In a Thin Space 6-15-11

Anderson, South Carolina

Many days find me entering into skirmishes with myself, knowing what I ought to be doing to maximize the value of my day, yet instead dissipating precious gifts of time, doing things having little eternal value. A hundred urgent but unimportant activities present themselves to me daily, often crowding out those responsible for serenity and stability in my life. Often I hear those having victory over long-standing addiction relating their ongoing habits of rising early for meditation and prayer; describing consistent practices Benedictine monks would do well to emulate. I often wonder how impoverished uneducated individuals are able to enjoy the fruits of good living by maintaining personal discipline for years on end.

Fifteen centuries ago St. Benedict developed his Rule of Life, an extensive set of principles and rules foundational to the way of life in hundreds of monastic orders. These rules seem daunting to those of us living fast-paced lives, those of us who tear out of the starting blocks every morning, without warming up. The idea of taking ten minutes to plan my day, having a few quiet thoughts to contemplate best use of my day, seeking Higher guidance doesn’t even occur to me most days. Often I’ve left a cloud of dust in my wake as I careen into another day, occluding any clarity I might have received from divine guidance. Many days find me spinning my wheels.

The most successful man on earth lived a short life in dusty deserts devoid of communication resources, yet managed to transform life for billions. He knew the secret of going off into quiet places early in the day, seeking Divine direction for His days. Jesus in a mere three years accomplished more than the rest of us could ever conceive of, yet He told us if we seek Him, we ourselves could do even greater things.

An anonymous meditation exhorts me to slow down before I rocket into my cloud of hyperactivity. “Calmness is constructive of good. Agitation is destructive of good. I should not rush into action. I should first “be still and know that He is God.” Then I should act only as God directs me through my conscience. Only trust, perfect trust in God, can keep me calm when all around me are agitated. Calmness is trust in action. I should seek all things that can help me to achieve calmness. To attain material things, the world learns to attain speed. To attain spiritual things, I have to learn to attain a state of calm.” Jesus and St Benedict figured this out, transforming the lives of those around them.

Some of us don’t know how to attain calm, moving at the speed of light doing things we think all too important. Even after nearly forty years of claiming a spiritual/religious way of life, I’ve struggled endlessly with looking both ways before crossing the street into the activities of the day. For me, the ultimate challenge is doing ‘nothing’.

Transforming spiritual practices are challenging to acquire. Even the apostle Paul described his ongoing struggles with a lack of self control, a failure to discipline himself declaring, “I don’t do the things I would and do the things I wouldn’t.” Perhaps learning to crawl will lead me to baby steps, to the ability to walk, to jog, then to run fully the race set before me. Another anonymous writer declares, “Discipline of yourself is absolutely necessary before the power of God is given to you. When you see others manifesting the power of God, you probably have not seen the discipline that went before. They made themselves ready. All your life is a preparation for more good to be accomplished when God knows that you are ready for it. So keep disciplining yourself in the spiritual life every day. Learn so much of the spiritual laws that your life cannot again be a failure.”

I’ve taken it on as a challenge to exercise one small discipline every day, to go into the chapel in my house for ten minutes at first waking. It doesn’t matter what I do in there, only that I get there. Merely disciplining myself to go into a set apart space for ten minutes is about as much as I can muster in the way of discipline. I take a cell phone in there with me and set the alarm for ten minutes and then get in a position of repose. It doesn’t matter if I read or what I think during those ten minutes. All I have to do is be in there every day first thing. I can hope visiting a disused room daily for mere moments a day will result in having occasional thoughts of God, of seeking His will, of actually experiencing a quiet mind for a few seconds. One day I might find I have been still and known God for a few moments. It just might transform my world.

Mattie Stepanek lived an extraordinary life, accomplishing more in thirteen years than a dozen of us combined could in a hundred. He transformed the world around him with his best seller Heartsong books. Leaving a legacy of peace, poetry, art and philosophy, Mattie changed the lives of presidents, celebrities and millions struggling with disability before dying himself from a genetic nightmare that previously killed all his siblings. Mattie learned to live in what a preacher called ‘thin space’; that place where your spirit and God are in closest contact. Living on the edge of mortality has a way of keeping one in thin space.

We don’t have to be on the edge of mortality, as Mattie was, in order to be in that thin space where we hear extraordinary things from God. In recovery we learn we are able through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God. We can often visit our thin space. I’ve learned from often impoverished uneducated addicts the source of true riches and true knowledge.

I think I better go in the other room before the phone rings.