The Only Mistake is to Succumb to Fear

If  you read the psalms daily, you will find certain ones speak to you at different times. Recently, reading psalm 25 struck a cord in my soul. It reads in part:

Make known to me your ways, Lord teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.

Early on in my life, I was concerned about the need to be perfect.Only later did a holy person tell me this verse, and suggest I make it my mantra. I did, and gradually learned the havoc such a verse can create in the soul. Truly amazing!

The psalmist here is crying out to the Lord, that he may to learn his ways. But to do so, he realizes he must be committed to truth. But what is truth? Here I'm not speaking of the doctrine of truth, but of the truth each one of us needs in order to discern that path we are destined to follow. Only the individual can find that truth, through earnest prayer, contemplation, reflection and discernment.

When I read this psalm, my own wondrous journey comes to mind, the the marvelous things that were planned for me, things I could not grasp until I let go of my concept of perfection. Once I did, I began to do courageous things, believing in God's guidance and forgiveness. And what amazing things began to happen in my life!

If you are restless, dissatisfied with your life, feel something is missing or that you need a change, take this psalm and make it your mantra. Then go forward with courage, knowing the only mistake you can make is to stay where you are because you've succumb to your fear of making mistakes.

Turning Around to See

The gift of God. It is a strange phenomenon in the spiritual life that we often have to have a gift before we can desire it. Or perhaps more correctly, we do not realize we have a gift until our eyes are opened and we see. Richard Rohr says in The Naked Now  that Only people who have undergone some level of conversion can be told they have the Holy Spirit and be prepared to understand what one is talking about.

There we are, at that pivotal point called conversion. The ancients called it metanoia and they knew it was an action carried out daily in life, not just a one time event. In our lives, we are constantly coming upon that "Oh yea" moment, when we suddenly see something in a different light. The same is part of the spiritual journey.

Perhaps we need metanoia because the spiritual is so elusive and intangible, but certainly because we need to train our thinking to spiritual ways. Metanoia is not so much a "conversion" as a "turning around, facing a different direction, a change of attitude." Even in the material world one knows the need for continued growth, to learn new things, to look at life in a better light. The same goes for the spiritual. We "turn" every time we seek. We "face" every time we find that spirit of God within. And then, we can truly "gaze" upon the Divine, knowing that the gaze itself is cleansing, enlightening, uplifting.