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Warning: Today's writing might prove fatal to your convenience, and religion. So, if you want to remain asleep, please do not read this, and forgive me for offering to open up the shudders. Otherwise, let us proceed...
Wisdom Story
A father knocks on his son's bedroom door. "Jaime", he exclaims, "wake up!"
Jaime replies, "I don't want to get up, Papa."
The father shouts, "Get up! You've got to go to school!"
Jaime exclaims, back, "I don't want to go to school!"
"Why not?" asks the dad.
"Three reasons," Jaime says. "First, because it's so dull; second, the children tease me; third, I hate school."
The father says, "Well, I'm going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your duty; second, because you're 45 years old; third, because you're the school principal."
Wisdom Saying
*The following is from Anthony De Mello, Awareness...
Most people tell you they want to get out of kindergarten, but don't believe them. Don't believe them! All they want you to do is to mend their broken toys. "Give me back my wife. Give me back my job. Give me back my money. Give me back my reputation, my success". This is what they want; they want their toys replaced. That's all. Even the best psychologist will tell you that, that people don't really want to be cured. What they want is relief; a cure is painful.
Waking up is unpleasant, you know. You are nice and comfortable in bed. It's irritating to be woken up. That's the reason the wise spiritual teacher will not attempt to wake people up. I hope I'm going to be wise here and make no attempt whatsoever to wake you up if you are asleep. It is really none of my business, even though I say to you at times, "Wake up!" My business is to do my thing, to dance my dance. If you profit from it, fine; if you don't, too bad! As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens."
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Comments
Scripture says, regarding the opposition between spiritual ignorance and spiritual enlightenment, in the Gospel of John 3.19 (WE): Light came into the world. But people wanted to be in the dark because they did wrong things. They did not want the light. That is why they are judged.
We might easily ascribe this fleeing the Light, or fleeing into the Dark, to those who do not profess religion. However, likely, there are more persons fleeing the Light who belong to religion than those leaning toward the Light.
Anthony De Mello is correct. It is painful to wake up spiritually. And painful it is to stay awake. More so in a society and religious culture, too, that will gladly aid us in remaining in bed, asleep, and unconscious to the more inward and vital matters of the Spirit.
So, yes, God is Love. But to receive that Love intimately, which gives all and expects a like return, we have to give up our toys, even religious and moral toys. And we may lose some friends in the process, too. And some of our natural family and long-time faith family might begin looking at us oddly and whispering among themselves concerning the odd changes in our priorities and behavior.
So, do you really want to go through all you must to wake up and stay awake? God will let us stay asleep, if we say "No" to His call to wake up and walk into and with the Light.
Pure Spirit offers us the inestimable depths of true love, celestial joy, and insuperable peace. The blessing is worth the cost of investment.
But what is the cost? Surrendering everything we claim to own, even ourselves. No, we do not learn at once what it means to surrender it all practically. We do not wake up suddenly in perfect obedience. But we have to make a beginning, and it must be a sincere and resolved one. We surrender it all, now, as the invitation for the Spirit to teach us, over a long time, just what that will mean for us.
No wonder many churches and persons professing faith have yet to surrender to the inner spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Such costs us the sincere sacrifice of all, by entering into the experience of Christ Himself~and that includes the sufferings of Christ, as well as His resurrection.
Continued... |
