Supermoon!

The full moon that graced us last Saturday was spectacular. It was called a "supermoon" because it was 14% closer to earth than usual and 20% brighter. Although I missed the moonrise at 3 p.m., when night came, it filled the sky with bright light. To gaze on such a wonderful sight was awe-inspiring. The photo above is by Joe Sarno.

Such amazing natural phenomena remind me that the universe is vast and varied. I was watching "Nova" last night and was reminded that there are billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, and billions of other galaxies. The show was on the search for earth-like planets that might have life.

When we are too absorbed in our own concerns, problems and issues, phenomena like the "supermoon" serve to get us outside of ourselves and open our eyes to the fact that what happens in the universe isn't always about us. There are forces so much vaster and complex that we struggle to comprehend them-- things like black holes, dark energy and subatomic particles.

A story in Genesis tells of Abraham worrying about how the promise God had made that Abraham would be the father of a great nation would be fulfilled. In a dream, God came to Abraham and told him, "Go outside your tent and look at the stars. Your descendants will be as numerous as these."

Sometimes, we need to get outside our metaphorical tents and look at the night sky. Then, we can realize that there are things much larger than ourselves, that the universe doesn't revolve around us and that we are part of a vast and wondrous universe brought into being by a benevolent Creator.

Giving Up or Taking On?

The season of Lent is traditionally a time of giving up something enjoyable like candy, alcohol, favorite foods and the like. I've done this in years past and have found it to be a helpful way of practicing self-denial, one of Lent's themes.

However, a few years ago I tried a different way of observing Lent: taking on a new spiritual discipline. One year I focused on gratitude and reflected each morning on something I was thankful for. Another year, I observed 10 minutes of silence each day. Lately, I've observed Lent with more active spiritual disciplines like meditative walking or reflective stretching.

Whether you give up or take on something isn't the most important thing about Lent--strengthening your spiritual connection with God is the key. Doing those things in our daily life that helps focus our thoughts and feelings upon the holy and sacred dimension of life helps keep us centered and grounded.

I'm not sure yet what new discipline I'll take on during this Lenten season. I have a few more hours to figure it out. Maybe I should give up procrastination!

Spiritual Fitness

Have you heard of "BOD4GOD"? I encountered this word-phrase last week in an article about The Journey church. It describes a program that uses "spiritual" principles for weight loss and exercise.

Although the article didn't go into detail as to what these spiritual principles are, I think the idea of connecting physical and spiritual fitness has some merit. I would also add emotional/mental fitness into the mix.

There is an intimate connection between body, mind and spirit. When one of these three is out of shape or damaged, it can affect the other two. For example, depression doesn't only affect the emotions, it affects the body and the soul. When we're down, we don't eat well and exercise is difficult. Depression also saps our spiritual energy as well.

When it comes to exercise, we need to apply it to our minds and souls as well as our physical selves. St. Ignatius developed several spiritual exercises, including prayer, reflection, imaginative reading of scripture and others. Keeping our minds active and growing can be done with reading, crosswords, problem-solving and writing.

I believe that to exercise any one dimension of our self has benefits for the others. To get physically fit gives us more mental and spiritual energy. What I call "active spirituality" encourages us to look at spiritual practices that involve motion and movement such as walking, hiking, fishing, cycling and so on. Spiritual fitness is interconnected with physical and mental/emotional fitness.

Resilience!

Yesterday, I was inspired by the story of a friend who had been through some very difficult times in his life. He escaped from Denmark after the Nazi's invaded his home country. He lost a son to a boating accident 25 years ago. His daughter-in-law has survived for 7 years with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. And, he is being treated for metastatic cancer.

Despite these difficulties, he says that he feels "lucky" and "fortunate." He is filled with gratitude for his life and is focused on how he can help others.

The quality I see in this friend is resilience. Despite being knocked down by the blows life has dealt him, he remains steadfast and positive. He doesn't give in to self-pity or depression. Even though his initial reaction to these tragedies was deep sadness, he bounced back from each difficulty.

My suspicion is that the source of his resilience is his deep gratitude for life. Gratitude is the foundation of resilience. If we can understand how we are blessed, even in the midst of challenging circumstances, we will find the inner strength and fortitude to survive and even thrive.

As I said, I have been inspired by my friend. So, each morning I'm reflecting on what I'm grateful for. I'm making a list and adding to it each day. To begin each day by giving thanks for even one thing can make the rest of the day go better. When we strengthen our sense of gratitude, we also strengthen our resilience when difficult times come-- and they always do.

Listening to the Silence

One thing that feeds the soul is solitude. While solitude can be an inner quality such as inner peace, it can also be external. I seek external solitude in places that are away from people, traffic, and noise. Fortunately, there is a wonderful nature preserve called Devil's Den that is a 20 minute drive from my home (I am aware of the irony that one of the important places in my spiritual life is called Devil's Den).

A few days ago, after I finished my work, I headed to Devil's Den for an hour of snowshoeing. Since we've had 4 major snowstorms over the past 6 weeks, there was plenty of snow-- up to 3 feet in most places! Because it was a cold Friday afternoon, I was the only person there.

I was enjoying the exertion of snowshoeing when I stopped for a drink of water. Suddenly I heard it. Silence. There was no wind. No birds were singing. Just silence. I stood there for several minutes, not wanting to break the spell. I watched the sunlight filter through low clouds and took in the beauty of the brilliant white snow.

So often, we don't know what we're missing until we experience it. I realized that such silence is all too rare in my life. While driving, I listen to the radio. While walking in my town, there are sounds of traffic. Even when I'm alone at home with no appliances on, there are sounds of wood creaking and the heater blowing. Silence is also rare in nature with the sounds of wind, birds, streams and boots hitting the trail.

There are few things that feed the soul like silence. Finding times and places of stillness can help soothe the mind and calm the soul. However, our ability to enjoy silence depends on whether we have cultivated inner solitude as well. More about that in another blog.

Blessings in Disguise

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to teach a class using my new Lenten study, Blessings of the Cross (Cokesbury). It's a lectionary-based Bible study based on the theme of "blessings in disguise."

What is a blessing in disguise? It can be almost anything. However, we use this phrase to describe negative events that turn out to have positive value.

Here are some examples. Through an illness we learn how to depend upon others for help and experience deeper gratitude. After a financial crisis, we discover what really matters to us. Because of a failure we get in touch with humility and a renewed resolve to go forward. After a tragedy such as the death of someone close to us, we learn resilience in the face of a devastating loss.

None of us would call an illness, financial crisis, failure or devastating loss a "blessing." In fact, these would seem to be the opposite of blessings. Yet, if we learn from these negative things and are able to get in touch with our inner resources of faith and perseverance, they can be character and faith building.

Certainly, the cross is a blessing in disguise. This instrument of torture and execution has been transformed into the central symbol of the Christian faith. Through the eyes of faith, the cross represents new life, new hope and even joy. If the cross can be transformed into something positive and life-giving, so can any horrible thing that happens to us in life.

Struck by Grace in the New Year

As we begin another year, the gift I hope for all of us is the gift of grace. The late theologian Paul Tillich understood grace as "God's radical acceptance of us." My favorite Tillich quote on grace comes from his book, The Shaking of the Foundations.

Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we are estranged. It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us has they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: "You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that your are accepted!" If that happens to us we experience grace. After that experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed.