Wednesday, May 28, 2014

What are you afraid of? - My Kind Of Church Music

"We're talking about the present," the social worker says but she can't fool me. The present is just fine, entirely capable of caring for itself. It is the future she has brought to frighten me, the future they mean to cast me into willy-nilly, with neither love nor grace. I know she'll want my daughter to assume responsibility for me, but I am reluctant to consume my daughter's life.

"Don't sell the house," I tell Andrea after the woman leaves.

"We have to. We need the money for the nursing home."

"If I don't go, then we don't need the money."

Linda McCullough Moore, "On My Way Now", The Sun, April, 2014, pp.18-19

Indeed, the present is entirely capable of taking care of itself. It is what it is as the Buddhists say. Jesus says, "Don't worry about tomorrow until tomorrow. Don't you have enough to worry about today?" And I say to myself, "Yes, indeed. Today is enough for any person, why be greedy?"

As Seneca writes in his ninth letter quoting of Stilbo "Any man," he says, "who does not think that what he has is more than ample, is an unhappy man, even if he is master of the whole world."

And Seneca goes on to write, "What difference does it make, after all, what your position in life is if you dislike it yourself?"

Seneca ends this ninth letter writing, "Only the wise man is content with what is his. All foolishness suffers the burden of dissatisfaction with itself."

As  Bobby McFerrin sang, Don't Worry, Be Happy"

6 comments:

  1. Voluntary poverty is an old spiritual discipline of the religious orders. Perhaps it is time to bring it back. We encumber ourselves with too much stuff and become distracted from what is really important. To always want more when we have what we need is what used to be called a sin, in the sense that it is a mistake, and not the path to a life well lived.

    I love what you are doing with your blog. Keep up the good work!

    Mark

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  2. Bumper sticker read, "The future has been postponed."

    Another bumper sticker said, "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow's not here yet. Enjoy today - that's why they call it "the present".

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  3. Margaret CarpenterMay 28, 2014 at 8:32 AM

    The Universalists believe that everyone gets into heaven, right? If this is true, then why would anyone worry about the future? Maybe they don't really believe what they preach or there is something deeper here than the surface, more superficial interpretation. Help me with this, please.

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    1. Dear Margaret:

      Rev. Kaaren Anderson at First Unitarian of Rochester says they while many Christians want to get people into heaven, Unitarian Universalists want to get heaven into people. The further question is how to do this? How does one help get heaven into one's own life and help a person help other people to get heaven into theirs?

      One idea worth implementing is what in A Course In Miracles is called "The Holy Instant" or as Ram Das and others say, "Be here now". Can you take a deep breath, relax, let all your thoughts and worries go, and just be centered? If we can do this, we can find our bliss right here on earth as it is in heaven to cop a phrase from the great prayer that Jesus taught us, the Our Father.

      Stop what you are doing five times today for 30 seconds, take a deep breath, drop your shoulders, and just be present to your breathing and the rhythm of your own heart. Practicing this you will experience heaven right now, wherever you are.

      As the Universalists teach, this experience of heaven, bliss, is available to all human beings when they clear aware the clutter which create obstacles and barriers to Love's presence.

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  4. In considering this topic we shouldn't forget the AA slogan, one of the most important, "One Day At A Time".

    Love your blog too man. Means a lot to me.

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  5. A Course In Miracles teaches that we have two choices: love or fear. Is your daily life love based or fear based? We have to decide from moment to moment, minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day. Being mindful and aware is where it's at but then we love to be distracted from our existential anxieties which we experience as our fundamental fear of death even though we often don't recognize it as such.

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