Terry Hershey

In his novel, The Shoes of the Fisherman, Morris West tells the story of Ukrainian Archbishop Kiril Lakota, who is set free after two decades as a political prisoner in Siberia. Kiril is sent to Rome, where the ailing Pope makes him a Cardinal. The world (set in the 1980s) is in a state of crisis -- a famine in China is exacerbated by US restrictions on Chinese trade and the ongoing Chinese-Soviet feud. When the Pontiff dies, Lakota--after several ballots--is elected Pope. In the book, the new Pope, Kiril I, is often plagued by self-doubt, by his years in prison, and by this strange world he knows so little about.

There is one telling conversation, between two of Kiril's advisers.
"What did His Holiness have to say about that?"
"He has a soft heart. The danger is that it may be too soft for the good of the church."
"He has suffered more than we. Perhaps he has more right to trust his heart than we have."

I get it.
Really. I do.
The whole soft heart routine can be nothing but headaches. Because we all KNOW that in the midst of navigating the heart's uneven terrain -- grief, infatuation, loss, devotion, sadness, passion, eagerness, sorrow, ardor, emotion -- the life we REALLY DESERVE, is passing us by. (Because we all know, that if our life has any unpleasantness, we didn't deserve it.)

Lord only knows where we swallowed this disquieting notion that life always begins, after. (I remember the very first week of a Divorce Recovery group, in the throes of my own roller-coaster of emotions, thinking, "So, am I healed yet? How many more weeks can this possibly take?")

So. We live in a world that (turning the Rumi quote on its head), has sold bewilderment and has bought (more like mortgaged) cleverness. The heck with unresolved circumstances, or sacrifice, or love gone awry, or self-doubt. We will figure it out (with explanations -- or "facts," even if we have to make them up).
Or, we will tough it out. Which is convenient, because we live in a world that rewards toughness.
Don't get me wrong. Resiliency is not only a good thing, but also an indispensable attribute. And it is one quality that makes us profoundly human.

But here's the deal: Our resiliency does not come from adding more to the armor we wear meant to keep life from "hurting" us.

When Harold Kushner's son was tragically killed, a friend, meaning to console Kushner, told him that he could rise above the pain, and move past it. Kushner writes, "But I believed that it was supposed to hurt. In the same way that dead cells, our hair and fingernails, feel no pain when they are cut but living cells bleed and hurt, so I believe that spiritually dead souls can be cut into, separated from other souls, and not feel pain. But living, sensitive souls are easily hurt. I don't like being hurt. . .but when I protect myself against the danger of loss by teaching myself not to care, not let anyone get too close to me, I lose part of my soul. If we believe that in order for life to be good, we have to avoid pain, the danger is that we will become so good at not feeling pain that we will learn not to feel anything--not joy, not love, not hope, not awe. We will be emotionally anesthetized. (When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough)

Here's the sticky wicket: Fullness of life is not about protecting myself from life, but from letting (or allowing) more of life in.

No. It is not easy to give up our current measurements of success.
Nor is it easy to give up our sense of "control."
But, if we do, we find ourselves, in the words of Henry Miller, living aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.

I am a sucker for many of the infomercials. (I know, I need to go to a 12-step group. It's a problem.) So, this week I watched one that promised, "if miracles don't happen in your life in 90 days, send it (the product) back." I guess they didn't know about Albert Einstein's observation, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Yes.
Miracles do happen. . .whether I purchase or add or incorporate anything else into my life.
This life.

Saw a wonderful t-shirt the other day:
Hey
you and I
are going to have
a big
love affair
and it won't work
but somewhere in
the middle
my god, we tried

So what does it mean? To see with our heart?

For starters, we don't give in to fear.

I read an NPR story about how Stephanie Disney (audiologist at the Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs) met her---then 2-and-a-half-year-old---daughter, Rudy. Disney recalls, "my heart recognized her immediately." In the story, Disney says, "I am the whitest of white women, and my daughter is some indefinable combination of all that is beautiful from at least three races: curly dark hair, petite features, freckles, a golden tan skin tone, one blue eye and one brown. If her race had only one name, it would be perfection. I understand that everyone wants love and acceptance. And these are such rare gifts, that when people see them freely demonstrated, they are compelled to seek the source. Recently, Rudy surprised me when a white-haired lady, standing right beside us, asked if I was her mother. Rudy threw the lady a disbelieving glance and said, "Well, she helps me with multiplication, fixes my hair, kisses me and we both have freckles on our noses 'who else could she be?'"

When we see with the heart, we know that, regardless of our differences, we are on this journey together.

I love the gospel story of the Good Samaritan. He stopped for the man in ditch. Why? Because he knew what it was like to be wounded too.

You see, once we're open to having our stereotypes contradicted,
to giving up our expectations and demands,
to embracing our brokenness,
we find that (in the words of Mother Teresa), "There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter."

And, when we see with our heart, we are grounded. We are conscious---present---no longer numbed (by distraction, or elucidation or the addition of whatever it is that we need for the life we deserve).

Yesterday, my day began with the weight of worry.

On my morning walk, I watched a doe and two fawns, standing 30 feet away, on the edge of the forest. The mother and one fawn stand on one side of my driveway. The second fawn, on the opposite, waits for me to pass. I look into the liquid-ebony eyes of the fawn. She (he) stands, frozen, camouflaged by the forest understory. They are still, for quite some time, and watching me, wondering, I suppose, what all the fuss is about. I can tell you that I am mesmerized, and delighted, nonetheless. And there is something about wonder and awe that lessens the weight of worry.

On the pathway back to my house I see the shoots of Iris Reticulata, the first of our garden season. . .miniature iris, regal purple, just out of the ground and looking like exquisite nib pens. I stop, kneel, and pay homage. And I remember Jim Harrison's great line; "Paying attention is only game in town."  And I know that to pay attention you must be present.

And to be present, you need a soft heart.


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Poems / Prayers

When I get out of the way of my own thinking, I am at peace.
When I get out of the way of my doing, I am enough.
When I get out of the way of my being, I become all I am; the Divine expression of God's amazing grace.
ML Gallagher

If the house is clean and pure,
Fiercely incorruptible,
God is ever at the door,
The Father and the Prodigal.
Should He never be aware
Of the order of each plate,
Still they will be shining there
And the floor immaculate.
Though at times the things revolt,
Fickle water or damp wall
The chipped cup or stiffened bolt
(Love where is your Prodigal?)
Still the house waits and is glad; Every teacup makes a welcome,
Every cup aspires to God
Even if He never comes.
And whether He exists at all,
The Father and the Prodigal,
He is expected by these things,
And each plate Hosannah sings!
May Sarton

God,
Love is born
With a dark and troubled face
When hope is dead
And in the most unlikely place
Love is born
Love is always born.
Amen.
M. Leunig

News and Notes

NEWS and UPDATES

Every once in a while, a book comes to the store, passes through my hands, and makes me think to myself I HAVE to read this! That's exactly what happened the minute I found Terry Hershey's book The Power of Pause.
desalescatholicbookstore

Best Spiritual Books of 2009 -- By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat spiritualityandpractice.books

Books to Nourish Your Soul from 2009 beliefnet.com/2009

There have been some gracious and heartfelt reviews for The Power of Pause. I am grateful. But as you know, the more the merrier. In other words, reviews on Amazon really do make a difference. IF you have read The Power of Pause, I would be honored. . .really. . .if you would jot a few thoughts to pass the word.
amazon.com/Power-Pause


BE INSPIRED THIS WEEK

Through The Power of Half, our family set out to make a small difference in the world and ended up transforming ourselves. We found that creating a "half" project was an amazing powerful tool to building deeper connections and trust among us.
thepowerofhalf

www.missionariesofthepoor.org/videos.htm Under the direction of Fr. Richard Ho Lung, a group of extremely talented Jamaican artists have come together as "Father Ho Lung & Friends".
video.google.com

NEW Terry Videos --- Let your light shine (Shine I and Shine II)
youtube.com/TerryHersheyMedia


FAVORITES from last week:

Greatest impromptu piano duet by a 90-year-old couple in the Mayo Clinic lobby you'll hear today
Mayo duet

This video shows the winner of "Ukraine's Got Talent", Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch. She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated. It is replaced by a woman's face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman's face appears. She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier. A window frames this outdoor scene as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house. In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye. The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million. Kseniya Simonova says: "I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there's surely no bigger compliment."
youtube.artist

Rest in the Garden. New Winter Photos from Terry's garden.
Now archived on Zenfolio. Check them out, and enjoy.
Terry's garden

RESOURCES TO HELP US PAUSE

Terry's idea for the day
Carry a learner's permit: I am Student Hugger

1. NEW Terry videos with pause reminders
Find them on the new Terry Hershey YouTube channel. Please pass the word.

2. NEW Pause DVD.
dvd-becoming-more

3. THE POWER OF PAUSE: BECOMING MORE BY DOING LESS,
power-of-pause.htm

Any questions call 800-524-5370.

FIND TERRY.
Join Terry at an event that may be near you.
Terry's Schedule

February 2
St. Bede the Venerable Parish
La Canada, CA
http://www.bede.org/
February 4
Nativity of Our Lady Church
Sponsor: Diocese of Monterey
San Luis Obispo,
tburrows@dioceseofmonterey.org
February 5
La Reina High School
Thousand Oaks, CA
www.lareina.com
February 6
Padre Serra Parish
Thousand Oaks, CA
February 9
St. Peter's Catholic Community
Fallbrook, CA
February 10
St. John Neumann
Irvine, CA
February 11
Central Texas Conference UMC
Glen Lake Conference Center, Glen Rose, TX
February 14
Aledo United Methodist
Aledo, TX
February 14
First United Methodist
Fort Worth, TX
February 28
Spirit of Grace
http://www.spiritofgrace.com/ Surprise, AZ
You can INVITE Terry to speak at your parish, church or organization.
Contact us -- support@terryhershey.com

It's time to think about Religious Education Congress, Anaheim, CA 2010 -- March 19-21, 2010
www.recongress.org/2010
Register

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