Hope
Michael Kroth • July 12, 2020
Hope as "...an abiding state of being."
Mystical Hope: Trusting In the Mercy of God,
by Cynthia Bourgeault, is an insightful little book. It helped me to re-think the way I look at what "hope" might represent, as not related to outcomes ("I hope I don't blow that presentation"). She is writing about what she calls "mystical hope". She says that in contrast with how we normally think of hope:
- "Mystical hope is not tied to a good outcome, to the future. It lives a life of its own, seemingly without reference to external circumstances and conditions.
- It has something to do with presence-not a future good outcome, but the immediate experience of being met, held in communion, by something intimately at hand.
- It bears fruit within us at the psychological level in the sensations of strength, joy, and satisfaction: an 'unbearable lightness of being.' But mysteriously, rather than deriving these gifts from outward expectations being met, it seems to produce them from within." (pp. 9-10)
Bourgeault is a Christian writer, who has done much in the areas of centering prayer and mysticism, so going in you know she will be coming from those perspectives. One idea that appealed to me is that she takes hope away from outcomes (I hope I get the raise, get a good health check up), which may or may not be within our control, or even influence, and places hope - and living hopefully - within ourselves and in the present.
"The spiritual life," she says, "can only be lived in the present moment, in the now. All the great religious traditions insist upon this simple but difficult truth. When we go rushing ahead into the future or shrinking back into the past, we miss the hand of God, which can only touch us in the now" (p. 12).
Having thought about all of these ideas this morning, after a great hike yesterday, I'm heading out to our back porch, to spend some time in the present - with our dogs, squirrels, birds, a weed or two, and the cool of this Sunday morning before the heat of the day kicks in. I'll working on living in hope, rather than worrying too much about what I hope might happen down the road.
Peace and blessings fellow travelers.
Bogus Basin "Around the Mountain" Trail
Photos by Michael Kroth, 7-11-20
Earth Day is this week. As we consider the state of our world - and the ecology of both our material and spiritual environment - it makes sense to ask what our role is, has been, and is supposed to be in relationship to "our common home" (Pope Francis).
Here are some initial thoughts about elegance, nature, and depth; a poem about happiness; and even a haiku.
It takes just a second to break something. Restoring what was broken takes time.
Outcomes are not certain, though some are much more highly predictable than others.
Life is messy. We know that. But some people move through that mess with a surprising kind of grace.
“The poor in spirit are by no means poor-spirited. They are persons who see so much to be, so much to do, such limitless reaches to life and goodness that they are profoundly conscious of their insufficiency and incompleteness.” ~Rufus Jones, The Inner Life , p. 19
