St. Francis Hoeing, Gandhi:Dying

St. Francis: Hoeing, Gandhi: Dying

“Saint Francis, hoeing his garden, was asked what he would do if he knew the world would end tomorrow. ‘Continue hoeing my garden,’ said the saint.” Suzanne Guthrie, Synthesis Today, Quote for June 15, 2018, attributed to St. Francis. www.synthesispub.com

I have heard this phrase attributed to St. Francis often and wondered what I would do as well if I knew I was about to die. I have made writing every day a discipline for almost two years. Would I keep on writing? Writing has become one of my best spiritual practices. As I look outside to trees and birds and sky from the floor to ceiling window in my office and my fingers hit the keyboard, I feel a peace that I hope is God’s presence.

I know I would spend as much of the last day with my family, actually as much as possible. I might entice my grandchildren to watch a movie with me and then just secretly watch them. I would want to be with my husband as much as possible. I would want to make certain my family and friends knew how much I loved them by my action and words. I would like to have a meal with my family and friends. I would look at old pictures to keep memories with me. I would spend more time with the family pictures and icons and remembrances of joy which surrounded my desk. I would ask for prayers from the good pray-ers I know, especially the women in Daughters of the King. I would also spend time in prayer at a sacred space.

Of course, if everyone else knew the world was coming to an end, this would be interesting to see how our paths might cross!

So, what does all this mean?

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever,” is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.

I try to carry these two quotes by Gandhi and St. Francis with me each day and share them with spiritual friends as well. The quotes are a good daily benchmark as to whether we are doing the practices that bring us closer to God.

Gandhi’s quote is a paradox, an anchor metaphor for our life which is a constant ambiguous paradox. Each day this year I hope to spend more of my time doing the things which help me realize what are my best connections to God and myself and my neighbor and my family and friends.

Of course, often the connections lead me to other places, and I pray to stay open to these new adventures.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Thich Nhat Hanh: Walking Meditation

Thich Nhat Hanh: Another Walking Meditation

“People say that walking on water is a miracle, but to me, walking peacefully on the earth is the real miracle. The Earth is a miracle, each step is a miracle. Taking steps on our beautiful planet can bring real happiness.” Thich Nhat Hanh, p. 58, The Long Road Turns To Joy, a Guide to Walking Meditation, Parallax Press 1996.

For many years, I would walk around the block in my neighbor for twenty minutes before going to work at the hospital. This seems to quiet the committee meeting in my head. Putting my feet on the earth, even the pavement of the road, seems to reconnect my head to my body as I become “grounded.” Always when I am outside, I realize there is a world greater than the one I live in. There is a power greater than myself. I have trouble meditating by simply sitting, but some movement such as walking can lead me into that meditative journey.

The Vietnamese Buddhist, Thich Nhat Hanh, is one of the most well-known meditative walkers. His pocket-sized book is full of simple mindfulness exercises to think about as we walk. He introduces us to several methods of following and listening to our breath as we walk. He teaches us to be aware of the ground, our foot as it touches the ground as well as our breath. My pattern became breathing in on the right foot, breathing out on the left. This was similar to walking the labyrinth and paying close attention to the path.

In mindful walking, as we stay with our breath, there are no more rooms available for that committee to meet in our heads. Thich Nhat Hanh compares walking to eating, nourishing our bodies with each step. With each step, we massage the Earth. When the baby Buddha was born, he took seven steps, and a Lotus flower blossomed under each step. Thich Nhat Hanh suggests we image with each of our steps, a flower blossoming.

We can also practice mindful walking anywhere, between meetings, in hospitals, at airports, walking to our car. The Buddhist monk also offers several poems to recite while walking: “I have arrived, I am home, in the here, in the now. I am solid. I am free. In the ultimate I dwell.”

Joanna. joannaseibert.com

Charleston: Magdalene, the World Within

Charleston: Magdalene, The World Within

“How hard it is sometimes to live in two worlds, the one we inhabit with the people around us, and the one that we live in alone. None may know the pain we hide, the deep wells of worry into which look, the memories that enfold our lives like a forest. But the Spirit knows and cares and understands, ever beside us to offer comfort and counsel.” Bishop Steven Charleston Daily Facebook page

National Gallery, Washington

The Repentant Magdalene

Recently I spent time with a 387-year-old friend that I have known for her last twenty-five years. We first met when she was one of three Georges de La Tour’s Magdalene paintings at a special exhibition at the National Gallery of Art. She was the only one in their permanent collection. I visited her that morning before an important meeting in Washington, and she quieted my soul. I instantly fell in love with her. She spoke to me as no other painting has before or since. This Magdalene sits with her left hand on a skull. She does not look at the skull directly but sees the skull’s image in a mirror in front of her. The chiaroscuro scene is dark and only illumined by a partially hidden candle beside the skull. I talk to Magdalene and thank her for her insights.

For me, the skull represents our insides, what our skin covers up, the Christ within as well as the negative parts of our unconscious. Over the years this Magdalene has taught me that we most often see inside ourselves by looking into a reflection, a mirror. It is too painful and too overwhelming to see what we are beneath our surface. We cannot look there directly. It is like looking at the sun. The mirror represents the reflection we see of ourselves in others. We come to know and understand the true parts of ourselves by seeing ourselves in our neighbors.

One of the reasons God calls us to community is to learn from others who we really are. I best see my own soul, the Christ within me as well as my many unconscious character defects by first seeing them in others. Caring for our life means learning about our unconscious character defects by first becoming aware and then seeing them for who they are in others. Caring for our soul is finding the Christ within ourselves by first seeing that holy in another and then realizing the miracle that it is also within us.

May we continue to see these epiphanies around us, especially through the many forms of art.

Joanna. joannaseibert.com