The Answer, Part I
And the answer is.....
A) There is no answer
B) There are infinite answers
C) There is no need for an answer
D) None of the above
E) All of the above
**************************************************I have previously referred to the book Touchstones, A Book of Daily Meditations for Men, which is part of my (almost) daily inspirational, recovery-oriented reading. Just about the only thing I don't like about it is the focus on men because I think the messages transcend gender.
Yesterday's entry was about frontiers. It started with a quote from Hal Borland:
A frontier is never a place; it is a time and a way of
life. Frontiers pass, but they endure in their people.
The rest of the May 30 entry:
Frontiers are borders, and in our development we meet them again and again. Our first loves as teenagers were emotional and spiritual frontiers. Leaving home after childhood was another. Becoming a father, perhaps another. Some frontiers are very generous and exciting, while others are frightening, dangerous. Certainly this program [Alcoholics Anonymous] has been a frontier for us.
To stay alive spiritually we need to continually go to the borders of our experience -- or go back and face a new one from a new angle. We may encounter a new border in learning God's will for us in a new way, or in learning a new handicraft or sport, or meeting a life experience we didn't expect. We accumulate these memories within us. Some frontiers from long ago exist within us as if they were just yesterday. What frontiers stand out in our lives as we look back? What spiritual learning came from them? This is how we grow as men [and of course, as women, too!].
I am grateful for past frontiers that endure within me. They have strengthened and deepened my manhood [personhood?].
*********************************************
Two and a half years ago, when I tried to storm out of the closet past my wife and children, I thought I was crossing a border and heading into a frontier.
Something went wrong. Maybe I thought I was crossing a border that really wasn't there. Maybe I prepared myself for the wrong kind of terrain. I don't know exactly what went wrong.
What I do know is that I'm now facing that border from a new angle. And I have grown spiritually since the last time I faced it.
See you on the frontier.
Flip
6 comments:
I think in times like these, we hold on to our spirituality in order to hold on to our sanity.
I use prayer as a way to calm myself, to coax myself off of that ledge.
It helps, the meditation and the conversations with God all help.
I still have to find a way to get past that closet door.
angel, jr.: I am quite the newcomer to the spiritual world but I am making progress in connecting with a higher power.
Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to catching up on some of the writing in your blogs.
John: Thanks also for stopping by. As you have probably discovered by reading some of the great blogs I link to, everyone's story is different. Hang in there.
Kevin: Thanks. I think the overall trend is toward growth - but sometimes I'm not so sure. As always thanks for the good wishes.
PS John, I see you have started a blog. Good for you. You will not find a more caring group of people offering nothing but complete acceptance than your fellow bloggers. And it's great to have another voice out there. I look forward to reading more as you post.
F
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