The 3 Gifts…

The 3 gifts. Who knew a few weeks ago when I finally chose my word for 2022, that it would be the beginning of a wild ride? Yet even as I write that sentence I’ve known it to be true across my life. When I’ve begun or committed to something earnestly in my life–it’s always been wise counsel to hang on; as the Creator of the Universe takes us at our word.

If you could lift the tabs made of teabags on the above piece now hanging on my wall…you’d find a quote by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. (One of many quotes hiding in plain sight). “I want first of all – in fact, as an end to these other desires – to be at peace with myself.  I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life … in fact – to borrow from the languages of the saints – to live “in grace” as much of the time as possible.  By grace I mean an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony.  I am seeking perhaps what Socrates asked for in the prayer from the Phaedrus when he said, “May the outward and inward (wo)man be at one.”  I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God.” The clarity of her words were at first startling. Yet that quickly passed, as I received them as something to take with me on the journey in 2022 which I’d named for myself just a few weeks earlier as purity of intention. These words from Lindbergh were among the first gifts.

A second gift for my journey came from my continuing course with Jon Kabat Zinn. I hope you know his work in stress reduction through mindfulness at Massachusettes General, or his many books and video courses. As I began listening to the the next round of classes, my ears perked up…or my heart began to open, and receive, as he read a snippet from “The Four Quartets”

We shall not cease from exploration
[And] the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall and the children in the apple tree.

I have been known to take exaggerated leaps in my thought processes, or in my logic, but it was no leap to recognize my desire for a heart-led practice of pure intention this year as nothing more than a “continuation of exploring.” And not only that but seeing this pursuit of intention as “the unknown unremembered gate.” And perhaps even, that where it shall lead is: “where we started/At the source/the voice of the hidden waterfall.” What tumbled together through Eliots words was that I’m not in pursuit of something new. Rather, of something elemental to all humankind; a desire to live from a place so deep in our hearts–that it’s where God’s heart resides. Or as Catherine of Sienna put it, where: “My deepest me is God.” A second gift for my journey.

And as if these gifts from Anne Morrow Lindbergh and from T.S. Eliot via Jon Kabat Zinn were not enough…

On Thursday of last week, I met via Zoom with friend Sharon Junn, who is also both a Presbyterian Minister and fellow Spiritual Director. Sharon is currently learning to help people discover their Enneagram type. For at least 25 years I’ve on occasion had an interest in the Enneagram and pretty consistently understood myself as a Mediator. After listening to Richard Rohr several years ago, I did wondered if I wasn’t off on that. After 50 minutes of conversation and to my surprise, Sharon and her supervisor suggested to me two types that I never considered. I’ve spent the rest of the week and weekend listening and reading definitions from many different interpreters. When first presented with their suggestions, I was amused as no one ever considered me a 2 or an 8 before. For various reasons, the 8 fell away rather quickly and I was left with this 2-ness. And the 3rd gift… Because in order to pursue purity of intention, one first must know their intention(s) and for two’s that can be a larger task than for some. I’m grateful for the invitation to pause right at the beginning for clarity–a gift.

Indeed my 2022 has begun as a wild ride. How about yours? My conviction is that the Creator of the Universe has exciting, challenging and comforting things prepared for us all. And while my spiritual path is not yours nor yours mine, our experiences are ultimately for good; ours and others. Hoping that awareness, invitation, response and growth, which are the material of transformation, will be yours and mine.

With love,

xo, Kathleen — thecelticmonk