Do you every feel trapped? I do! Traffic, long lines (or even short lines) anywhere, the waste of time spent waiting for my name to be called for an appointment, waiting for a repairman to arrive, an answer to come ... all of these (and more) leave me itching for release. For freedom.
I don't like be constrained, restrained or stuck. I'm that person who takes her own vehicle so she can leave the dinner, the party, the whatever when she's ready. Who has a reasonably flexible work schedule that allows me to work odd hours, if odd hours get the job done. It's not often that I have nightmares, but if I do, they almost always involved being trapped somewhere and unable to get loose; to get away.
Sometimes I am confused about freedom, though. I think it requires control, but it doesn't. Freedom is about surrender. About self-forgetfulness. About intense focus on a task. On others. On God. I am never more trapped than when I am drowning in the Sea of Me. It's dark there. and ugly, and deep. And I am never more free than when I am lost in creating or listening, or teaching (like in Ukraine), or loving (again, in Ukraine) -- all my energy aimed ... elsewhere.
Full of worry, focused on what I want, anxious that my own needs are being met, I live in an ever-tightening vise. Focused on others though, I can simply "go up in smoke" --an offering of love on a hundred small altars, any day, anywhere, anytime.
Gerbera daisies bloom (I'm not a huge roses fan) without demand. Sparrows fly without Zoloft. The sunrise and sunset arrive on time--not a minute too late or too soon--whether I pay attention to them or not. Consider these, Jesus said, and find comfort.
The free and unencumbered life I long for cannot be reached by striving, holding, manipulating, or managing. Only by surrendering my own interests, ego and anxiety--and looking to Jesus to be my guide. Because whoever the Son sets free is free indeed.
If you grasp and cling to life on your own terms, you'll lose it, but if you let that life go, you'll get life on God's terms. (Luke 17:33, The Message)
I don't like be constrained, restrained or stuck. I'm that person who takes her own vehicle so she can leave the dinner, the party, the whatever when she's ready. Who has a reasonably flexible work schedule that allows me to work odd hours, if odd hours get the job done. It's not often that I have nightmares, but if I do, they almost always involved being trapped somewhere and unable to get loose; to get away.
Sometimes I am confused about freedom, though. I think it requires control, but it doesn't. Freedom is about surrender. About self-forgetfulness. About intense focus on a task. On others. On God. I am never more trapped than when I am drowning in the Sea of Me. It's dark there. and ugly, and deep. And I am never more free than when I am lost in creating or listening, or teaching (like in Ukraine), or loving (again, in Ukraine) -- all my energy aimed ... elsewhere.
Full of worry, focused on what I want, anxious that my own needs are being met, I live in an ever-tightening vise. Focused on others though, I can simply "go up in smoke" --an offering of love on a hundred small altars, any day, anywhere, anytime.
Gerbera daisies bloom (I'm not a huge roses fan) without demand. Sparrows fly without Zoloft. The sunrise and sunset arrive on time--not a minute too late or too soon--whether I pay attention to them or not. Consider these, Jesus said, and find comfort.
The free and unencumbered life I long for cannot be reached by striving, holding, manipulating, or managing. Only by surrendering my own interests, ego and anxiety--and looking to Jesus to be my guide. Because whoever the Son sets free is free indeed.
If you grasp and cling to life on your own terms, you'll lose it, but if you let that life go, you'll get life on God's terms. (Luke 17:33, The Message)
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