life itself.

For a New Beginning

Awaken your spirit to adventure.
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

John O’Donohue, To Bless This Space Between Us

“Although you should not erase your responsibility for the past, when you make your past your jailer, you destroy your future. It is such a great moment of liberation when you learn to forgive yourself, let the burden go, and walk out into a new path of promise and possibility.” J. O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes.



 "Every day of your life joy is waiting for you, hidden at the heart of the significant things which happen to you or secretly around the corner of quieter things. If your heart loves delight, you will always be able to discover the quiet joy that awaits to shine forth in many situations. Prayer should help us develop the habit of delight. We weight the notion of prayer with burdens of duty, holiness and the struggle for perfection. Prayer should have the freedom of delight. It should arise from and bring us to humour, laughter, and joy. Religion often suffers from a great amnesia; it constantly insists on the seriousness of God and forgets the magic of the divine glory. Prayer should be the wild dance of the heart, too. In the silence of our prayer we should be able to sense the roguish smile of a joyful god who, despite all the chaos and imperfection, ultimately shelters everything." Eternal Echoes - John O'Donohue

While I am not exactly sure what John O’Donohue’s thoughts are I am drawn to the following verses written by a young King David as he was running for his life from his enemies.

" He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. 2 Samuel 22:20

“God is my strength and power; He maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hind’s feet and setteth me upon my high places.” 2 Samuel 22:33,34

As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight. Psalm 16:2

They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. Psalm 36:8

 

Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way.
Psalm 37:23

A Blessing

May the light of your soul guide you
May the light of your soul bless the work you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in the bland absences.
May the day never burden.
May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.

John O'Donohue, Anam Cara

I find these thoughts refreshing in a world where work is all too often reduced to mere functions designed to produce adequate products as efficiently as possible with many compromises to quality. No wonder the younger people in our American workforce only want to give what is required rather than the best they can do. The idea that what we do reflects on our relationship to our Creator and on our own souls is perhaps something we all need to think long and hard about.


And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3:17

As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. I Thessalonians 2:11, 12


© John O’Donohue. All rights reserved  For more information and further reading visit www.johnodonohue.com