Thursday, January 17, 2013

ON BEING TOTALLY FREE

[This is a reprint of my blog of February 10, 2010.]

Fr. Richard Rohr has written, “If there is nothing in your life to cry about, if there is nothing in your life to complain about, if there is nothing in your life to yell about, you must be out of touch. We must all feel and know the pain of humanity. The free space that God leads us into is to feel the full spectrum, from great exaltation and joy, to the pain of mourning and dying and suffering….The totally free person is one who can feel all of it and not be afraid of any of it.”

That speaks to my soul.

I never thought I could be a totally free person…I never thought anybody could be a totally free person, now that I consider it. But it is possible, and I know this to be true purely because I’ve learned the art of “Thank You.”  

I’m sure that this is not absolute, but in general whenever my thoughts start to ask God for this or that…health, wealth, wisdom, chocolate…I consciously turn my mind to “Thank You for everything in my life just as it is right this very minute.” At which point I do not feel totally free or cosmically lifted…in truth, that simply starts my thoughts on a different path…it’s the best way in the world to forget whatever I was hankering for.

It may not be that “Thank You” is cosmic, it may just be that age and interruptions are great aids in forgetting. Whatever, it works!

Thank You.

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