Slow Down and Wait

Slow Down and Wait

“When I am told that waiting seems to belong to the heart of the spiritual life, I’m not pleased, for I want answers, direction, clarity—and I want them pronto.”—Robert Barron, “What Are You Waiting For,” in U.S. Catholic, Dec 2003.

Langley on Abbey Road

  Barron starts with that old joke about the pilot, who announces he has good and bad news. “The bad news is we are totally lost. The good news is we are making excellent time!”

My experience is that spiritual friends initially come to talk because they are consciously or unconsciously in some kind of pain and, like the rest of us, seek relief and answers, hopefully very soon. We soon remember times of awareness of staying connected to God, which requires much waiting.

“Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31-1) This verse is known to most people and can help us remember about waiting when we are impatient. We will experience times when we will fly and walk and not be tired, but waiting is still a significant part of our relationship with God and each other. 12-step groups talk about not leaving before the miracle happens.

 I have learned a few exercises about waiting as a physician. I would often go to meetings or have patients or other doctors who would keep me waiting. I would have those tremendous ego experiences of “I am very important. You should not keep me waiting. Don’t you know how valuable my time is?” When overcome with these thoughts, I end up mad, arrogant, and testy when the person or group finally comes. This is never helpful for the interaction.

Gradually, by some miracle, I realized that waiting is an opportunity to pray for that person or group before we meet, or it is an opportunity to meditate and calm my soul before the meeting. Waiting becomes a gift from that person, making all the difference in my relationship with those I meet. The same is true about waiting for God.

 Goodness knows God spends a great deal of time waiting for us.

 Of course, centering prayer, meditation, contemplation, and Lectio Divina are also more exercises about waiting.

Spiritual writer Michael Vinson suggests a waiting exercise of remembering times in our lives when we wait, and the miracle comes. For example, perhaps we wait before talking to someone about a situation until we hear the entire story. 

Another spiritual writer, Jane Wolfe, responds to Michael in his blog that God will always give us a nudge when it is time to respond and act after we wait.
 Jane reminds us of Mary giving Jesus that nudge at the wedding at Cana when it was now time for him to do something!

 “Sit and Wait,” Friday Food, jmichaelvinson.com, February 24, 2017.

Joanna joannaseibert.com https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Wisdom from the Harp

Wisdom from the Harp

“For the elements changed places with one another,

as on a harp, the notes vary in the nature of the rhythm,

while each note remains the same.”—Wisdom 19:18.

A friend recently reminded me of this scripture verse in morning prayer. I read the first part of the Wisdom reading that morning but missed this last part. I hope I won’t miss it next time, for this ancient verse describes music well, especially the harp. I began a journey with this classical instrument over forty years ago when my daughter begged for a whole year to get a harp.

The strings are the piano’s white keys, so it is easy if you understand the piano. Next, you lean the harp against your body so you can hear the vibrations and feel the music within you.

The harp has taught me so many lessons about life, other than the discipline of trying to master a technique for following and plucking strings.

When one string breaks, it is challenging to continue playing. Part of playing is knowing the relationships of each string to the other. Now, a gap, large or small, changes the entire road map. I must take the time to replace the string as soon as possible.

Then, it takes days or weeks for that new string to stretch and be in tune. Then, finally, it must be “mentored,” so to speak.

Almost every atmospheric condition changes the harp strings. Constant tuning is mandatory. My husband loves the old joke about harpists. “We spend half our time tuning and the other half playing out of tune!”

On this musical journey, the harp has become an icon for living and working in community.

Its constant need for tuning reminds me how much I must try to stay current, learning, and staying in relationship with what is happening in the world around me.

If I don’t, I become “out of tune,” either too sharp or too flat.  

I would love to hear from others about life lessons they have learned from a musical instrument.

Joanna https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Metaphors and Children's Books

Metaphors and Children’s Books

Guest Writer: Isabel Anders

“Metaphors are experience’s body doubles, standing in for actual objects and events. … Mental images can have the same effect on the body and the mind as actual physical events.”  —James Geary.

Traveling by Metaphor

In James Geary’s book I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor, he points out that our neural systems for language, action, and metaphorical thinking overlap in the brain. 

Jesus’ parables and other analogies in the Gospels make gold out of this connection in stories and examples that still create sparks of recognition—and sometimes action—in those who look to them for guidance.

We can’t decide ahead of time how to react to any given situation life might throw at us. However, establishing patterns of recognition, acting in small ways in accord with true values, and acknowledging our own will as part of the mix can significantly enhance our spiritual journeys.

In Oshan Jarow’s words, life may be “one big process of creatively optimizing prediction as a survival strategy in a universe otherwise tending toward chaos.” Metaphors are a creative step in deciding what to do next and what might ensue if we do (or don’t). We encounter them primarily in the story, in what happens to both fictional characters and actual people, and in what we can learn from them.

Experts in both language and behavior have repeatedly shown that emotions and compelling stories, and not facts alone, are what move us, motivate us—and perhaps will save us.

 As Mother Bilbee, Isabel Anders builds a library of fresh, relevant, and ethical nursery rhymes and tales. M. T. Publishing will release the fourth Mother Bilbee title, Twinkle, Twinkle, Shining Star, and Row Your Boat Just as You Are! on April 1.

Isabel Anders

Joanna  joannaseibert.com