GOD IS IN THE ORDINARY AND HUMDRUM

I am reminded this morning of President Harry S Truman. He was a firebrand, and the story is that when he was campaigning, people would shout at him, "Give 'em hell, Harry!" He always said that he didn't "give 'em hell," he just told the truth, and people thought it was hell.

I'm reminded of that because I'm going through another self-described Job period. There are more than a few things that are falling apart in my life...not inside but outside things, like in my condo. Hassles in a word, not to put too fine a point on it. (I used to all but brag about how much I hate hassles until God whispered, "And who doesn't?")

But I thought of old Harry S after I read Fr Richard Rohr's "Daily Meditation" this morning, in particular the sentence: Contemplative practice helps us become habituated to this way of being, opening ourselves to presence in the ordinary and humdrum.

I saw opening ourselves to presence in the ordinary and humdrum to be opening me (becoming transparent) to the presence in the broken pantry door, the stained carpet, etc., as opposed to staying in my closed mind with put-upon thoughts (i.e., remaining opaque).

That one line exemplifies the difference between reasoning mind (self-centered) thought and spiritual (God-centered) discernment. Because life, if we're doing it right, really does on occasion bring mud, sludge, and unsunny days no matter how good we believe we're being...how we deal with those less-than-wonderfuls determines our inner happiness...

It is our inner happiness that determines what we know and what we show to our world. It is that inner happiness that invites the friends and foes who are in our walking around lives...and to recognize what we see is always ourselves, be it friend or foe.

Thank you.