The supreme work of spirituality is keeping a 'right mind' (which is the work of contemplation or meditation) without attachment to past woundings. [Lifted and rearranged from Fr Richard Rohr's "Daily Meditation," December 9, 2018.]
Keeping a "right mind" is one of those simple sounding but oh so hard to do sayings. Purely and simply because it requires that we think not of our self, but of the other, the other that ninety-eleven times out of a hundred we are in disagreement with.
What is especially daunting is that "the one we are in disagreement with" is way too often from years past...possibly our sister at age 13, when we were 10. Or the love of our life...the first one from 50 years ago.
Which explains why these are the words that grabbed my attention: without attachment to past woundings. It matters not whether the past woundings occurred 50 years ago, or a week, a day, or an hour ago.
When (not if) we go there, we hunker down with ego...there is no spiritual growth there. Which sounds like a gotcha, doesn't it? Ah, but God is not in the gotcha...he cuts us slack. He cuts us slack because he knows our needs...and how we will ever mistake our wants for our needs. So we slide over for a sip of the sweet water of resentment...and God it is who turns the sweet to bitter.
Our "right mind" that we've attained through spiritual growth, that and a little help from our friends, reminds us of our thank you prayer.
Then we remember God's words: Love and laugh...and get over yourself.
Thank you.
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