CelticPriest

That is the question.  What do we want?  The answer to that question depends largely on who we are, how old, where we live, where we were born, whether we grew up beloved or broken, abused or nurtured.  There are as many answers to that question as there are humans on the planet.  And if we asked all other living beings what they want, they might have some fascinating answers for us as well. Brigid of Kildare wanted to feed and clothe the poor.  She gave away so many things, so much of her father's goods that she would have impoverished him.  So, they say, he sold her into slavery, but that didn't last either. Some say her father was a Druid.  She seems to have lived during a time when that could have been true. She wanted her heaven to have a lake of ale, where everyone could come and be relaxed and happy and share their wisdom and tell stories.  She apparently came to understand that if you can't find heaven here, you will never find it "there."...

Today I have been thinking about compassion. With it we can enter into the life of another person without judgment, or the need to change them or change ourselves so that they might like us.   With compassion we can really listen and actually hear. We can look and honestly see. We can move gently in the world without having to be seen to be the center or the fixer. Matt Fox has some great stuff to say about compassion. So does St. Julian of Norwich. Read. Or talk to your spiritual director. Or just meditate. I say just, but I've been meditating for over 40 years. It isn't easy to stick with it. But it is worth it. For some, walking a labyrinth helps. Or just being outdoors. Use a mantra or a candle or a rosary or Mala beads. In the long run it will change our lives. Our personal background noise will become something holy and full of peace. Self seeking will ip away, the AA Big Book says   We "will know a new happiness and a new freedom. ...