Thoughts about the journey:
There is a temptation to think of one’s spiritual journey as individual. I do not believe that is true. I am one part of the pilgrimage of all of God’s people. We each have our own unique encounters, experiences, trials and detours but we do not travel alone. We must not, cannot proceed alone. We need the strength, companionship, encouragement, wisdom and experience of fellow sojourners. The journey is perilous and we may need to be rescued or to rescue. The journey brings us joyful experiences and beautiful vistas to which we enthusiastically direct our fellow travelers. Of course we could make better progress without the burden of others but its not just about the destination. It’s also about the experience of the journey. Too often our perspective is like the impatient child: “Are we there yet?”. We pay little attention to the wonderful experiences, opportunities for relationship and love and the beauty and wonder of the scenes passing the window. We are only concerned about the destination.
…the central challenge of Christianity: …how do we put on the mind of Christ? How do we see through his eyes? How do we feel through his heart? How do we learn to respond to the world with that same wholeness and healing love? That’s what Christian orthodoxy really is all about. It’s not about right belief; it’s about right practice.
Cynthia Bourgeault via Richard Rohr
I have recently read David Brooks book “The Path to Character”. The following is an excerpt in which Brooks addresses the idea of engaging moral dilemmas in today’s society.
For his 2011 book Lost in Transition , Christian Smith of Notre Dame studied the moral lives of American college students . He asked them to describe a moral dilemma they had recently faced . Two thirds of the young people either couldn’t describe a moral problem or described problems that are not moral at all . For example , one said his most recent moral dilemma arose when he pulled in to a parking space and didn’t have enough quarters for the meter .
They didn’t understand that a moral dilemma arises when two legitimate moral values clash . Their default position was that moral choices are just a question of what feels right inside , whether it arouses a comfortable emotion . One student uttered this typical response : “ I mean , I guess what makes something right is how I feel about it . But different people feel different ways , so I couldn’t speak on behalf of anyone else as to what’s right and wrong .
If you believe that the ultimate oracle is the True Self inside , then of course you become emotivist — you make moral judgments on the basis of the feelings that burble up . Of course you become a relativist . One True Self has no basis to judge or argue with another True Self . Of course you become an individualist , since the ultimate arbiter is the authentic self within and not any community standard or external horizon of significance without . Of course you lose contact with the moral vocabulary that is needed to think about these questions . Of course the inner life becomes more level — instead of inspiring peaks and despairing abysses , ethical decision making is just gentle rolling foothills , nothing to get too hepped up about .
As I reflected on that citation, I realized how much the last sentance characterized my state of mind as I engage the day to day moral dilemmas in my life. The implications run deep.
