The Imitation Of Christ II
Michael Kroth • February 7, 2020
Was I was serious about living a more meaningful life?
“But he who would fully and feelingly understand the words of Christ,
must study to make his whole life conformable to that of Christ.”
~Thomas`a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, p. 1.
I don’t know about you, but one of the problems I have had with organized religion is the hypocrisy one finds. People claim to be this or that, spouting “I believe” statements, but make little or no effort to live lives based on them. For me, that was one deal-killer. Folks can use their “human-beings-are-not-perfect-get-out-of-jail-free" card all they want, but not to even work on being humble, live simply, be generous, and so on – so easily observable in its absence – just turned me off.
Another deal-killer, also related to beliefs, was the notion that a certain set of beliefs was the one and only ticket to heaven or related blessings. The insistence that anything else but my
beliefs was not only wrong, but horribly wrong, seemed filled with a hubris that belied the very essence of what the person was claiming. Also a deal-killer for me. History has proven that beliefs – what one considers truths for the moment – can be modified, discarded, or become more nuanced and substantive over time. Beliefs are current human interpretations of what truth is.
They are necessary. However, they may be more or less valid. As new information (about the shape of the earth, for example) becomes available we can see their plausibility more clearly. They can constrain exploration into deeper understanding. They can be harmful. They are often used to control and build power. [See Beliefs Are Resting Places On Our Journey]
I wasn’t going to bet the farm on one set of unchanging beliefs, especially when it was so easy to observe the many people who asserted them but skipped the part about what they were asked to do as a result of them. Belief was enough, they said.
They weren’t enough for me.
Still another deal-killer for my relationship with organized religion was reliance on knowledge. I knew that learning about something does not necessarily make one a better person. Someone can be a scholar in the field of virtue development and not give a fig about developing one’s own virtues. One can be an expert in understanding bias, but not take one step toward becoming more aware of their own bias.
Nope, just packing in information wasn’t enough for me.
Beliefs and knowledge accumulation simply were not enough to go on.
Not if I was serious about living a more meaningful life.
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As I listened to sheep bleating at the Mount Angel Monastery, lying in bed with my little used, heavily-beat-up copy of The Imitation of Christ
open, I started reading.
“Indeed an humble husbandman, that serves God, is better than a proud philosopher, who neglecting himself, considers the course of the heavens” (p. 2).
More…
“If it seem to thee that thou knowest many things, and understandest them well enough, know at the same time, that there are many things of which thou art ignorant” (p. 3).
“It is vanity to wish for a long life, and to take little care of leading a good life” (p. 2).
Bam!
“And this must be our business, to strive to overcome ourselves, and daily to gain strength over ourselves, and to grow better and better” (p. 5).
Daily practice.
And, of course, “If thou wilt receive profit, read with humility, simplicity, and faith, and seek not at any time the fame of being learned” (p. 8).
“…seek not at any time the fame of being learned...”
I said to myself that here was a book that was speaking directly to me.
My little book, after reading only eight pages, was already heavily highlighted.
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Later, I would go back and note all the chapters in this book that addressed humility and other practices I knew then and know now that I need to work on over my lifetime, but that evening I was aware I had found treasure in this little book.
In time, The Imitation Of Christ
and other troves would lead me not only to practice, but also back to organized religion(s) and the many people who work so hard to be better people each day - they are the role models I aspire to emulate; and to increasingly deeper, more meaningful, constantly-evolving beliefs.
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The Imitation of Christ, attributed to Thomas`a Kempis, was written around 1390 and 1440. After the Bible, it is said to be perhaps the second most, after the Bible, widely read Christian devotional book.
For more, here is the Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imitation_of_Christ
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References
à Kempis, T. (2013). The Imitation of Christ
(R. Challoner, Trans.). Charlotte, N.C.: Tan Books & Pub
Photo Credits
All photos by Michael Kroth
“In Celtic wisdom we remember that our soul, the very heart of our being, is sacred. What is deepest in us is of God. ” ~John Philip Newell 1
We may be lights under bushels, but we can shine brightly against the dark even if we are mere candles. Together, the light may shine bright.
Silence speaks to us Listening in deep quiet… Hear what you long for! ~Patricia Leyko Connelly 1
"Elegance is the harmonious integration of simplicity, refinement, and intentionality across diverse contexts, combining timeless beauty with functional sophistication." ~ChatGPT Synthesized Definition
Unmade bed, and mind Unmade mind, unready day Night turns into dawn ~Michael Kroth
When I first discovered Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People 1 , I thought the habits he proposed were so simple. They were so self-evident. When I read them, they were so life changing. I remember reading the book and it was one of the biggest “aha” experiences of my life. As I’ve discovered, they are also so, so hard. I became a facilitator for several of Covey’s courses, and I remember him saying that what he was proposing was both simple and hard. What he meant by that was that the concept of the habit (putting First Things First, for example) was simple, and he offered uncomplicated but effective ways to work on them, but integrating that habit into one’s life, into one’s being, was hard. It would take time and perseverance. And, of course, that’s true. I know it’s true because I still have a long way to go on just these seven habits and that’s decades from when I started, and that’s only seven out of abuncha other practices I’d like to adopt, maintain, or improve on. Changing habits or routines is not impossible by any means, but that doesn’t make it easy no matter how much of an expert one might be. We know that smoking is bad for us, and yet quitting smoking can seem impossibly hard. I used to smoke three packs of cigarettes a day and tried every which way in the world I could to quit, including self-hypnosis, but it took my wife to buy me a smoking cessation program based on aversion therapy (I got a little shock every time I took a puff of smoke) to actually quit. It’s been 45 years since I stopped smoking. But I've known for a long time that eating too much sugar is bad for me, and still I do it. And the scale reminds me of that every day. And still I do it. But I'm working on it. We know that exercise and good nutrition and developing relationships is good for our health over the lifespan, but it takes time and effort to develop them. (For some other thoughts about this, see Whack-A-Mole , Sloughing , The Practice of Practices: The Meta-Practice of Practices ). The good news is that the benefits of working on these practices start accruing from day one, even though getting better at it is a lifetime process. Just because a person knows a good deal about something doesn’t mean that they are skillful at it. Someone who studies generosity isn’t necessarily generous. The worldwide expert in humility isn’t necessarily humble. The medical doctor who rhapsodizes the virtues of exercise isn’t always in the best shape. The theologian who knows more than anyone about some aspect of Christianity or Hinduism or Islam or any religion doesn’t necessarily practice the religious virtues she or he has written about in papers and books. A generous person may know nothing – in fact, probably doesn’t know much – about the latest generosity studies. And the person conducting those studies may be a descendant of Scrooge. Which brings me to the word I came up with for 2024 - elegancing. It’s only fair to ask myself, almost-post-2024, if elegancing has become more of who I am and how I operate in the world. How well, self-reflection should reveal, have I actually practiced it? How deeply have I become an elegant person? Writing a “Prologue” to 2024 Judith Valente asked those of us who took part in her workshop last January, “Prologue to 2024” (see My Word for 2024 – Elegancing ) to write a letter to ourselves about the coming year. I opened that letter on December 21st, and I don’t mind sharing excerpts of what I wrote. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-15-2024 Prologue to 2024 Michael Kroth To the Divine Ground, to the Great Vastness, and to the Inner LastingNess, May this be a year of Elegancing, of winnowing out the chaff, and keeping – reverencing – the grain. The elegant solution is the simplest, nothing extra, nothing missing. “Take More Time, Cover Less Ground,” a song by Carrie Newcomer, is my theme song. It reminds me of Evelyn Underhill. She would pick one retreat for a year, and give that retreat several times. Rather than giving many retreats. Cultivating Spirituality in Later Life is my topic. This means knowing about gerontology, spirituality, and lifelong learning Healthwise is my approach – not worrying about length of life as much as quality of life for as long as I live. To that end, five areas of continual improvement: exercise, nutrition, sleep, emotional/social health, spiritual growth, financial/material health. To consider myself a learner/practitioner in each of these areas. Designing my environment to move toward elegance with a twist (a bit of irreverence tossed in…). Exercising daily, eat healthily, sleep well, become a better (husband, father, friend, and neighbor) person, deepen my spiritual growth, and healthy personal financial management. All these by exercising and strengthening values and virtues and behavior that carry out the Great Commandments (love God and Neighbor). To find and practice the unifying themes between all of these areas of life, (Occam’s Razor, the elegant solutions) such that life becomes increasing and simultaneously simpler and more profound. All this to continually immerse myself in an environment and life of flourishing. Michael Kroth, Student of Life ------------------------------------------------------------------------- That’s what I wrote, and as I sit here on December 30 th 2024 these still are values and approaches that I want to continue to build into myself and my life through 2025 and beyond. I like what I wrote then – it fits where I am and where I want to go. But, have I made much progress? But, have I made much progress? What have I learned about elegancing and myself this past year? Looking back over the year I’ve done pretty well on some of these and on some have I have not. One area in which I have not made much progress is in personal financial management. I've made little steps, but it does not come naturally for me. I just don't think about money much, and not nearly so much as I ought to. I'll have to do better in 2025 as retirement hurdles forward me. Regarding the big four metapractices 2 – spiritual learning, embodied learning, cognitive learning, and socio-emotional learning – elegancing underlies them all. That is, I’m working to go more deeply, more synergistically, and in a less scattered way with each of them, and all of them interacting with each other. Carrie Newcomer’s words, Take More Time, Cover Less Ground 3 , is what Duhigg calls a “keystone habit,” and applies to all of these. “Some habits,” Duhigg says, “matter more than others in remaking businesses and lives.” 4 Focusing more, and what is likely to make the most difference, seems like a good strategy. It is probably self-evident, but my curiosity is a strength and a vulnerability. As one who is interested in learning about many things, it is easy to jump from one fascinating topic to another. To wit, over the last few weeks, I’ve started to learn how to use AI. And it is helping me to learn conversational Spanish. Those are two big topics themselves. Oh, and I’ve backslud a bit on practicing Tai Chi, but it remains on the top of my list. And I want to know more about Spain. Oh, and I’m going to sign up for the Osher Institute this next month. Oh, and I can’t forget…. And yeah, I’m going to Judith’s 2025 retreat on January 11 th , Writing the Prologue to Your New Year . I haven’t come a long way, baby, but I’ve come a ways. And I’m thinking 2025 might be pretty wonderful, even with all its inevitable ups and downs. Focus on the present moment, MK, focus not just on be-coming, but at the same time be-ing. (And let's not forget do-ing...) So, to answer my own question, I've made a little progress, enough to make me feel excited about continuing. Even if my practice of elegance has a long way to go, I know a lot more about elegancing than I did a year ago. I’ve been keeping track of articles about elegance over the last year (I used a Google alert, and am beginning to go deeper with Google Scholar) to learn more about it. More than a fashion choice, elegance applies to advanced technology, design (of all sorts), sports, science, software, and beyond. That’s knowledge, which is good. Practicing until one becomes, until one is be-ing elegant, that’s better. These practices start with the smallest, often the most tenuous, of steps. I feel like 2024 has been a time of taking my first steps toward elegancifying the way I approach the world. Elegancifying . I like it. Maybe that will be my word for 2025. How about you? What will your word be for 2025? Your song? Your desired experience? This elegancing thing might take me a while. Like maybe the rest of my life. Sources and Resources 1 Covey, S. R. (1989). The seven habits of highly effective people: restoring the character ethic. Simon and Schuster. 2 For a more in-depth look at the processes of lifelong formation, see Kroth, M., Carr‐Chellman, D. J., & Rogers‐Shaw, C. (2022). Formation as an organizing framework for the processes of lifelong learning. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development , 34(1), 26-36. 3 Carrie Newcomer, Take More Time, Cover Less Ground. https://carrienewcomer.substack.com/p/take-more-time-cover-less-ground-10e 4 Duhigg, C. (2014). Power of habit: why we do what we do in life and business (Random House Trade Paperback Edition ed.), p. 100. 5 Carrie Newcomer, You Can Do this Hard Thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRGnftH_g4I Retreat Information To sign up for Judith’s January 11 th retreat, check it out here: Writing the Prologue to Your New Year
Illustration created by Michael Kroth, with the assistance of OpenAI's DALL-E Tool (my FIRST SECOND using AI!)
