One of my favorite spiritual quotations is attributed to St. Francis (though there is debate as to whether he is actually the source), “Share the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” I have noted and noticed that what drew me to the spiritual life and ministry was a vision of the contemplative life. I have always been drawn to images of a serene, meditating Buddha, or nun or monk singing ancient chants in a monastery. The vision of equanimity, of grounded focus on the ultimate and transcendent questions of life has always held an appeal for me. It still does, and yet…
I don’t live in a monastery at a remove from the messiness and complexities of daily life. While the vision of being sequestered away with unlimited time to think and pray and meditate seems lovely; what I really want is to be able to bring that contemplative presence into the mundane, everyday struggles and beauty in life. I want my life to exude my values. I long to live my beliefs and convictions; “..and if necessary, use words.”
Too often, I think we see things as opposites and oppositions that might actually complement one another. We say or we do. We speak or we’re silent. Silence makes meaningful speech possible. We act in ways that are compassionate and thoughtful and don’t need to say anything. This nuanced way of holding multiple truths and paradoxes is anathema to our time.
We live in such noisy and busy times. Silence and contemplation are not valued. I can’t help but wonder, though, how different things might be if we all had time to reflect. If we could, with the spirit of the mystic and monastic, share the good news (and hard news too) with one another what difference would that make? Do you have people in your life that know the depths of how you feel? Do you know how you feel? If someone were to witness you going about the routines of your day, could they tell what is important to you?
I don’t mean this in the sense of the old axiom, “actions speak louder than words”, but rather from a sense that often we can be in someone’s presence and have a feeling of being seen or ignored. There is a quality of presence that has become all too rare in the midst of the noise and motion.
I suppose you could say that what I have come to realize is that what I admire most (and hope most to emulate) of those great spiritual teachers and followers is not a removed spiritual wisdom, but an embodied spiritual presence. Even more precisely what I long for is spiritually significant relationships. Connections that matter and make a difference.
A colleague of mine once wrote a meditation about coming across a tombstone that gave her pause. It read, “Here lies a man that nobody really knew.” If we are to have any hope of having a positive impact on our world. It will begin with one connection at a time. Connections built on words or actions or silence. So much is lost when we are not connected, or when the connections of our lives are shallow or dysfunctional. May we each find connections that sustain and nurture us. May we find ways to expand our circle of compassion and empathy. May we find spaces of contemplation and reflection. May our epitaphs tell of lives lived in which we were well known. May it be so
Rev. Shana Lynngood is co-minister of First Unitarian Church of Victoria. She has lived and served in Victoria since 2010.
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