Collections of Spirituality Essays, accessible by links:
Winter 2011    Spring 2011    Summer 2011    Fall 2011

To read one of the following essays which have recently appeared in the "Features" section of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality's home page, click on its title.

Policing - Policing our minds is not for the sake of appearances.

Just Ice - We want to be treated with justice and fairness, and to treat others the same way.

Camels - Unlike camels, we are able to determine, at least in part, how much of a load we will carry.

Quack - Words do not always communicate reality on their own.

Policing

I learned as a high school student that being sent to “police” the yard did not mean to act like a police officer, but to pick up trash. When we finished policing the yard, the pavement was clean, and the garbage cans then held what should have been placed in them in the first place. Though I did not like picking up rubbish after careless students, I could appreciate that a school yard should be kept clean. In San Francisco, if garbage was left on the ground, seagulls would swoop in and tear bags apart and create an even bigger mess, which included their own “deposits.”

Policing our minds, by picking out the thoughts that do not belong there and placing them in the trash-bin of conscious rejection is a very healthy procedure. No one appoints us to this task, and it might appear to be a completely individual kind of work, even though we know that the results of a clearer mind will benefit everyone around us. But, because we are not commanded to bring better order to the kinds of thoughts that occupy our minds, we might let the yard become rather unsightly before we come to realize that others, like seagulls, have begun to add their own lines of disordered thinking to ours.

If we entertain the thought that the task of policing our minds is too difficult, we have just identified one thought that belongs in the trash, with the lid closed on top so that we will not catch another whiff of the bad odor. We humans, material and spiritual at the same time, can, with ordinary efforts, make choices even about which thoughts to approve and which to leave aside. And in all our choosing, no matter how instantaneously we act, the Spirit of inspiration is always within us, available, and willing to help. Our minds are our own, but we are not alone, even in our thinking.

The way we relate thinking, considering, pondering, and imagining to our actions is not like the many other functions of our bodies, such as blood circulation which is almost entirely autonomous. Though we cannot directly control our heart rate, we can take immediate and direct control of our thoughts, and in doing so, not only decide upon direct bodily actions such as walking or talking, but also those which bring about changes in some of our internal physical processes. Fearful thoughts constrict our blood vessels and raise our heart rates. Angry thoughts tighten our muscles and also increase our heart rates. Peaceful thoughts release tension in our muscles, and our hearts beat more slowly.

But the most significant part of policing our minds involves those thoughts that influence our guiding, habitual attitudes. For example, if we frequently entertain negative thoughts about others, or even ourselves, we attract persons with the same propensity, thereby increasing the ugly and unhealthy state of our inner yard. Some thoughts, no matter how “true,” are still “garbage” for us, serving no good purpose. When we choose to think, in another example, about how God loves us, or about the positive values we want to put into action, our immediate feelings are affected, but, more importantly, our present and future actions match with our ideals.

Policing our minds is not for the sake of appearances, though our habitual lines of thought are in some manner revealed in our faces and bodily stance. But who we are, and who we wish to become, depends greatly on the kinds of thoughts we choose for ourselves.

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Just Ice

In a kitchen with a linoleum or hardwood floor, if someone says that the crystalline piece we almost stepped on is just ice, all concern about possible broken glass is dissipated, and we go on with whatever we were doing. But if someone raises the topic of justice, everyone takes notice, for any discussion is fraught with more “danger” than from a possible piece of broken glass on the floor.

When justice is the subject, most of our wariness arises from the possibility that a value of great personal importance to us might be challenged, or that we will be confronted with some painful experiences of others or of our own. How easily we can be made to feel uncomfortable when we learn about such things as juveniles sentenced to life in prison on mistaken testimony, or notorious criminals being set free through some legal maneuverings by well-paid attorneys, or people losing their homes and/or life-savings through some scam or other. Each of us has suffered injustice of one kind or another, so that the very word “justice” bears distressing emotional content.

How might we consider some contexts for the word “justice” with as care-free an attitude as when someone speaks the words “just ice?” Since we have nothing to fear from a piece of frozen water, neither do we have to beware of justice.

When the word that is meant to convey an existing right relationship between persons is misapplied to some destructive or hurtful attitude whereby persons are discounted, written off, or rationalized as undeserving of compassion, we are disturbed by these perceived abuses of justice. We want to be treated with justice and fairness, and to treat others the same way. Our desire for such justice is a spiritual movement within us that resonates with the loving intention of our Creator, and reflects well the genuine meaning of justice.

God’s justice is radically different from many of the human understandings of the word that are applied negatively to the supposed restoration of rights that have been violated: everything from property damage to hurt feelings. If God were concerned primarily about “rights” we would all wind up “in the wrong.” Rather, God’s justice is an orientation to bringing about the right relationship between persons, including our relationship with God, not through coercion, but through the more powerful force of love.

Human laws can be made and applied that restore stolen property, but they cannot compel an apology by a thief or acceptance by the one who has been robbed, much less repair physical, emotional, and spiritual pain by financial payment or through punishment of perpetrators. Justice is a matter of heart more than mind, for no matter how much we might think about it, we must choose the attitude that brings us peace. Justice is spiritual, not material, and is a gift, not a debt that can be paid off. Further, justice is about honesty, not equality, as we see in all relationships where love is involved. When we are in a just relationship with God or other persons, we experience peace, the internal mark of our having accepted the spiritual gift of justice.

A quick look at Jesus Christ crucified provides a clear image of the worst kind of injustice, as he said or did nothing to harm others. Our ordinary sense of justice would suggest that those who act unjustly should be “brought to justice.” We are, if we accept God’s sense of justice as expressed in his words of “Forgive them,” which no one can deserve. Whenever we intend and seek to be at peace with regard to another, we are in a right relationship with that person and also with God.

Justice might seem dangerous when we think about trying to “make it happen,” but when we seek and accept it is as grace and gift, we might come to discover that it is just ice.

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Camels

Not many of us have travelled in a caravan along with camels that carry large loads of supplies over great distances. But most of us have acquired burdens of one sort or another that we ourselves have carried for long periods of time. Some of us might feel as though we have been traversing a desert as single individuals, while others might think that we are members of a group who share the load among ourselves. Whether we look primarily at responsibilities as our very own, or as shared, our manner of relating with them makes the difference between camels that have water for a journey and those that do not.

Water is necessary for physical life, so that we will have strength and stamina for suitably engaging in all that life entails, including the responsibilities that we accept. What do we need for our spiritual life, so that we can live in peace within ourselves while carrying the burdens that we take to heart?

Since no planning is involved when we spontaneously take up a worrisome care, as when a family member or friend becomes seriously ill, we might think that we will not manage well. But how do parents really prepare for the process of raising their children, no matter how many birthing classes and child-rearing classes they attend? The “water” that sustains us when we carry our burdens, bear our responsibilities, and care for others has much more to do with who we are and who we are becoming than with the all the information that we can acquire.

Our best preparation for travelling well through the deserts that we must cross in our life-journeys includes “spiritual hydration.” If we cannot predict how much baggage we will be carrying at various times in our lives, we will be more ready or less depending upon our maintaining positive attitudes, seeking healing rather than complaining, praying rather than relying solely on ourselves, and reflecting upon experience instead of only thinking about facts.

Unlike camels, we are able to determine, at least in part, how much of a load we will carry, which responsibilities we will accept, and for whom we will give our time and energy. We also have experiences of burdens placed on us without our having much apparent freedom of choice. If we are “well watered” through ongoing reflection, we are more likely than not to recognize our ultimate freedom to accept reality as we experience it rather than to fall into self-pity or denial.

Regular prayer, however we identify the way we relate with God, is wholly beyond any comparison we might make with pack animals that have no means of sharing their loads. Two of us can freely decide to carry something between us and the weight is thereby no longer all borne by one. So too, when we are weighted down with worries and concerns, we are free (and always welcome) to seek God’s companionship, and often find that God does “the heavy lifting.” When we share our hurts, disappointments, and heaviest burdens with one or more persons, we lose none of our human dignity. We likewise remain who we are no matter how much we rely on God to assist us.

Camels have humps and can store water for long treks. We cannot “store up” spiritual provisions, but through the regular exercise of our spirituality, we can carry our burdens gracefully throughout our lives.

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Quack

For those who have listened to ducks, the word “quack” does not really come very close to the sound the aquatic birds make. Anyone who has heard my rendition of a “duck call” could claim the same: no similarity to what is normally heard on any duck pond. Words are often much better at conveying meaning to us than they are at giving us accurate “sound recordings” from nature.

Words can remind us of experiences we have had, and can initiate and guide or modify some of our thought processes, but mere words cannot fully convey our beliefs, hopes, or loves. We use the word “quacks” as a pejorative term for persons who use words in making false statements and building false expectations; the sounds they make to not match with reality. A slight bit of honest reflection is all we need in order to recognize both the power and the limitations of written or spoken words.

We can use the same words in different contexts and with different intentions and purposes, so that “I love you” can carry one of the most important messages of which we are capable when we are making a commitment to another person as a thoroughly authentic expression, or we could say the same words as a means for gaining undeserved trust, thereby engaging in “quackery.”

Words do not always communicate reality on their own, but often require a spiritual component for the sake of genuine interchange. Though it takes only an instant to notice how we feel about a value-laden word or expression before we act on it by speaking, writing, or accepting it as true, the choice to reflect prior to action is an expression of our spirituality. We can be quite satisfied with obeying a stop sign at an intersection without giving it any consideration, but we cannot well use words that are in any way connected with trust, faith, or love without noting whether or not the words harmonize with our intentions.

We differ among ourselves in that some people are gifted with talents for organizing, others for physical prowess, and still others for one or other admirable quality. But all of us are gifted with the capacity, which we can develop or leave unused, of recognizing whether or not our words are reasonable approximations of what we mean, and at the same time evoke feelings that affirm our honest and authentic use of those words. Rather than permitting a dangerous disconnect between mind and heart, we can choose to direct our attention, for the fraction of a second it takes, to ensure that our thoughts and our feelings fit peacefully together. We might ask ourselves, “Does this make sense and does it feel right?”

When we listen to music, we do not have to be a musician, vocalist, or conductor to recognize when someone is off key, because the dissonance disturbs our sense of what is appropriate. Within ourselves, we have the capability of distinguishing between the sweet and sour “notes” of what we think in combination with accompanying feelings. We can choose not to speak, act, or accept our inner words when they do not please our spiritual sense for what is appropriate, and of course we can with confidence and a joyful spirit proceed when we are “in tune.”

Let the ducks quack, but let us use only those words, both within us and in our expressions, that align properly with trust and love.

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