Good morning…
As a teacher, I struggle to open safe space for the shy and the bold, the quiet and the talkative, the slow processors and the quick responders. All of us have gifts of great value to share, but how might I make room for the shy, quiet, slow processors and the bold, talkative, quick responders? I have been wrestling with this question all week.
Then I happen upon words of guidance from Paula D’Arcy in this week’s chapter, chapter three, in Waking Up to This Day.
“We were moving in a space of aliveness,” writes Paula on page 43. “In accepting life as it is I begin to look at things directly. Some circumstances require action. Yet there is a great distinction between reactions prompted by the ego and action that arises from a deep awareness of life’s flow. The former is reactive and controlling, and serves self-interest. The latter is forceful and clear. Action that arises from a profound acceptance of life is always in the service of love.”
Flipping a few pages, Paula continues: “It might be said that our own lives are always moving either toward the sea (our deepest nature) or away from it. The effect of us moving away from life’s intrinsic design is that we end up living in opposition to who we most deeply are.”
Wisdom from page 16 comes rushing back in. “Catherine of Siena writes, “My deepest me is God.”
For some in our classes, oversharing is a reaction prompted by the ego, for others, staying silent is a reaction prompted by ego. Yet, when talking or remaining quiet arises from a deep awareness of the flow of God in each of us, together we experience a beautiful synergy, forceful and clear. Spirit-led action, speaking up or quieting down, flows from the eternal life force at work among us. Deep awareness of the Spirit’s flow is always, always in the service of love.
As we shed our layers of ego, the deep, growing edge of each one of us expands to fill the space between us.
As I prepare to welcome women into our home again today, my earlier question becomes a prayer. Dear God, please make room for the shy, quiet, slow processors and the bold, talkative, quick responders as together we expand into the space between us.
For everything that happens in life—there is a season, a right time for everything under heaven: …a time to be quiet, a time to speak up (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b, VOICE).
…Sue…
