Going
Further In
“Help
me, God. Help me to see clearly. Help me to name what is real. Help
me to be a vessel for healing. Help bring me further in.”
Joshua
Boettiger (Doing Damage, Parabola, Spring, 2015)
Isn't
this an interesting prayer? What does it mean by, “bring me further
in?” Well, the article is about the things that separate us not
only from that which is holy, but from ourselves and our sisters and
brothers as well. Things like misunderstanding, twisting things to
suit an end, and getting off on the wrong path. Boettiger encourages
us to look deeper into our own hearts and to name what is real.
It
is a call to consciousness. An invitation to see ourselves and others
as we are, and not as we imagine. To paraphrase His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, “All beings want the same thing—to be happy.”
Sometimes, in the pursuit of happiness, we act, unconsciously and
consciously, in ways that harm others; and when we do, we harm
ourselves. There is a delicate balance in this world; when it tips
too much in one direction, the whole thing topples.
There
is real benefit to going “further in.” We develop compassion,
or rather, we discover compassion. We realize that we, like all
beings, just want to be happy. We gain a deeper understanding of the
ways and means we employ in our attempt to obtain that happiness. In
achieving clearer comprehension of our own hearts, we feel stronger
love for ourselves and others. And, amazingly, it is this love that
brings us the happiness and healing we seek.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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