Sculptor

You are an artist when you do your morning prayer.  I find it is at this time that I am chipping away at my old self, to reveal the person I am meant to be, hidden inside old behavior.  If I think or feel that nothing is going on, I know that my Higher Power, God, is chipping away at any ego build up or life-long Stoney Heart, to bring out the best me God created.  Like a piece of marble, I sit there and do nothing much.  God is at work.  Then I can better live God’s Day.   

Attitude

 You can follow rules, steps and still not change.  What happened?  Well, you might check your attitude in relation to events in your life.  Just because you are living a less crazy life, does not mean anyone around you is going to change.  They are fine being whatever.  Either you change your attitude or you build resentments.  When your life was a mess, you had shame and guilt, and maybe resentments too.  You changed some outside behavior.  But you are no one’s center of their life.  Well,  your ego thinks so, whatever.  Spiritual growth comes with attitude change. Attitude change, replacing resentments opens up new possibilities for you to act.  

The List

 When my “to do” list includes some time for God, I have it backwards.  I have found that I need to get myself right with God first.  Then things tend to fall into place and my “to do” list can change or become “enlightened.  I pray first in the morning and do some spiritual reading, psalms and such.  Otherwise, my list becomes ego driven, too long, too unrealistic, too fear-based.  

St. Francis

 People in Recovery Meetings sometimes say the “St. Francis Prayer” in their spiritual practice.  This October celebrates the 800 anniversary of Francis of Assisi, “Transitus.”  That is, his death and transition to the next life.  Though he founded a group called Franciscans, he never told them to become just like him.  Rather, he said he had found out what God wanted of him.  So to follow him, find out what God wants for you.  The Franciscan commitment was to give each person a community practice in which they could find out their specific way to follow Francis’ vision.  He was a person of unity and within that, there can be a variety of ways to bring us all together.  Read the St. Francis Prayer.  

Spark

 Where do you see a spark?  One place is in smoke, or stubble.  That is, there is no fire, yet a spark may be hidden.  You can be the hidden spark.  How do you light the fire?  You don’t do it just as a spark.  You need the breath of prayer, quiet breathing in the silence and solitude.  The Higher Power, God, spiritual force is what will breathe into you, the spark.  It will light the fire.  So many people live the stubble life, but your example, your spiritual practice can make a difference.  You don’t change the world, but you do change yourself, or get changed, by prayer and then action.  

Opinions

If you are going to get into a discussion with someone about some issue, political, religious, cultural, you might want to park your opinions and stick to your experience. Your experience is real whereas opinions are well, opinions.  I hear people say that religion is nonsense, AA is nonsense though they have never had any experience with either. If I have had no direct experience I might mention a book or author who said this and that from their experience and study.  If the response is the book is wrong you can suggest the person has not read it and what is their source. It keeps things calmer and maybe more listening. 

Action

 You may find it hard to talk about your beliefs, but as St. Francis of Assisi says, you don’t have to use words.  Use action.  This avoids hypocrisy.  I can be pretty good with words and this helps others on my blog since they don’t see how I act.  But action is for those who do see me.  And some of my best action is when I am selfless and no one sees it.  Oh, forgot.  God sees.  Oops!