What if . . .?
Have you ever had times in your life when you felt as if you were being thrust about on a huge wave with no end in sight? I know I have and it wasn’t just me, people around me voiced similar experiences and perhaps now you may be wondering if the entire world is in that state.
What if we imagined ourselves as incredibly brilliant, talented, life-giving beings— which we are—and we lived into that reality daily? What if we carried ourselves with a presence and dignity that profoundly affected others positively? What if we stepped into the simplicity of looking into the eyes of our neighbors, into their souls with humility, and acted in solidarity with a deep understanding of their needs, whether they looked like us or not? What if we settled differences recognizing our similarities—which are limitless—given that we all live in the same cosmic universe?
If we were to answer those “what ifs” honestly we would be living into the words of Meister Eckhart (1260-1327) who said:
The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.”
Now, I admit that one would have to step back from that sentence for a few minutes to let it kind of sink in—my eye and God’s eye are one eye. Certainly we cannot take that at face value. Even if you don’t believe in an enormous unitive consciousness beyond all words and thoughts, you still have to wonder what the 13th century German theologian was thinking. Was he delusional? I mean you could look at that statement in so many ways. Who was he kidding? Or you could wonder—what if he was right and over the centuries we’re the ones who have missed the connection?
In our attempts at striving to overcome, acquire, and win a battle of some kind or another we’ve tripped over a truth that is right in front of us. We are no longer living life, we are merely surviving. We are missing the finer qualities that are before our eyes daily, thinking that life is full of regrets and unhappiness and that is just the way it is suppose to be—perhaps we are the ones in error—as Rumi said:
How sad that you yourself veil the treasure that is yours.
With our freewill could it possibly be that we have lost touch with ourselves and everything around us from the environment to our neighbors? Empathy just doesn’t seem to cut it any more, not when conditions appear so blatantly destructive. Maybe, the starting point is not so much about what’s out there that needs to be fixed as much as what’s inside of us—that part that needs healing and nurturance; unmasking the seat of our compassion—which we keep ignoring through busyness.
Could it be that as a culture we have become so consumed with gadgets, TVs, cell phones, computers, the newest shoes and the latest things—we are so bound up with stuff that we’ve become our own obsessive-compulsive commodity? Consumed with noise we can’t stand silence. Rushing hither and yon, we can’t bear to be still. Addicted to unlimited entertainment of all kinds, the experience of reading, seeing or listening deeply is left unexplored.
What if the antidote to chaos required engaging in a way of being in the world that was without gimmicks, a total life-style change? What if and acting maturely in opposition to mainstream societal aggressive norms would be make a difference? Would we choose exploring a simple activity such as contemplative prayer or dropping into pure silence periodically throughout the day? Might those seemingly nebulous practices have an impact in ways you might have never considered? Well, as it turns out, the above stated practices slow down the nervous system and the mind of the practitioner in such subtle ways, like molding a clay pot. So conditioned by your habitual ways of acting, at first you might not notice anything but others will. They might recognize that you’ve become kinder, less tense, more animated, and interested in your surroundings.
What if instead of being intent on changing everybody around us, we changed ourselves, first? We engaged in a ritual of focused attentiveness to our actions, thoughts and especially our words. That doesn’t mean we ignore the injustices and flagrant acts of inhumanity that saturate the world, but coming from a place of inner reflection we act responsibly, with compassion without judgment or superiority.
What if the mystics and saints of centuries past were leading us into a way of being or at the very least transmitting an example of contemplative action in life? Instead of worshipping what we consider holy and honorable, we actually became like them in our modern age. With contemplation as the foundation for being we would truly have the mind of Christ ( 1 Corinthians 2:16).
As radical as it sounds that place of stillness is also the place of hope and love. We are no longer just talking about and praising Jesus the Christ, Mary, Clare of Assisi, and others we are living into a new way of becoming, one miracle after another. And we too would be proclaiming the wisdom of Mechthild of Magdeburg (1212-1282):
The day of my spiritual awakening was the day I saw and knew I saw all things in God and God in all things.
What if imago Dei were understood as an essential truth that we claim and is expressed as our fundamental beingness? Since an image is a representation of something, human beings carry the blueprint of the image of God not to control, dominate, or colonize others but to come into true relational potentiality, being a small unit of God in exhibiting goodness, joy, and love. A Being with that kind of intentional commitment could create vast changes on the planet in a short life span.
What if to raise the consciousness of the universe consisted of something as simple as daily practices in focused breathing, slowing down to commune with nature, holding a scriptural verse in your mind all day, and spontaneous moments of stillness? Then over time as a natural process we would be doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).
What if . . .?