Let me offer you two ways for claiming our blessedness with God.
First of all, prayer. When I go to a quiet place to pray, I realise that although I have a tendency to say many things to God, the real "work" of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me. If we dare to embrace our solitude and befriend our silence, we will come to know that voice. The movement of God's Spirit is very gentle, very soft but that movement is also very persistent, strong and deep. It changes our hearts radically.
The second is the cultivation of presence. By presence I mean attentiveness to the blessings that come to you day after day, year after year. The problem of modern living is that we are too busy to notice that we are being blessed. Often, people say good things about us, but we brush them aside with remarks such as "Oh, don't mention it, forget about it, it's nothing..." and so on. These remarks may seem to be expressions of humility, but they are, in fact, signs that we are not truly present to receive the blessings that are given. It is not easy for us, busy people, to truly receive a blessing. It has become increasingly difficult for us to stop, listen, pay attention and receive gracefully what is offered to us.
The characteristic of the blessed ones is that wherever they go, they speak words of blessing. It is remarkable how easy it is to bless others, to speak good things to and about them, to call forth their beauty and truth, when you yourself are in touch with your own blessedness.
The blessed one always blesses and people want to be blessed. It is so apparent wherever you go. No one is brought to life through curses, gossip, accusations, or blaming. There is so much of that taking place around us all the time. And it calls forth only darkness, destruction and death.
First of all, prayer. When I go to a quiet place to pray, I realise that although I have a tendency to say many things to God, the real "work" of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me. If we dare to embrace our solitude and befriend our silence, we will come to know that voice. The movement of God's Spirit is very gentle, very soft but that movement is also very persistent, strong and deep. It changes our hearts radically.
The second is the cultivation of presence. By presence I mean attentiveness to the blessings that come to you day after day, year after year. The problem of modern living is that we are too busy to notice that we are being blessed. Often, people say good things about us, but we brush them aside with remarks such as "Oh, don't mention it, forget about it, it's nothing..." and so on. These remarks may seem to be expressions of humility, but they are, in fact, signs that we are not truly present to receive the blessings that are given. It is not easy for us, busy people, to truly receive a blessing. It has become increasingly difficult for us to stop, listen, pay attention and receive gracefully what is offered to us.
The characteristic of the blessed ones is that wherever they go, they speak words of blessing. It is remarkable how easy it is to bless others, to speak good things to and about them, to call forth their beauty and truth, when you yourself are in touch with your own blessedness.
The blessed one always blesses and people want to be blessed. It is so apparent wherever you go. No one is brought to life through curses, gossip, accusations, or blaming. There is so much of that taking place around us all the time. And it calls forth only darkness, destruction and death.
Excerpts from Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M.Nouwen
No comments:
Post a Comment