I received an email this week asking me to weigh in on the government shut down. First, our conversation has never been about politics. And I don’t intend to change that. But, the truest reason I won’t offer an opinion is this: I’m a contemplative at heart. My truest self is never my first, knee-jerk reaction. Here is a post I wrote about it after the terrible events in Boston this past April. This I how I, as a contemplative respond to all of life, when I am at my best:
- Pray. Offer up your fear, your pleas for safety, your desire for life.
- Sit in mournful silence.
- Pray again. Offer up your anger, your need for answers, your desire for vengeful justice.
- Sift through emotions in silence.
- Pray again. Offer up your hope for peace, your gratefulness for heroes, your sympathy for loss.
- Create a gift of beauty that expresses your grief and offer it in humility.
- Pray for wisdom and guidance.
- Wait in silence for any actions you are called to take.
- Pray about the step you are holding in silence.
- Only after being sure of the wisdom in a calling and the source of calling, take action.
These may take days or months to complete.
Trust that good can come from waiting.
