{"id":8853,"date":"2013-05-08T19:51:30","date_gmt":"2013-05-08T19:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iamsignificant.ca\/andre\/?p=8853"},"modified":"2020-06-11T15:48:17","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T15:48:17","slug":"soulful-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamsignificant.ca\/andre\/soul-significance\/soulful-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Soulful Living"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t ask for a nicer Spring day in Southern Alberta. \u00a0 On a whim, we decided we would pack a picnic lunch and head to a favourite spot we have. Not frequented by many other, this lovely coulee with wonderful geological formations is a great place to get away from it all and enjoy the afternoon together.<\/span><\/p>\n

The time was not a disappointment at all!\u00a0 The weather was perfect, everyone was in a great mood, the wild croci were exploding into bloom and the prairie winter and wind had uncovered some new rocks to pick through. \u00a0 We meandered throughout the coulee walking for hours stopping at every blooming wildflower, sandstone cliff, and outcrop of fancy coloured rocks.\u00a0 We laughed, we took our time and our sons actually enjoyed the art of being slow, of taking time to notice what was around them, what they stood in the middle of, and all that was taking place in front of their eyes.\u00a0 It was great for Andrea (my wife) and I to do as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

We returned to our mini-van for the return trip home and no sooner had the doors closed than there was a litany of thank you\u2019s from the back seat.\u00a0 Our boys had enjoyed themselves so thoroughly they couldn\u2019t contain their gratitude.\u00a0 As we were on our way home, the others had either drifted off to sleep or were engaged in a good book, and I was struck with a familiar feeling.\u00a0 A feeling of deep satisfaction, contentment, and joy.\u00a0 The source of this joy was all that I have described - the pure joy of being with my family, a lovely day, vibrant wildflowers, adventure, laughter, and wonder with what we were a part of in Red Rock Coulee!<\/span><\/p>\n

Once more this had me reflecting on contentment, what brings authentic joy and contentment.\u00a0 I immediately thought of what we culturally think will make us happy - the drive for money and power as an end in itself.\u00a0 Ideas of fame, the good opinion of others and the position, self-promotion, power, and status that comes with all that.\u00a0 I thought of how fickle and shallow these cultural\/societal paths to happiness are; so long on promises and short substance.\u00a0 This kind of happiness is elusive and short-lived and in my cynical moments nothing more than a metaphoric carrot to keep us performing, consuming and conforming to a culture that thrives on consumption; consumption of goods, services, the environment and the lives of others in a vain attempt to satisfy our deepest longings. \u00a0 These things may provide some excitement but no lasting peace or contentment.\u00a0 This kind of happiness is akin to junk food and how it tastes good with its high salt and super fatty enticement but often leaves us hungry and often sick.\u00a0 This self-glorification, self-promotion simply doesn\u2019t lead to the kind of peace and contentment it promises.<\/span><\/p>\n

One the other side, we have the kinds of experiences of spending a wonderful afternoon with family.\u00a0 Laughing, exploring, discovering, creating, and dreaming together. \u00a0An authentic, healthy genuine relationship can bring some of the deepest joy.\u00a0 Add to this taking time to notice what is happening around us - the laugh of a child, the blooming of wildflowers, the fresh spring wind, and the warmth of the sun.\u00a0 I am talking about the pure joy of being fully engaged in a job that you love - that allows you to express yourself in building, creating, or serving. \u00a0 The kind of contentment that is found in something that is really bigger than ourselves.\u00a0 This is living soulfully; it is not the consumption of life or the detached observing of life but the posture of being a part of what you are doing and where you are.\u00a0 Learning to be aware of what is happening all around you.\u00a0 Learning to see God in all things!<\/span><\/p>\n

(God in all things is not in a pantheistic sense - that the rock is God - not at all!\u00a0 Just as we can get a sense of the artist from their art or a sense of the musician by listening to their music, we can get a sense of the Father, the Creator at work in all of life.\u00a0 The piece of art is not the artist; the music is not the musician but rather reflections of them.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Many folks are painfully aware of the empty promises of our societal carrots of contentment and yet, we seem so susceptible to the same old carrot simply repackage with slick marketing - promising that this time it will be different.\u00a0 I am reminded of the adage that defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome!\u00a0 The field of positive psychology continues to affirm what the Christian mystics have known for years, contentment and authentic happiness cannot be found in self-promotion and self-glorification but rather in living for something bigger than ourselves; being a part of, a participator in something bigger than ourselves and these things are often the simple things we live oblivious of every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, we are often so pre-occupied with self-glorification, the having to climb the success ladder, the manic indiscriminate consumption of life, along with its maddening breakneck pace that we miss the deeply satisfying things that we take for granted or miss altogether.\u00a0 We are like the characters in this little parable inspired by Tony de Mello, SJ:<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a train that makes regularly scheduled runs through the majestic Canadian Rockies. \u00a0 The view is breath taking; rugged snow capped peaks, expansive glaciers and pristine, crystal clear lakes and rivers.\u00a0 People travel from all over the world and pay a healthy fare to take this trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

A story is told of a delegation of \u201cimportant people\u201d who boarded this train.\u00a0 They scurried about, getting on board and stowing their carry-ons. They immediately lowered the blinds, and oblivious to the astounding scenery just outside their window, proceeded to argue rigorously about who has the best seat.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus replied, \u201cYes, you have followed me. In the re-creation of the world, when the Son of Man will rule gloriously, you who have followed me will also rule, starting with the twelve tribes of Israel. And not only you but anyone who sacrifices home, family, fields\u2014whatever\u2014because of me will get it all back a hundred times over, not to mention the considerable bonus of eternal life. This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.\u201d Mt 19:28-30. The Message<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus invites us into a soulful, connected way of living.\u00a0 He challenges the cultural status-chasing, self-promotion, burnout, hierarchical systems when He says \u201canyone who sacrifices home, family, fields\u2014whatever\u201d.\u00a0 In context, all of these are status and rank things.\u00a0 We give these demarkations up and embrace real life. One produces rest and the other toil. \u00a0 One gives life that can\u2019t be lost, the other consumes life with empty promises and burn out.\u00a0 Soulful living yields a life 100 times richer, deeper more genuinely fulfilling.\u00a0 So much so, those that we culturally think are first will, in the final analysis, be last!<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflect<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n