BETTER THAN I'VE EVER BEEN

I come again today in my Easwaran daily reader to the story about Saint Francis of Assisi, the story about a pupil of his asking how to find perfect joy.

Francis goes through a whole rigmarole about what perfect joy is not...it's not perfect holiness and the ability to perform miracles for others, nor is it the ability to speak with birds and beasts and know all the secrets of nature. No...perfect joy, he said, is being down and out and starving, asking for help, and getting cursed, beaten and throw out in the winter night, and being able to say with love in our hearts, "Bless you in the name of the Lord."

There. That's where "agree with your adversary quickly" gets you...that's the payoff for "if someone slaps your face, turn the other cheek." That's the answer to why we cease fighting everything and everybody. Perfect joy.

We know we can feel joy through other ways and means. But perfect joy? I'm guessing that's it, The Way...because it's such a paradox, and goes against our ego's every inclination. And from my eyebrows up, I get it.

Interestingly, it seems that every year when I come to this, I'm in the midst of feeling betrayed by yet another friend and mentally composing scripts to shame her, set him straight, make them all sorry.

Here's the measure of my spiritual growth today...that is absolutely true and it cracks me up. That may well be as good as I ever get, and, that's not all, it's better than I've ever been.

So be it, said the witch.

Amen.