'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be...
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight.
~ A Shaker song by Joseph Brackett 1848
All of us are simply unable to predict what will occur from day to day; we are most often in the position to acknowledge and to accept, day by day. Those of us who learn and develop our spiritual selves, our faith life, who live in the present moment, the most perfect moment, will find through careful attention, life in a world in which we, as one element of a symphony, if you will, are as much the actors as the re-actors.
Today the prayer above is best known as the theme song to the rock musical, Godspell, but it was a Saintwho first provided the lyics and lent his thoughts to the wisdom they encompass.
Author and theologian Thomas Merton wrote about a facet of human nature which he calls fears of the truth. And there are several. In particular, he addresses the meaning of sincerity in every day life.
While much in our lives is motivated by our fears, Merton notes that "sincerity is a simplicity of spirit which is preserved by the will to be true. It implies an obligation to manifest the truth and to defend it... Sincerity in the fullest sense is a divine gift."
He notes that it takes more "courage than we imagine to be perfectly simple with other men... False sincerity has much to say because it is afraid. Yet true candor cannot be silent. It does not need to face an impending attack. Anything... may be defended with perfect simplicity."
In the end, by Merton's reckoning, sincerity is really an issue of love. The sincere one is one who seeks the truth and embodies it. Truth then is not just an abstraction. It is real, living flesh, like yours and mine.
Many in today's world fear that they are not really lovable, not lovable to the extent they think they deserve. And others fear that a lack of real, meaningful love in our lives indicates that "since we are not lovable as we are, we must be lovable under false pretenses, making ourself appear to be different that we are."
In the conclusion to his essay, No Man Is An Island, Merton writes that so few believe in God because they do not believe that even a god can love them. The man who will admit that what he sees may be wrong with him, and recognizes that he may be, still, the object of God's love precisely because of his shortcomings can make a start to become sincere. His love is based then upon confidence rather than the falseness of illusion.
The film Upstream Color examines the lives of two deeply imperfect, and in some ways, flawed individuals. While much is remarked upon the film's abstraction, the central characters meet, develop and share an intense love for one another that becomes based in sincerity.
She suffers from a serious mental illness and he, from a professional shortcoming that results in the loss of the licensing required to carry out his profession. Initially she offers up certain details of her illness, while he initially withholds facts about his own situation.
The resulting social stigma he bears from past indiscretions and the stigma of her illness, combine to create a powerful portrait of two people picking their way through the world, salvaging and in a measure, redeeming themselves, and each other through sincere love.
The simplicity of the film is provided by the many scenes of nature and the interactions with that nature. The film maker leaves us with a certain ambiguity in those scenes, to believe or not. The effect is both spiritually powerful and insightful.
"Having received instruction first from Buddhist practitioner of the Mahayana tradition, then for several years in the Zen tradition, I bring to the web the Simple Mind School of practice." ~Art by Dana Gibson~
Broadcasting to all of Champaign and Urbana Illinois.
Caritas Europe
Working for a just and equitable world. One of Caritas many activities, the resettlement of refugees is important. Seek out Caritas lodging hotels and inns, when you travel Europe and support the efforts of Caritas.
However it may be true that mankind is destined for work, and called to it, work is for man. Man is not for work. Without doubt, human labor has an ethical value all its own, clearly and directly linking to the fact that the one who carries it out is a whole person, a conscious and free subject who decides about himself. Respect for the objectives and rights of Laborers, every kind of labor, be it manual or intellectual, industrial or agricultural, it must constitute an adequate and fundamental criterion for shaping the whole economy, both individually and in society as a whole. Labor must not be doomed to be devalued merely as the end result of an economic system which large or small in form, are guided by the criterion of maximum profits. The whole of the person, and his production matters.
Of Social Concern
Today, the social question which continues to inspire us is concern for the poor, those poor either in spirit and/or in body; all the creatures of the earth, both great and small. The decisions which it inspires in us cannot but embrace the immense multitudes of the hungry, the needy, the homeless, inadequate medical care, and above all, those without hope. Ignoring these realities for convenience or other motives, "shipping them overseas," ignoring them in our neighborhoods, our communities is like the materiallyrich man of the Bible who pretended not to see Lazarus, a beggar, lying at his gate. Therefore, live as a servant of the simple, common good.
The Human Century
Situations which arise, strongly motivated and influenced by various ideologies, in which duality or polarization occurs, are those situations in which the dignity and value of a person may be strongly obscured. Affirm the force and value of a person. Every person bears the likeness of a greater being and therefore deserves your respect. With this awareness duality is healed, divisions are resolved; the coming together of souls occurs for the simple, collected task of activities which are more respectful and affirming of the dignity of persons.
Engage in protest which values; do no further harm. It then will become necessary to abandon the dualist mentality in which the poor of all stripes are viewed as a burden, irksome and distasteful intruders into others lives, trying to consume what others have produced. Respect them in the place they are; recognize a right to a share in the material goods and make good use of their capacity to work, so as to create a more harmonious and dignified world for all in common. Promote unity so that man may be better able to live a life worthy of a man. Are we not all One under the sun?
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