Doing Nothing

 There is a part of the self that gets renewed by doing nothing.  Just sit and do nothing.  It can be very sweet if you let it.  This is a part of you that is not about mind, thinking, muscles, exercise, but about doing nothing but sitting somewhere pleasant. Quiet and still.  Something in us needs this to be renewed.  Let go of the shame, guilt or fear about “not accomplishing” something.  You are accomplishing something or it is being accomplished by your not doing anything.  And if you learn to enjoy it, then you have accomplished something.  

One Day At A Time

 41 years ago today, I decided that I needed to get off the merry-go-round of a bunch of good days, and then the seemingly inevitable bad day.  My spiritual path had been, “I will never have this bad day again, forever.”  Unfortunately, I had not found a spiritual way to forever.  Someone suggested that I find a spiritual practice that was “just for today.”  My ego wanted forever, not today.  But what the hey, my way was not working.  As long as it had been “my way” God was not going to interfere.  So, humbly, I said “just for today” I would do a spiritual practice, and do it daily, but just focus on today.  Well, that was 41 years ago, so I guess it works.  Today is another day.  God Power began to work in a deeper way when I humbly surrendered my way, and my ego.  So now I have good and not so good moments, like anyone else who is sane.  But no really bad days of self-will run riot.  

The Impression

Many a time I walk along the downtown streets of San Francisco and see boy and girl walking together. The girl often dresses as if she cared how she looks, how others see her.  It took some doing.  The boy looks like he slept in whatever her is wearing, which took no effort.  I think about this is prayer.  I know my God accepts me when I am presenting myself with little effort to have looked good.  I am a mess and need mercy and forgiveness.  But I would like to present myself to my God in prayer with a better impression and this takes work, effort on my part.  Being good is often not so easy.  But as long as I am trying, eventually I will go in a better direction.  

Change The Air

 Change the air is an Italian phrase that says get out of the house and go into open air where there are people with whom you can visit.  So many of us live alone or in cramped conditions, that I think spiritual fitness might require that we get out of our little world, our electronic world and go visit with people in the outdoors or outdoor cafe.  I can meditate in silence and solitude but  I need to balance this with some communal activity free of any electronic devices.  Be with flesh and blood people.  There is a time to get into myself and a time to get out of myself, to practice social graces.  

Change Of Time

 For reasons that escape me, the time of my posting for several blogs ended up being late at night instead of early in the morning.  So you would not have seen the blog posted on FB until late that night.  Some people can go directly to the blog and its posting time is not an issue.  But I did not panic.  Rather I fixed what ones I could find.  The point?  When things seem to be going sideways in plans, do what you can to fix it and then move on.  Most of our plans are not life and death issues.  

Spiritual Books

 People read the Bible or the Big Book, and say they have questions or they do not understand something.  Well, God, your Higher Power has questions for you.  So why not start there.  Read more slowly, not looking for answers but for identification.  Are you the problem these books are writing about?  Are you like the persons who are being written about, problematic persons, selfish, scheming, lying, resentful, that the Bible and the Big Book are addressing?  Do you drink like the people in the Big Book?  It is not firstly about “understanding” alcoholism, but about finding out if you do what these drunks did to self-heal.  Do you put milk into your drink?  Do you make resolutions and don’t keep them?  Are you selfish, self-willed run riot?  Do you drink like the jay walker?  Are you introvert when dry and grandiose when drunk?  And so on.  Later, after a few steps you can ask questions.  

Love

 Love is an emotion.  It comes and goes.  To say, “I love you,” may be nothing more than feeling the emotion of love.  No action.  No commitment.  No ego-shrinkage.  To actually love someone takes work.  If someone said, “I love golf,” but only plays when they feel like it and never does the hard grinding practice to do it better, you would think they do not really love golf.  The same goes with marriage, vocation, hobby.  These take work on a daily basis that goes beyond the emotions of “love.”  I might not always love being a priest, or putting out this blog, but I do it.  I don’t wait for some emotion to come along and carry me.  Until death do us part!