In Plain View

Days roll by. Weeks and months as well. Time passes. Looking back on it seems usual, expected, routine. Nothing arduous. No toil. Just passage of time. Yet what fills time is not expected or predictable. Not really. Oh the birth of new life, death of old, tragic ends in between. Those are expect-able. No, that’s not what I’m driving at.

Remember when young we looked forward in time and wondered when it would get here? Recall how endless time’s passing seemed then? Today seemed always with us. So long a time today became we could barely remember yesterday?

There were those days when we felt like that. But today, seven decades later we understand how quickly time flows. It has its own rhythm. Its own routine separate from us. We are just dots within along for the ride.

Unraveling the dots steals our attention from time. As we muddle with details time stands still. We struggle to understand. Grasp for meaning. Construct relevance scales so we know where to place found facts and meanings. Place them where they cast light on other areas of life. Order them so we can retrieve them when needed.

All is in front of us waiting to be discovered, understood and used rightly. While doing this time moves quickly.

I awoke this morning early thinking on these matters. I wondered why this came to mind. I’m still struggling to make a difference with a group of youth I meet with on Friday evenings. I worry over their futures. What is holding them back? Anything? Am I the one too perturbed over them than they are for themselves?

We talked about spiritual matters this past week. Who or what is God, who or what is a higher power? Is this topic religious or spiritual? Either way what’s the difference? If you believe in a higher power, does this mean you are religious or ought to be?

I don’t think so. I told them so. One doesn't have to believe in a religion to believe in God or a higher power. I shared with them my many confrontations with the Grand Canyon, or Sedona, Arizona, and any of the other canyon areas of the southwestern United States. Each time I am awed by the wonderful beauty, size, silence, natural formations…whatever characteristic of the place I’m visiting. I feel insignificant standing amidst such splendor. How can there not be a higher power?

Well aware that young people are discouraged by such talk, I shared with them my distrust of religion and dogma and ritual. They appreciated my candor. But I sensed they were no where near considering a higher power. Some were thinking, though. Some already get it. The others are sloughing it off, denying it.

This is important stuff, however. If they are to progress to a point where they can jettison their fears and weaknesses and flaws, then they must capture something beyond their control that is good for their life. Being able to dump life’s junk somewhere so the person can breathe freely and gain hope that better days are ahead. If they can do that, they can ditch drugs, booze or any addiction that diverts their development toward fullness of life.

Fullness. Purpose. Role. Reason for being. Faith that life means something. Faith that I am worthy. Faith so I can let go of the fake arrogance used to cover my sense of unworthiness.

It’s plain to me that smoke screens are common. What are they made of? Our fears of being found out. Could it be that simple? I think it is.

In turn those with the screens are not the bullies we think them to be. Does that conclusion follow? Is there a bridge linking us strong enough to bear examination?

I wonder.  

May 6, 2013