ENLARGING THE GARDEN, PART III. . .

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence. –Abigail Adams

In September, 1962, I was 18 years old and I entered a Monastery.  I lived there 16 months.  I began to consciously learn about and find the truth, beauty and goodness in other faith, philosophic and humanistic traditions.  My learning continues; I still have much to learn.

When I was 18 years old I learned that ‘Traditions’ of all types (faith-philosophic-humanistic) often depend on unchanging and unchangeable ‘doctrines-dogmas-rituals’ that resist shifts, changes, adaptations and transformations.  They state with great surety that we have THE revelation.

For faith-traditions who hold the surety that they hold the ONLY path to salvation and that they hold the answers to the deepest questions position themselves as knowers rather than as continual learners.  Consider, however, gentle reader that once we seek to understand that the ‘Creator’ is working in and through us now, co-creating our world, it would seem that my-your-our ‘faith’ would continually provide us with new eyes with which to recognize GOD’s ongoing creativity.  ‘Our eyes’ would not limit us to looking inward but would direct us to look outward and to discern GOD at work in all traditions.

For me, ‘I believe’ is rooted in doubt and ‘I know’ is rooted in surety.  Too often we humans equate ‘I believe’ with ‘I know’ and these are not the same.  When I find myself saying that ‘I know’ I also find myself closing the doors to searching-seeking-understanding.  When invited to consider or when I am challenged I up the ante by becoming rigid and judgmental and, at my worst, I strike out rooted in ‘righteous surety.’  I do not believe I am out of the norm.

On the other hand, when I say that ‘I am learning,’ I feel as if the doors of my perception, receptivity, searching and seeking have opened wider (or at least a bit wider).  I actually feel most alive when I am searching and seeking; I also feel most creative.

I also know that BOTH my ‘learning’ and my ‘knowing’ ground me in the soil of commitment.  Yet, they also ground me in very different soil.  The ‘soil of learning’ is tilled often, diversity thrives and cross-development occurs.  The ‘soil of knowing’ thrives by pulling up the ‘weeds of difference’ and helps ensure that cross-development does not occur.

My-Your-Our ‘learning’ in this way can happen if we are open to ‘Entheos’ – the Spirit that sustains us and animates us and instills us with the confidence to embrace searching-seeking-understanding.  For me, this is the Holy Spirit that I believe is always working within each of us and that calls us together so that together we can confront our human condition and be formed by the Holy Spirit in truth, beauty and goodness (see: John 15:26, 16:13).

For me, a critical piece is that my ‘faith, rooted in doubt’ enables me to keep my heart and mind open to all faith, philosophic and humanistic traditions.  Why would I choose to limit my searching and seeking?

When a great moment knocks on the door of your life, its sound is often no louder than the beating of your heart and it is very easy to miss. –Boris Pasternak