Gnostic Rising

The Joy of Giving

2008-11-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

This blog began as a forum for my infrequent sermons, to myself and to mankind (at large)...Today is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the first snow of the season is falling. The house is still clean from the holiday; J is unpacking Christmas decorations from storage. I am refilling our morning coffee and watching the gentle flakes fall on our yard. My heart contains a void...I feel incomplete...We had the honor of feeding most of my mother's immediate family on Thursday. Our preparation for the meal was intense. We worked so hard to make an incredible meal, wanting all of our guests to eat well and feel good. But as J and I reflected on the days events we realized that my family didn't seem to be as comfortable in our home as I had hoped. Because J and I do not have children yet, I wanted to get that "joy of giving" feeling from serving my family a great meal. They came, ate, and went; but I didn't get the joy of giving feeling...This morning as I sit beside my loving partner while she reads, and our cuddly dog sleeps between us, I look at our modest but beautiful home. I am still waiting, still longing, still needing. All the love between J and I that we have to give to a child or to family just sits on the vine, uneaten....Will there be a child who needs us? Will there be a family who needs us? Will we ever get to feel the Joy of Giving?

Running

2008-09-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

We spend so much time running away from suffering. And even when we are not running away from it we are trying to block it, to keep it away, to push it out. It seems we are compelled by a primal fear, an unreflected, uncomplicated fear of suffering that we are willing to do ANYTHING TO AVOID SUFFERING...WHY? What is it that we gain from avoiding suffering? Shouldn't we shift our focus from running away to running toward something? If we only avoid suffering, we get caught in a loop of reaction and response. The universe controls the flow and we bob and weave to stay clear. No wonder WE ARE TIRED. I am tired just thinking about the energy I spend avoiding.

If we STAND UP TO SUFFERING, if we face it head on, we might find that suffering's bark is worse than it's bite, that it is not as bad as we think OR we might find that we are stronger, or that we become stronger than what we thought was possible. THIS is our challenge, not to out run suffering but to run toward something and stare down suffering when ever it crosses our path.

Gnostic Rising is...

2008-06-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Born. Light has been swirling for years...but today, the path is revealed.

We are not so far apart. We are but one risk away from building ourselves into a new and better world. We should start with our next door neighbor. Not our figurative "neighbor" but literally with our actual, in-the-flesh, next door neighbor. When you make your next door neighbor an intimate part of your life, no matter who they are or what they believe, if you offer your acceptance, your time, your humor, you will have bridged a gap. You will have made a connection. It matters less that you are a friend to those who like you. I matters more that you are willing (open to risk-to loss-to ridicule) to extend yourself for the sake of a relationship. What we can learn from the person "placed" next to us is immeasurable. If we all risk ourselves even just one time to make a connection -- we will have changed the face of things to come.