Friend, This morning, first time in weeks I've been to that food kitchen, mail drop, your kind card was waiting, and the seeds.
It is indeed a lovely quote, and much more significant is your kindness, perceptiveness behind it. [Quote about how the seed, in losing itself, gives life to the plant, and the larva thereby becomes the butterfly.]
This morning on the 20 minute walk from my sidewalk bed, to this homeless food place several notions were running through my head, all around a central theme - THE central theme - Salvation IS Devoting Ourselves Totally to Our Global Neediest - truly, enSlaving ourselves as Jesus speaks of so often.
Is e=mcsqd true because Einstein said it? Same with Jesus. But Einstein saw what others did not, and same with Jesus.
You’re so thoughtful note brought further to mind - Salvation IS Devoting Ourselves Totally, OUT OF LOVE, SOLIDARITY, BROTHERHOOD to Our Global Neediest.
A major gift to me within recent weeks, probably just after Christ-mass as I was studying Jesus' words. I'd seen two places where Jesus distills for us the entire, complete, whole Gospel - Good news - The story of the Good Samaritan, and the Two Commandments - Love God, Love your neighbor. But this Christ-mass I was given the present of seeing the third place he does this. It is scripture I've long loved because it was central to one of Dr. King's sermons, one of his last I think - Drum Major Instinct it may have been called, but that was its central theme. In it, he cites how the mother of James and John came to Jesus and said, 'Uh, Jesus, I'd really like for James and John to sit at your left hand and your right.' 'That is not mine to give,' Jesus told her. 'Whoever is the Servant of ALL (ALL) [ALL].' Duh, but I just hadn't seen how total, complete, sufficient this was. It is the entire deal.
Uh, Start, what's this all about? Where's this coming from?????
The albino in Da Vinci Code is the church - so perverted, so twisted. That’s not my point. But why, WHY, with so many virtuous things said, mentioned, talked about...? How could it be soooooo far from Jesus? The Saints, what we are all born to be, are generally materially poor. Ok. But a vow of poverty? They often suffer physically. But pursue suffering? I've seen this conflict since I was a child, and been deeply, deeply troubled and alarmed by it - not by the suffering, not by the poverty, but by the deliberate pursuit as sanctioned by the 'chruch.' NO, I thought, this is convoluted, this is perverted.
START, THE POINT!!!! There is so much good intent, truth, beauty in the quote you sent me, and sooooo many like it throughout the ages, from all traditions. But as much as anything they are actually the cause, or a major contributor to our being soooooo lost, perverted, convoluted. Huh? WE LOSE, WE'VE LOST THE PERSPECTIVE, THE WHY, THE MEANING. Maybe on purpose. Probably, sick tho it is, on purpose. Voluntary pursuit of poverty is a sick, perverted, lustful thing to do. NOT an exercise of the Heart, our Father's Kingdom. Voluntary pursuit of suffering is a sick, perverted, lustful, pleasure seeking thing to do. NOT an exercise of the Heart, our Father's Kingdom. Letting go of one's life, like the 'seed' does, FOR ITSELF, FOR ONESELF, the same. Moving from being a crawling thing, to a butterfly, FOR ITSELF, FOR ONESELF, the same!!!!
THE POINT, START, THE POINT!!!!!!!!! Every cell, every organ in your body, if it is healthy, from the instant it is conceived, till the instant it expires, IS 1 MILLION % DEVOTED, ENSLAVED, SERVANT OF... THE BODY. Unless and until it chooses Cancer as a 'better way.' Well, if it does that, it still metabolizes, it still does 'cell' stuff, 'organ' stuff, BUT IT HAS TOTALLY LOST THE REFERENCE, THE ONLY REFERENCE, FOR WHICH IT WAS CREATED, THE ONLY REFERENCE THAT CAN GIVE IT'S LIFE JJJOOOOYYYYFFFFUUUUULLLL MEANING!!!! - THE WELLBEING OF THE BODY -
Saints tend to be poor, not for itself, but because they have RETAINED the meaning for which we all are born - devotion to the Neediest parts of the body. They tend to 'suffer' (tho they pay the suffering no mind) for the same reason. 'Dying' as a seed does goes from being twisted perversion, cult like stuff, to magnificent, beautiful, exquisite when it goes from being a thing in itself, to the way it gives life to the Body, and same with the larva, caterpillar, and butterfly. Cancer, or Devoted Tissue. The form can be near identical. But except when the form is entirely, totally, completely tied to the purpose - the wellbeing of the Body, and hence, it's neediest, it is Cancer, putrid, deadly, fascinating Cancer.
OMG Start, who do you think you are? I send you a nice note and you give me this lecture? Do you think I don't know all this? I know I didn't, and as recently as 3-4 days ago, I, a pretty advanced practitioner FORGOT, and in hours wound up Lost, in the Depths of Despair. And then I remembered, and quickly the True Beauty of the Seed, of the Butterfly took prominence and the pain receded out of consciousness.
xx sl
