A Walk In My Shoes

Walking In My Shoes

by Depeche Mode

Listen Here

I would tell you about the things

They put me through.

The pain I've been subjected to

But the Lord himself would blush.

The countless feasts laid at my feet.

Forbidden fruits for me to eat.

But I think your pulse would start to rush.

Now I'm not looking for absolution

forgiveness for the things I do.

But before you come to any conclusions

Try walking in my shoes.

You'll stumble in my footsteps.

Keep the same appointments I kept

If you try walking in my shoes.

Morality would frown upon.

Decency look down upon.

The scapegoat fate's made of me.

But I promise you, my judge and jurors

My intentions couldn't have been purer.

My case is easy to see.

I'm not looking for a clearer conscience.

Peace of mind after what I've been through

And before we talk of repentance

Try walking in my shoes

Try walking in my shoes.

We all think we have it worse, and sometimes we do. Blind to ourselves, quick to call out others, we volunteer ourselves for both judge and jury. Recently I had a conversation with a person who thinks of herself in a spiritual light. She noted that while many may choose to live together with their extended family, it really 'just depends upon your personality.' A simple mind remarked that custom and culture probably had more to do with it than the idiosyncrasies of personality.

Then it happened... She judged, and in that moment--a split second really, a simple mind could see into everything she most believed about herself and the world she inhabits: It's a world where the wheel is created over and over again; tradition accounts for naught, and not seeing herself clearly, she later remarked, that she was leaving her job to find "meaningful work with an NGO (a non-governmental organization) in Africa." She thought to work somewhere else far, far away. Simple mind comments about the value of observation over judgment were lost upon her, as lost as her thought that her life was really somewhere else, somewhere not in this and every moment.

 Discerning rather than judging is hard; often it's really hard. We are reminded in most all the spiritual traditions east or west, about the practice of openness, of emptiness and the great gifts it brings when we are empty to receive in the here and now. Our life is filled moment to moment with the world and ourselves, filled to the top. Jesus, the Christ, reminds us of this when we read the gospels which tell of his decided indifference to the character and style of an individual life. Tax collectors, despots, harlots and others, he was willing to treat them, to attend to the great commandment of love for one's neighbor.
Who is your neighbor? The gospel of Luke 10:30-37 gives some clues:
A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who also stripped him and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead.  And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by.In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by.  But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him: and seeing him, was moved with compassion: And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  And the next day he took out two pence and gave to the host and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever you shall spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay you.  Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to him that fell among the robbers?  But he said: He that showed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do in like manner.

 It is not necessary to go afar to meet one which you and your gifts may help. Neighbors are everywhere. If we are living in the "now moment," the present moment with its most pressing meaning, presently, we will come to understand our self first and our neighbor more clearly, who is human like our self. Compassion-- putting yourself in another's shoes-- is the way to understanding, and to love.

Judges and Jurors

Walking In My Shoes

by Depeche Mode

Listen Here

I would tell you about the things

They put me through.

The pain I've been subjected to

But the Lord himself would blush.

The countless feasts laid at my feet.

Forbidden fruits for me to eat.

But I think your pulse would start to rush.

Now I'm not looking for absolution

forgiveness for the things I do.

But before you come to any conclusions

Try walking in my shoes.

You'll stumble in my footsteps.

Keep the same appointments I kept

If you try walking in my shoes.

Morality would frown upon.

Decency look down upon.

The scapegoat fate's made of me.

But I promise you, my judge and jurors

My intentions couldn't have been purer.

My case is easy to see.

I'm not looking for a clearer conscience.

Peace of mind after what I've been through

And before we talk of repentance

Try walking in my shoes

Try walking in my shoes.

We all think we have it worse, and sometimes we do. Blind to ourselves, quick to call out others, we volunteer ourselves for both judge and jury. Recently I had a conversation with a person who thinks of herself in a spiritual light. She noted that while many may choose to live together with their extended family, it really 'just depends upon your personality.' A simple mind remarked that custom and culture probably had more to do with it than the idiosyncrasies of personality.

Then it happened... She judged, and in that moment--a split second really, a simple mind could see into everything she most believed about herself and the world she inhabits: It's a world where the wheel is created over and over again; tradition accounts for naught, and not seeing herself clearly, she later remarked, that she was leaving her job to find "meaningful work with an NGO (a non-governmental organization) in Africa." She thought to work somewhere else far, far away.
Simple mind comments about the value of observation over judgment were lost upon her, as lost as her thought that her life was really somewhere else, somewhere not in this and every moment.

 Discerning rather than judging is hard; often it's really hard. We are reminded in most all the spiritual traditions east or west, about the practice of openness, of emptiness and the great gifts it brings when we are empty to receive in the here and now. Our life is filled moment to moment with the world and ourselves, filled to the top.
Jesus, the Christ, reminds us of this when we read the gospels which tell of his decided indifference to the character and style of an individual life. Tax collectors, despots, harlots and others, he was willing to treat them, to attend to the great commandment of love for one's neighbor.

Who is your neighbor? The gospel of Luke 10:25-37 gives some clues:

“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’

Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”

He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

It is not necessary to go afar to meet one which you and your gifts may help. Neighbors are everywhere. If we are living in the "now moment," the present moment with its most pressing meaning, presently, we will come to understand our self first and our neighbor more clearly, who is human like our self. Compassion is the way to understand, and to love.

It's a Gift To Be Simple...

So go the words of the old American Shaker tune, Simple Gifts, written in 1848 by Shaker elder, Joseph Brackett:


'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, '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, Till by turning, turning we come round right.

The song is described as a dancing song, or a quick song; however I sometimes hear this song in my mind. It comes to me, lighting my way, the simple way, the dharma way into a practice of no practice; the willingness to just be is how it seems to me. *


*this article apeared here previously, December 2009

Lord of the Dance

"Dance, dance wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance said he..." Lyrics by Sydney Carter, Traditional Celtic arrangement

Refrain:

Dance then, wherever you may be

I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!

And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be

And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He!

and lead you all in the Dance, said He!

two of several verses:
I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the Moon and the Stars and the Sun
I came down from Heaven and I danced on Earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black

It's hard to dance with the devil on your back

They buried my body and they thought I'd gone

But I am the Dance and I still go on!

They cut me down and I leapt up high

I am the Life that'll never, never die!

I'll live in you if you'll live in Me -

I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!

words by Sydney Carter, music traditional

The holiday time is again near. All are dancing to the distinct rhythms of late fall into early winter. Along with the holiday time comes another season not often thought about, and yet it makes itself, oh, so clearly known.
For many of us, we come together in celebration and joy, creating memories and enlivening traditions and customs. Family. Even as we join into these festivities, we don't often realize where traditions come from.
For others, it isn't so harmonious. There seems to be, between partners and spouses in general and families in particular, traditions too, but they aren't universally shared.

Conflict is inevitable. She has to have it her way, and he has to have it his way. Why? Well, because his parents did it like that, and her parents held out another way. He is from Russia; she is American. To each these small, quaint rituals suddenly become important, and neither party wants to forgo what oddly seems to be a little part of themselves, a little part that gives them meaning.
It is a piece, however small or large of who they are. This sense of place and identity extends to where of the event(s) takes place, the food, the music, the progress, and the inclusion, or exclusion of certain others. It is a surprisingly "loaded" exchange.

It seems not so much to be among parents and their offspring, but more often between spouses, in laws and friends. Why so? Because social patterns are long developed, and long standing within the group. They resist incursion by others not originating of that group. So some who are brought into the group, bring their ideas too. In my family for example, we are of Scots-English origin.
Names like Fendlasson and Robertson populate our ancestry, and yes, their customs remain our own. In a nearly unbroken chain of oral tradition passed down and practiced by the kin group, we are still eating many of the same foods and drinking the same tea as our ancestors from long ago.
And it makes us happy. Why? Because we sense an eternal belonging to someone and something greater than just ourselves, a connection from present to past which all together leads to future. We are hopeful.

In a partnership there is a solution to the clashing of each other's sense of tradition. With respect and understanding, a family community may take their tradition literally and have newcomers join in, they may take parts of traditions and add a modern twist of their own, creating their own, unique versions and they may gain as much as the family did long ago in terms of connection and a sense of belonging.

I am not Greek, for example, however there are several Greeks married into our family. We have adjusted over the past half century to these "newcomers" of ours, and now Greek food is on the menu along with the traditional Scots-English foods, and we have adapted. The holiday is joyful and much simplified when we are able to carefully consider what matters most to each participant and find a way to greet traditions that are not originally our own.

'Tis a Gift to be Simple, a Gift to Be Free...'

So go the words of the old American Shaker tune, Simple Gifts, written in 1848 by Shaker elder, Joseph Brackett:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, '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, Till by turning, turning we come round right.

The song is described as a dancing song, or a quick song; however I sometimes hear this song in my mind. It comes to me, lighting my way, the simple way, the dharma way into a practice of no practice; the willingness to just be is how it seems to me.