I’ve spent this past week writing copy for our new-look website at terryhershey.com (I know, I know. . .why does everything have to be newer and better?). . .and I’m looking forward to the process being over (you know, “if only”. . .).
So. Here’s what I wrote:
I have no techniques.
I cannot tell you what to do.
I cannot give you permission.
I can tell you this: life is about being present.
So. Why do we hold on to the notion that life—or our spiritual growth, or spiritual healing, or spiritual inspiration—begins someplace other than where we are right now?
I can invite you to give yourself the permission to. . .
Regain the foolishness of wonder
Embrace the sacred in the daily
Celebrate gooseflesh
Go human
Radiate compassion
Find God in the ordinary
Live playful
Spill laughter
Invite serendipity
Savor the moment
Practice the power of pause
Delight in life, knee-deep in the sights, smells, sounds and textures of the day
And remember that Grace is a gift given to all. Without exception. Period.
I cannot tell you your song. But I can tell you this: you have one.
Count on it.
And if you sit still, you may hear it. Really.
It is the “song” that reminds us we are beautiful, when we feel ugly.
It is the song that tells us we are whole, when we feel broken.
Once there was a time when the whole of rational creation formed a single dancing chorus looking upwards to the one leader of the dance. And the harmony of that motion which was imparted to them by reason of His law found its way into their dancing. Gregory of Nyssa
5 Comments
I have seen the "Church Preacher" with the white teeth. I have listened. And I have turned off the television. Thank all that is right in this crazy mixed up world for you, Terry Hershey, your wisdom, integrity, humor, and gifts that you so graciously share with those of us who need them the most.
Another thread in the tapestry: it takes the discipline to master the required skills to find the freedom to express in any of the arts, carpentry, dance, painting, etc. The corollary is watching a child learn to walk. She is expressive, joyful but, at the same time, lacks the freedom to do what she wants. She has to think each step, the placement of her feet, check her balance, etc. With mastery of skills comes the freedom to be in the moment, to leap, run and, yes, to dance. The movements are now natural and fluid. Not to negate your post, just to add another color to its tapestry.
It is not dancing when the world is rosy and nice that is important. It is dancing when the darkness sets in. We must dance though we might not feel as if we should. It is precisely these times when we must dance.
I think that dancing when the darkness sets in is what requires the discipline. Or maybe the word is intentionality. In other words, I "choose" to dance. In spite of. Without my choice, I can easily be a victim (or feel like one).
And I agree, Suchin, about the "mastery" element. I like the color to the tapestry metaphor. I believe that this journey of mastery–using the child analogy–is a process that allows for lack or loss of balance. My son, learning to ride a bike told me, "Dad, today I learned to ride a bike. I started learning by falling down a lot."
It's not about perfection so much as it's about the absence of "self-consciousness."
By the way. . .I have nothing against white teeth. In fact, I'm envious. However, I emphatically do not like it when the church prays on false hope. And makes people believe that they didn't get what they asked for because of "lack of faith."
;)