Open to the Spirit
Today’s word: Cycles
more accurately be described as spiraling though time. Each new springtime finds us and our world in a slightly different space. Patterns repeat but they are somewhat altered in character. Thus we cycle through periods of war and peace, prosperity and scarcity, but according to Smith we also spiral up from an egocentric to an ethnocentric and finally to a world-centric spiritual and moral outlook.
As we evolve and become world travellers, we are moving from a ‘me’ to a ‘we’ point of view. In other words we spiral up from a tribal viewpoint to integrated view of all life. As individuals and communities we may find ourselves anywhere along the spectrum from egocentric to world-centric and this is often affected by our personal histories and the traumas we have endured. When all of our basic needs are being met it is much easier to have more concern for the misery of our fellow human beings. Likewise the more positive contact we have with peoples of different ethnic, religious backgrounds or sexual orientation the more likely we are to include these people in our circle of friends and community.
We may cycle through periods of less acceptance of difference simply because we are experiencing too much rapid change. We stubbornly dig our heels in and refuse to budge. It is not helpful to hold judgmental attitudes towards ourselves or others we consider less spiritually advanced. By simply observing these things we may discover a spiritual need that has not yet been met. For example we can observe a marked lack of sympathy for immigrants legal and otherwise, even within communities of faith, that goes hand in hand with a general shrinking of the North American economy. When jobs are at stake it is more difficult to have a generous point of view. Nevertheless it has been my experience that the forces that bring us together, be it world travel, electronic communications, immigration patterns, or ecological crises, is steadily bringing us to an awareness that we are indeed one human family.
We all need to row in the same direction if we want our boat to advance. Slowly but surely we are becoming world citizens with the ability to solve the world crises in which we find ourselves.
) In the Jewish calendar, we are never meant to see one holiday as ever fully separate from any other. The meaning of one day delicately weaves itself into the purpose of another, creating a constant cycle of joy, reflection, gathering, and connection. While we can wait for the big holy days to arrive, the spiritual meaning these times of the year are often heightened when we have time to prepare before, and time to dwell in the blessings after the holidays are over.
Of course most faith traditions have similar days of spiritual preparation, for example Lent, Advent or Ramadan, ensuring that when the time comes to gather together as a community we are ready. This process is like a good hike, a powerful cycle of times of calm growth and reflection, followed by mountains of strength and togetherness, with the quiet walk downhill back into the rest of life. And if done right, even if there is no holiday around the corner, we will always be in some sort of time of reflection and preparation.
I have found that in my own life the big events I always encounter, both in work, relationships and life in general, always are more meaningful and sometimes easier to deal with when I see them in the same light. Even the most unexpected surprises and challenges can simply be part of the cycle of ups and downs that I have in my life. If I make sure to leave time everyday for reflection, for music, meditation or simply making space to relax and de-stress, then I am better prepared to encounter these surprises with intention and strength. And when all has been worked through, I am more ready to settle down, to move forward and if necessary move beyond, continuing forward in my journey.
) Rilke writes in his Book of Hours: “I am circling around God, around the ancient tower, and I have been circling for a thousand years, and I still don’t know if I am a falcon, or a storm, or a great song.” Reading this I knew exactly how on some intuitive soul level my whole life has been cycling around the same themes. Maybe this is true for you. What central theme lies like a still point at the hub of the wheel that is your life? So that wherever you go, whatever you do, you know always been in your deepest core?
Recently at the Lenten luncheon series at a local church hall, I met a man in his late sixties who, retired as a university president, has embarked with joyful discernment on a journey toward ministry. After circling around this idea all his life, chose a different path as livelihood through his middle years of raising a family, how he returns to a youthful version of himself. Answering an earlier call to be more of who he’s always been.
Cycles of time turn back at different levels, widen out into spirals; how redeeming to know that we are caught up in such ancient patterns of sacred geometry. Which is why I am so grateful to have reached this place in my life, and to claim it as a time of returning. Who knew? That if you live long enough, you may choose to cycle back to some earlier dream or longing, some version of who you’ve always been. For me it is poetry, declaring a new season of spiritual revival, reclaiming the always been there voice in new ways. You reading this, it’s not too late.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach’s simple chant invites us: “Return again, return again, return to the home of your soul. Return to who you are, return to what you are, return to where you are born and reborn again.” Falcon, storm, or song ~ what we are matters less than who. Let us cycle around the infinite, knowing the center will hold.
One word, four voices - and now it’s your turn to reflect: What cycles can you identify in your own life, and what do they cycle around?
Rev. Mead Baldwin pastors the Waterville & North Hatley pastoral charge; Rabbi Boris Dolin leads the Dorshei-emet community in Montreal; Rev. Lee Ann Hogle ministers to the Ayer’s Cliff, Magog & Georgeville United Churches; Rev. Carole Martignacco, Unitarian Universalist is retired from ministry with Uuestrie and now resides in St. Andrews by-the-sea NB, but keeps one foot in the Townships by continuing with this column.