Open Hands, Open Heart

It is good to be back. It was a lovely vacation. I hope that you, too, have enjoyed the blessings of the summer.

Needless to say, the tranquility of the summer has been disturbed by the tensions of this s tormy election season. We have been offered an abundance of opportunities to return to the still place where our God is forever saying to us “Fear not.” We know, deep down, that fear and agitation and worry will not accomplish anything. Yet it takes work and persistence to deal with those nagging feelings.

I   remember once visiting a wise woman who was living off the land in upstate NewYork. Isis was the aunt of a friend of mine. Aunt Isis had been raised with great privilege on a plantation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in a family whose fortune was made in Pennsylvania steel. In mid-life Isis gave up the trappings of wealth live a simple life. The sun weathered, gray haired woman looked diminutive when standing next to her two humungous oxen who were several heads, again, taller than she was. Isis would rise before dawn to milk the cows. Her days were filled with a routine of chores in a rhythm that was absolutely necessary

for living off the land in a marginal existence. Clearly Isis made an impression me. I was impressed by her serenity, compassionate presence and, most of all, the advice she left me about dealing with stress and worry. As I was sharing some of my concerns with her, Isis said, “Dianne, if you are going to worry, do it really well”… and then she struck a pose like sculpture “The Thinker” by Auguste Rodin. She said, “When I have a lot on my mind I set aside 5 or 10 minutes in the morning to have a really good worry. During that time, I focus, and worry fiercely… and then I get on with my day. “Worrying” has been checked-off of the ‘to do’ list.” To this day the image of Aunt Isis worrying makes me chuckle, and I have found that the technique works. It is a reminder not to carry worries, fears and burdens around with me all day. It doesn’t mean that the worries magically disappear and that problems are taken care of. It is possible, however, to acknowledge and name one’s fears and worries… to focus with great intensity, and then lay them down and let go, at least for a time. To carry them around all day accomplishes nothing.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Fear not, dear ones. The riches of heaven are available to you now… if you do not weigh yourself down with things that have no true value, with things that are a distraction. Stop carrying them around! They are a hindrance. If you are focused on counting your gold and jewels, and protecting all the rest of your “precious” possessions in fear that they may be taken from you, your heart will be anchored there with them. Grasping and holding and clinging squeeze the very life out of us, in the very place where joy and abundance seek to enter. If you can let go of your attachments to things and make the turn to an even richer way of being… if you give, and serve and live a life of compassion, your heart will know life and you will know ever greater freedom.