I wrote this a week ago, but I don't see where I posted it.
It's a short list of things I thought about after attending my 50th class reunion, ruminations that floated through frontal cortex on their way to somewhere else. Thoughts on how words are so neat and powerful --to the point I'm amazed we can understand each other at all. And lastly an internal conversation I had with myself on always seeking peace, while resisting the urge to just release the hounds of hate on The Others in my life, based on my interpretation of Romans, chapter 12.
(In the course of giving this a final proof-reading, I really get the feeling I DID post this earlier, but for the life of me I can't find it)
May 30, Ano Dos
Sunday Meditation;
After-shocks, Life after “The 50th”.
A bit of This 'n That
Word Play
The Joy of Plowing
I’ve changed a lot in recent years, not all for the better, not all for the worse. I now make a conscience effort to steer clear of trigger issues where I am prone to fail and find myself pushed into worrying about issues the world has decided They need me to worry about. I get nervous when my spending habits are a close fit to what They deem as “optimal spending”. The last national election has a feeling of being just that, “The Last National Election”. And what is really amazing to me is that for a significant portion of the voters, across the whole political spectrum, they couldn’t give a rat’s _ss if it did turn out to be the last one. It’s like watching time lapse video of the decline of a great civilization. All the facts are caught on tape, and the experts still can’t agree on what relegated that civilization to the dustbin of history.
I’ve often think words are just Legos stuck in the end of a pen or held prisoner inside a keyboard. They just need liberating. I enjoy a well crafted sentence/paragraph/chapter/book, even if its on a subject I’m not interested in. It’s like looking into how an architect designed house was built with all sorts of non-obvious attributes that make the house special for reasons most folks don’t know why. For example; a window high up seems oddly out of place, until you figure out its location allows moonbeams in the dark of winter to flood the corner of the library where the owner does his deep thinking. Now that’s hi-def thinking.
This week, I came across an article by Nathan Beacom titled, "To Plow His Furrow In Peace", discussing the French painter, Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875), some of whose paintings of the French rural poor you may be familiar with (esp if you farm). The Angelus, The Sower, and The Gleaners are three you likely to know. Millet, who was gifted as a painter, was criticized by those of the privileged class for, in their eyes, glorify the poor instead of the dignified, such as themselves. Alfred Sensier, his biographer and friend, stated Millet was a sensitive soul, that was forever aware of the splendor of nature and of the goodness of man. Millet could hold in tension the goodness and brokenness of humankind and depict it with his oils and brushes. Sensier said, "“His only ambition,” wrote Sensier, “was to accomplish his duties as a son, to plow his furrow in peace.”
Again that phrase, "His only ambition...to plow his furrow in peace", caught my eye and fed my meditations for the last several days. To have as your ambition, only to do your work and to be left alone, gives this a selfish, narcissistic, and incorrect interpretation. To practice your trade, to interact with those who think differently than you, is difficult. It's not impossible but it often is very difficult.
Paul addresses this in his letter to the early church in Rome when he writes; You gain everything when you chuck everything overboard, when you mentally choose to not react as the world reacts, but to react from a higher plain, becoming a living proof and a light to the world, that we are capable of replacing hate and anger with a re-newing of how you see things and acting with love and compassion.
This is done by not thinking too highly of yourself. Everyone is special in God's eye, not just you. Everyone has a certain specialness, and their specialness is different than yours, so you may not have developed the ability to see God's handiwork in their lives. Contrary to what we have been taught, it is better to act out of love. This is love without an agenda, it doesn't disguise itself or have a hidden agenda, it true, pure, clean and transparent. This doesn't fly well in a hyper-competitive world, so be patient when the world just doesn't understand where you are coming from and reacts with fear and Others you. Do not use this to withdraw from the world or to withhold your helping others who are blind to their needs, but in fact be hospitable to all whose shadow falls on your feet.
Remember to look at things differently. Do not return rocket for rocket, unmanned drone strike for suicide bombing. See those who hate you but as someone who needs your blessings. Weep when their villages are destroyed, weep as well when they destroy other's villages. Deep down inside, all men prefer cradling a child in their arms rather than a rifle, to plant with hope seeds of grain and not landmines of destruction. When you perceive being dealt in an unjust manner, react not with subterfuge but be transparent. Although it may be very difficult to do so, as much as within your power of choice (and you have far more power of choice than you think) live at peace with all those who are around you. This is not peace, as in the absence of war, trade sanctions instead of siege, silence instead of dialog. This way is a completely new way; If your enemy lacks basic necessities, help him to procure them. Do not use these vulnerabilities to coerce him into subjugation, and this act of compassion will make evident to him his error.
To plow your own furrow in peace, is a gift.
bobb
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