Authority
Figures
“Try to
say that: 'I don't know anything.'...Maybe you could think of
yourself as an erased blackboard, ready to be written on. For by and
large, what blocks spiritual teaching is the assumption that we
already know, or that we don't need to know. We have to pray for
beginner's mind. We need to say, with the blind man, 'I want to
see.'”
Richard
Rohr (Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer)
A young woman at my
church called me “an authority figure.” I don't think it was
meant as a compliment, so I can only assume that I come across that
way. I feel I have “some 'splainin' to do,” as Ricky Ricardo
would say. Everyday, when I wake up, I make the coffee, feed the dog,
and sit down to write. Some people begin their day by writing in a
journal, some people do yoga or meditate, some people pray, some
people go for a run. I blog. I listen inside for something that
speaks to me—something I need to say to myself, that are issues of
mine in need of attention (like coming across as a know it all!).
Sometimes a conversation or a discussion from a previous day is still
rattling around in my head, or someone has suggested an author, or a
book they think I might like. I follow these leads for what speaks to
me. And then I write. What I write is intended as “notes to self”
for the day. Writing grounds me in a positive way.
That said, I am not an
authority on anything except myself. I have studied for fifty years
what motivates human beings to do the things we do. I have seventy
years of life experience, and I have had some great teachers along
the way—some hard teachers, some loving, some filled with grace. If
you are fortunate, you have had these, too. And still, I want to
learn more from anyone or anything willing to teach me. That is the
basis of beginner's mind—being open to the wisdom of others and the
universe. What I have learned, such as it is, I want to share. What
you have learned, I hope you'll share with me, because I can learn
from you.
Being a blank slate is
not easy for most of us. I'm happy to say that it gets easier as the
years roll by, because we forget so much! (A little age related
humor, there.) But it's helpful to not let what you think you already
know get in the way of what you might learn that's new. Spirit cannot
get through the dense matter of a made-up mind. She is an airy thing,
and yet she requires some space in which to move. If you are able to make
room for her, she will lead you to your own wisdom. You will become
your own, and only, authority figure.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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