TO ACCEPT OUR PERCEPTION OF OUR FOE

....before we go out to witness for justice, we have to make sure that we can love and respect those with whom we disagree. -- Fr Richard Rohr, "Daily Meditation," July 27, 2020

  

Rohr's quote and John Lewis's "make good trouble" tell me that to be the first to give over, we must make sure that we already are willing to love and respect those to whom we are giving over. Our work starts way before we have an individual need to be that first one else we stand in danger of our own ego causing chaos. 

How do we get to that deep place where we do not want to publicly expose, humiliate, or defeat our opponents? How do we become willing unto ready to work for the win-win outcome? Seeking win-win solutions, or rather giving up the desire for the I win-you lose outcome, takes a high level of spiritual development and demands spiritual conversion per Rohr. 

For some time now, that has been our aim...with whomever we find ourself resisting. We seek a win-win, and we must remember to stay in that consciousness...not to curry the other's favor but to see her, to know him, as our, say, compadre. 

We begin building our spiritual consciousness by making a decision to accept others...all others without exception and just as we perceive them to be. According to me, this cannot be done without the grace of God, a little help from our friends and the expectation of more than one or two failures. (Sliver of gold...regret not those failures for they fertilize our seed of humility.)

It is that decision to opt for acceptance that allows us to begin living by spiritual principles such as set out in the Sermon on the Mount. We slowly realize this is to live by the two Great Commandments: First, love the God of our own understanding with all our heart, soul, body and brains, and then love our neighbor, friend and/or foe, as ourself.

Our quirk in deciding to live by spiritual principles is how easily we can believe that we are so living when we're really just talking them. Because, from our eyebrows up, we agree with them, we believe we are qualified to teach them. We aren't. 

We must needs be prepared to learn to live by the same-old-same-old spiritual principles each day every day for the rest of our natural life. To learn, to learn. 

Came to believe that God could and would intervene in our life in our behalf. -- Anonymous

Thank you.