Withdrawing To Get A Better Look

Dandelion Fluff

Have you ever looked at the life cycle of a dandelion? Those incredible yellow flowers, or weeds, which spring up all over the grass as soon as spring arrives. To some people, they look pretty. To others, they’re a menace to be weeded out and discarded forever. The first life of the dandelion consists of that little yellow flower that just seems to never go away.

Then, for those that do survive the first cycle of life, the dandelion suddenly and magically turns into nothing more than fluff. On the surface, this fluff looks very harmless. When a wind comes along, the fluff is blown away and the dandelion is never to be seen again.

At least for a season…

Impacting Your Environment

The dandelion fluff, which marks the end of a season, or life cycle, for the dandelion may look harmless. But, for those who really know what’s going on, the fluff is merely planting the harvest for the next crop of dandelions. The fluff goes to seed and lays dormant until the dandelion growing season hits once again.

From time to time it’s important for us to step back and see what’s going on in our life. A journal entry from Thomas Merton in June of 1960 says the following;

“To see better means we need to gain perspective. That sometimes means a withdrawal, or a stepping back from the machinery of life.”

Stepping back from the machinery of life…
Just let those words sink in for a moment.

All too often, the machinery of life adds to the chaos and noise of life as we navigate through this journey we call life. From time to time, we must step back so we can gain perspective on what’s going on around us. Or, sometimes we need to step back so we can gain perspective on what’s going on in our own lives. It’s during these times of reflection, these times of stepping back, that we truly gain the perspective we need to make sense of what’s going on around us.

In my final year of Seminary I took a class on the Historical Books from the Old Testament. Up until that time, I usually had little to no difficulty working on the various assignments pertaining to Bible study and Bible study methods. However, for some reason I had a block when it came to working through lessons found in the Old Testament historical books. All I saw was a collection of names, facts, and what I considered to be useless information.

However, one day that all changed as I sat in my Professor’s office lamenting the fact I didn’t see anything! He looked at me and said, “It’s because you’re too close to the material. You’re working too hard in trying to figure out what’s going on.” He then said, “Take off your glasses.” I told him if I did that, I would see nothing at all! He laughed and said, “Take off your glasses, hold them over your shoulder like you’re holding them up for God to use.”

The Professor then said something that totally changed the way I looked at not only the Scripture passage, but even the situation. The Professor said, “Now, ask God what He sees here.”

Wow! What a transformation of attitude in looking at something. I believe that’s what Merton touches on when he says we need to step away to get perspective. Sometimes it’s the stepping away, and even asking God to show us what He sees in a given situation, where truly find answers for the journey.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

]]> http://fellowsojourner.godlaughs.net/2009/06/28/stepping-back-to-gain-perspective/feed/ 3 http://fellowsojourner.godlaughs.net/2008/02/03/easily-distracted/ http://fellowsojourner.godlaughs.net/2008/02/03/easily-distracted/#comments Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:31:00 +0000 Dr. Rus http://fellowsojourner.godlaughs.net/2008/02/03/easily-distracted/

I was reading another entry in my A Year with Thomas Merton book today entitled “Bearing Witness to the Resurrection.” It’s a great entry where Merton talks about where he finds happiness, and where he is most happy. In this particular entry Merton said he is “happier than he’s ever been” while singing in the choir. He goes on to say he can hardly “hold himself in place, expecting every moment to be his last.”

Merton also points out that when he’s at his toolshed hermitage he is “always happy and at peace, no matter what happens. For here, there is no need for anyone but God.”

Then suddenly out of no-where, the entry ends with the sentence – “A fly buzzes on the windowpane!” Did this fly suddenly pull him out of the things and thoughts of God, directly back into what many call the real world?

This got me wondering just how often we find ourselves distracted from the peace of God through daily, and many times the mundane, things of life. A fly buzzing on the windowpane suddenly becomes our excuse for the moment to stop thinking on the things of God.

What is buzzing on your windowpane today taking your attention away from God? Is it a worthy distraction? Or is it best to ignore it, so you can continue pondering the things of God.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Thomas Merton, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, is probably one of my favorite spiritual authors. Merton recognized the dichotomy of writing, and actually being a writer. Many people know how to write, but few really write. There really is a difference between theory and actual practice. It’s like the newspaper editor in the Samuel L. Jackson movie Resurrecting The Champ tells the young sportswriter trying to find his voice. “I see a lot of words, but I don’t see a lot of writing.”

A book containing excerpts from Merton’s thoughts on the vocation of writing was recently released entitled Echoing Silence. What an amazing thought. One wants to write, in order to encourage others along whatever journey they may find themselves on. Whether it’s a journey of joy, adventure, science fiction, or whatever, the writer writes, so one can be entertained, learn something, or be encouraged. However, at the same time the writer often finds himself in the midst of an echoing silence. Just how do the words flow into thoughts, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and yes, even books.

It’s funny, I find myself in the midst of such an echoing silence these days. While it’s exciting to write and create, it’s at the same time somewhat scary to think I’m hanging my thoughts out there for all to see. Will people like what they read? Will they understand what they read? Will it even make sense?

However, it really is all about the journey we find ourselves on individually. For some, reading helps them along the journey. For others, writing helps them along the journey. Whatever the case may be, in the end, we can find encouragement in knowing that the Alpha and the Omega really does know what’s going on. In the end, He is the Author of Life and He truly is in our corner, even in the midst of what might seem like echoing silence, to run the race which is marked out for us so that we might hear those wonderful words of — Well done My faithful servant. Come, enter into your rest.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

While in seminary I came across a book by Brother Lawrence entitled Practicing The Presence of God. It’s a small book, but an amazing book. Brother Lawrence was a monk who said he got to the point in his life when he found the set times of prayer in the monastery interrupted his time with God.

Wow! What an amazing thought. Think about that for a moment and let it really sink in. Is it true we can get close enough to God that set times of prayer interrupt our time with Him? I remember pondering that thought often throughout seminary and even during times of ministry. How can one arrive at the place where set times of prayer interrupt regular time with God. That means we’re truly conscious of the presence of God at all times in our lives.

Many times we find ourselves tossed to a fro by the demands of the world. It doesn’t matter if one is in ministry, or if one is working in the marketplace, the demands of the world, and those around us, can seem overwhelming at times. How are we to survive and maintain a relationship with God in the midst of all the demands on our life? I believe that’s what Brother Lawrence was getting at when he addressed the idea of practicing the presence of God, at all times.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Thomas Merton always seemed to walk a tightrope of complicated thoughts, in the midst of a simple life. That’s probably why he wrote so much. It was a way to possibly un-clutter his mind and sort through all the varied thoughts, ideas and yes, even tensions he found present in his everyday life.

We live in a world of many gadgets, which are in turn supposed to make life simpler. However, I often wonder if we ever do achieve the simple life by adding gadget after gadget into our lives. There was a time when I felt the need to have every new wild and fancy gadget that ever hit the market. In the end however, all this really led to was a life full of toys gathering dust on a nearby shelf. As I journey through this life I’m coming to realize that some of the gadgets are good, and when used properly, they can even help to make life simpler. However, other gadgets are merely toys taking up space, and making noise in an already busy schedule.

In the end, as we journey through each day, we need to look closely at what we’re filling our life up with, and then decide if it’s really making life simple or merely adding to the noise already around us.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus