These are turbulent times all around us -- and -- for many of
us within ourselves. It is not easy to integrate the data flooding our senses;
the impressions vividly presented on the internet, the sheer deluge of
happenings reported from around the globe, the rapidly shifting world we live
in, almost moment by moment.
For a person such as myself – still and forever, no doubt,
recovering from extended blindness, day-to-day sensory overload is even more
difficult to manage than for the
ordinary person.
By maintaining the spiritual ambiance I developed in my
years of blindness and recovery from blindness (1998 – 2006) I managed to buffer
myself from these daily onslaughts and nurture the serenity I developed during that period.
Being blind gave me the gift of being able to see beyond
what one sees ordinarily.
Beyond has often been a comfortable place to be, but it is
not enough, over time.
I tell myself that this extraordinary sight came upon me,
most pointedly, at the time of 9/11. Unable to see the graphic displays of physical destruction at the World Trade Center and elsewhere, I instead acquired a
heightened sensitivity to the emotional, spiritual and cultural energies in
motion at the time.
I have never been the same since. On the other hand, no one
else has been either.
It was at that point that I believe I began to experience an
added dimension to my sense of self in the world around me. Had I not been,
also, the beneficiary of input and guidance from Murat Yagan, my spiritual teacher and New Horizons community development mentor at that time, perhaps
this dimension might not have become as expansiveness as it did.
So I was blessed, again, by this circumstance.
However it came to me, there it was – and – there it is; I
have a gift to be able to view the systems of society and politics, personal
and community relationships with an expanded view.
This past week I’ve gotten a bit overloaded by national
circumstances, specifically what has been happening in Ferguson, Missouri. This upheaval pulled me in.
It is time for me, I realized, to not hold back, time to
give up spending quite as much time as I have, cloistered on this mountain that
is home to New Horizons Retreat Center and myself.
I must take time away now to join with others in advancing
our troubled conditions, racism long being an issue that riles my sensitivities.
I carry a long history along these lines that makes it matter like no other
issue.
Honoring the need I feel for participation on this is hard
for me. I leave my sanctuary with reluctance.
The world beyond is embroiled in chaos. To serve it is to immerse oneself in it. How
to do this and not be pulled down into the turmoil, but rather to allow ones
Light to lift, I am not completely certain.
For now, the only way I know to do it is to set my sights on seeking the signs that signify “….this is the way, follow it.”
What I imagine will come next is engaging with other
Spiritual Warriors like myself.
And, so I will. Divine Guidance will be our guide,
if we are to do right.
great stuff. Thank you Steve
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