Beside Restful Waters

“This is about you being a divine gift that takes a lifetime to unwrap.” -Anonymous

It appears that anonymous and Richard Rohr are on the same page today. Fr. Rohr suggests:

God has forever made human flesh the privileged place of the divine encounter.

In some ways it may seem simpler to obey usually arbitrary rules about diet or sex than to truly honor the living incarnation we are.

I believe God has given us permission to learn wisdom and humility from our bodies and not just to repress them out of fear.

God is an expert at working with mistakes and failure. Mistakes do not seem to be a problem for God; they are only a problem for our ego that wants to be pure spirit.

This about sums up my battle with addiction. I have grown up being taught by well-intended people that the flesh is to be avoided like the plague. The flesh is the source of evil. Addiction is a disease of the flesh. Addiction is a disease of the mind. At the same time, it has been recovery that has brought me to a place where I am able to embrace mind, body and spirit as one act of divine presence. I am no longer running from the flesh. I am learning to live the humility of my body as a work of art placed within a universe. This universe is a work of art. Each of us contributes to this artistic tapestry.

Yes, during the work of recovery, that is the work of growing from the bottom up, there were often times when it seemed easier to live with the arbitrary rules of society. I had become best buddies with my addictive nature. Then the insanity became more than I could manage. Then, I met forgiveness in the flesh of all of you. I met acceptance. I was given permission by you, God in your flesh, to make mistakes, suffer the growing pains, and to know the love and grace of sobriety. The flesh or your grace, with your mistakes and pain and joy, is the ongoing permission to continue this journey. We share our wisdom in humility, allowing our fear to be manageable and guiding.

We grow as a divine body, as a sober body, as a body riddled with mistakes. It is these very mistake that provide the opportunity to continue our practice of forgiveness and acceptance and grace, over and over and over – 70 X 7. We know we will never get it perfect, but we know the journey is not about perfection. The journey is progressing each day, each step, with a goal in mind, but celebrating the present in our presence, our divine presence.

As always, we meet at the water. Some days we find big, rolling waves trying to beat us about. Other days we find peace and rest. Always, we find it together, as we are the privileged place of divine encounter.

I am grateful.

Namaste’