As I face this day my hope is that I remain diligent in the conduct of my actions, calm in my temperament and judicious in my manner. There is a Psalm that says as regards the righteous, “They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” As most know I am conflicted over matters of faith but I do struggle to be moral and virtuous. I do fight (at least internally) to do the “right” thing.
A friend provided me a book called “Jesus Calling” sometime ago when I was facing loss. I pick it up from time to time on a relatively regular basis. The volume with its daily meditations sits among my treasures, Merton, Neruda and Gordon MacKenzie. These are the guidance counselors of my life, a hermit, a hedonistic poet and an anarchic corporate denizen. Sounds like the start of a very filthy joke, eh?
Today’s mini homily in my friend’s gift says that we live in a world of brash sight and sound. However it goes on to say we are not (and must not let ourselves become) slaves to stimuli of shinning things. The text talks of taking all things to Jesus and there weighing their value.
Me, at the place where I am, I see value in the core sentiment. My thought would be to view all of the radiantly burnished things of this world through skeptical eyes taking time to balance the demanding brash urgent now against the truth, the divine. Whether a person is “of faith” or of the world we need to look at what is about us with a cautious and questioning eye. We must suss out whether the bright urgent will ultimately produce good, in us and in the world.
1 comment:
Me, as I faced the day, my goal was to simply get through it alive& relatively intact.
Bless you, my friend, for attempting deeper thoughts.
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