It is almost time for the stealth bombers to fly over the start of the Rose Parade again. What have we learned since the last time?
1. We may feel hopeless about making a difference. We may no longer believe in what we are doing. We may be discouraged, tired, ready to give up and stop trying.
We are looking for more.
Where are we looking for more today, this week, this month, this year?
2. Most of us do not see a potential struggle as a positive opportunity. We may say we appreciate a good competition, but what we really enjoy is winning. For most of us, a “good” struggle is one from which we emerge victorious.
What are we struggling with today which will help us become stronger tomorrow?
3. Spiritual life is not like doing homework or finding the solution to a puzzle. It is not like a murder mystery or a calculus problem, daring us to figure out the answer.
What are the questions we most deeply want answered today? When will we ask our next question?
4. Walking prayer is praying with our eyes open. We see people who might be living on the streets, people who are waiting for a bus. Walking prayer is filled with the spiritual life of construction sites, of hospitals, of coffee shops.
When we come to the end of our walk, we say Amen.
Where will our walking prayer take us today?
5. Other than my wife, the people who have taught me the most by their example are monks.
There are people I see at least once each year, who I know by sight though we have never spoken. They welcome me and share themselves with me. I observe and learn from their examples.
Whose examples are we following? Where do we go to listen to deep silence?
6. Beth Slevcove helps each of us recognize and find the value of our own losses, our own grief, and translate them into hallelujahs.
What broken hallelujahs have we experienced?
7. When we are able to respond with humor, we see things from a new perspective. There is deep irony in the Sacred truths all around us. Recognizing the irony of spiritual life helps us appreciate ourselves and the people around us.
There is healing power in humor.
How will we strengthen our spiritual practice of humor in the coming year?
8.Our first step in practicing stillness is admitting we need to be still and we do not know how to do it. We begin by sitting and listening to our own breathing.
Who helps us find the stillness we need?
9. Monastic space is the room we give ourselves to appreciate the Sacred life all around.
Where do we find the monastic space to dance?
10. Life is deeper, more ambiguous than our sensory experiences. Monastic life can show us how to revel in life’s ambiguity.
How will we celebrate ambiguity in new ways this year?
11. Monks have shown me that contemplation and action are not opposite, not separate. Reflection and practice fit together and feed each other.
How do reflection and action fit together for us?
12. My work is about helping people discover the spiritual life they may be missing or ignoring.
How does spiritual life affect our everyday lives?
Just think what lessons 2017 might have in store for us!
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