Have Hope Will Travel (From the Vault)

As I said in my earlier post “What’s it all about?” (See Archives Page), I will try to post an Older Writing later in the week. I have decided to only lightly edit these, partly due to time constraints, but also to leave them as they were, unless I find my views have radically changed, or older me just doesn’t like what younger me wrote. (Like some parts of this one.) This one is from October 2003. I was in my twenties, and writing to a small group of Christian folk I taught at the time. So, from back then…

Do you have hope? Do you know what hope is? The dictionary says hope is: “the belief that one’s desires may be attained; trust; someone or something in which confidence is placed…”  Do you believe that “it” will all work out? Know that “it” will. For God declares in the Christian Scriptures, in Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians 1:6:

(Be) confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

I know some can take or leave Jesus, don’t consider him divine, or can’t imagine him being a loving presence that is for you and with you and in you. But I believe He does; indeed the whole Trinity does! (The Divine Dance, Richard Rohr*) Whatever your struggle, whether it be with the external universe of money, time pressures, work stress, or academic stress–it will be OK. Whatever your struggle, whether it be the internal universe of a racing mind or a fearful heart–it will be OK.  Maybe not right away, or how you think, or how you would like, but it will be OK.     

 You have Someone to put confidence in. Not a religion, not recitations or formulas, but God, this “Other Being”, a Divine Friend–you can put your hope in. For the Prophet Moses, ancient leader of fledgling Israel, through the power of the Holy Spirit declared: 

                   “…(God) will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deut 31:6 (NIV)

 Think about that. People die. They get angry, they get hurt, they move away, etc, etc. But God will never leave you or forsake you. Somebody out there needs this Message. In my return from Tres Dias**, I am endeavoring to be even more open to His Spirit, and when I asked what I should teach on, I believe He said “Hope”. So, whoever you are, this is for you, because God wants you to be encouraged!

Perhaps you’re seeing nothing but obstacles, nothing but pain, and nothing but problems.

This is what Jesus says to you. Try to just hear it, without “old tapes” and “bad memories” if you have them from Christians and Christianity–just hear the words:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)

Now loved ones, notice what He says: “In this world you’ll have trouble,” but then He says: “I’ve got it covered!”

Let me be emphatic: Let it go! Whatever’s troubling you, put it in God’s hands. Stop carrying it! I have recently been dealt with by the LORD about my tendency to worry. I lack hope that God will take care of me, despite OVERWHELMING evidence to the contrary. Let me give you a small example: (This will not give any spoilers for future Tres Dias candidates.)

I have a very rapid metabolism, and as a result of that, if I don’t eat at regular intervals, my blood sugar goes down too fast, and I can suffer various unhappy results: very sharp mood swings, bad headaches, nausea etc. So, I worry when my meals get disrupted. Anyway, due to some poor planning on my part, I was unable to eat a decent meal before my 5 PM departure for Tres Dias. As the evening’s events began to unfold, I was lacking hope that God would give me something to eat, and so fear crept in that a headache and nausea was soon to grip me. But here is where I began my new experience with the LORD, which I can only share in part.

Later that evening at 9ish, we had a break, and I expected donuts or something, nothing big. But when we arrived in the break room, I was shocked to find not just a snack but a feast–cold cuts and bread and all the trimmings were provided, tons of cakes, cookies, some kind of chicken on a stick, coffee, tea, soda, etc. In short, God provided for my need to eat! That would only be one of many experiences that weekend where God would meet all my needs. As I looked at the whole table, I found it very moving, because I often won’t trust God in such simple matters. I rather prefer to fret and worry–it’s my default! As I looked at that feast–I saw how lavishly God loves us. He exceeds our expectations; He goes above and beyond what you think He will do.

        Do you have hope? God was big enough to give me a late dinner.

God is big enough to meet you where you are.

Even if you are not sure about Him/Her, or took them off speed-dial, or never called at all.

Trust Him. Let go of what troubles you have–say: “I put this problem, person, situation, in your hands…” Just try it for a few hours! He WILL take care of you. Stop trying to figure “it” out with your finite mind, and let go. God loves you–and He doesn’t want you to suffer needlessly.

Consider Paul’s words to the Church in Rome in the 1st Century:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)

My prayer for you is that when you read this, you will let “it” go. That you will “overflow with hope”, and that in doing so, you will see Him do a beautiful work with whatever the “problem” is. [Yes, I know it is not always so easy. 2026 me is wanting to roll his eyes at 2003 me. And I still worry about things, and probably should have listened to this meditation more than I did! But I can tell you truly, that in a divorce, and in terrible illnesses that came after this writing, God was faithful. Those things weren’t fun, but they turned out OK, as I opened myself to Him in the midst of those happenings.]

Lastly, sincerely try to do this, and keep doing it:

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Prov 3:5-6 (NIV)

Go in peace, it will be OK.  

*Father Richard’s Rohr’s amazing work, “The Divine Dance” was from 2016, but I felt a mention of it should be added here now, but is was not even written in 2003!

**Tres Dias is an international organization centered around three-day retreats that are designed to draw you more deeply into God love. Truly an amazing experience! https://tresdias.org

-Eric, the Wordsmith

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The “Unholy” Trinity

On to obstacles to the Approaches to Life I have been posting about. I encourage you to go back and read, if you are new here. I am saying there are three Approaches, obviously there may be others that resonate with you more. But I have found in my praying, reading, meditating, that these three seem to be very profound and basic. They are easy to remember, and I want to give you, dear reader, “things you can take away”. I want to give you “Tools for the Road”. If you have young children, you know you have to pack diapers, snacks, favorite toys, etc. I believe your Inner Life is the same, you need things you can use as you navigate life on Planet Earth. Now, many others have said it better, and in better ways!

As I wrote in “What’s it All About?” I hope to say things in a different way that will help you hear things you heard many times before for the first time. I want you to find this Alignment, or deepen into it. I think it will change your life! But as we delve deeper into these matters, we of course will bump into things we can not explain, fix, or easily comprehend. We will wrestle, and limp away at times, as Jacob did, but have newness in our souls. (Genesis 32, Hebrew Scriptures)

The phrase “Unholy” Trinity is truly meant comically, so don’t be offended if you worship the Triune God! But I do believe these three things: Ego, Expectation, and Myths trip us up, and cause us to be “un-whole” in ourselves as we relate to others. They take us out of a “Trinitarian Flow,” if we come from a Christian perspective, and hence become an “Unholy” Trinity. If that is not your perspective, these three still will cause you problems, if mishandled and left misdirected. (There are plenty of other things–but again, these three seem to be predominate in my reflections.)

To recap a bit, these Approaches are a way to look at life and respond to it. Openness is to have an open mind to “God” and divine things and other people. We can be nice, gentle and kind with spouses, children, and co-workers. We really can. Be open to what the Universe is bringing to you, teaching you, and giving you.

Lightness is something I take from Jesus instructions to take His “yoke” on us, a burden that is light. I internalized this to be a way we become “lighter” in ourselves, less fixated on our inner life, needs, wants, etc. We can have a deeper lightness in our souls, if we can let God/Divine Flow show us, lead us, and guide us.

Alignment, the third Approach, has a more mystical component to it. I believe it just is, we receive it, and we choose it. I spoke about the the Great Flow of the Universe, and used the metaphor of a sailing ship needing to have it’s sails adjusted to catch the “wind” of God’s Spirit. Aligning with Love (the name of the Blog) is about receiving and absorbing God’s love filling the Universe, and carrying that love into the world.

Aligning with Love is to be a more loving Presence in the world.

Of course these Approaches don’t seem easy to do or be! We get opinionated, and weighed down in our hearts. We may not be sure about any Love-Flow, Great Flow, God, Divine Being, and such. So how can we ever Align with anything, let alone love, or God?

I think there are ways we can, and ways that help. The Love-Flow is drawing us in. God is parting our individual “Red Seas”, like in the Biblical book of Exodus. The metaphor has been used before, I believe in 12-Step Practice, of seeing a blank wall, or being trapped in a room with no obvious door, and suddenly there is seemingly a door. A way out is shown–a way forward is made. (“Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous)

So, the first Obstacle in the Approaches to life, that trip us up, is our own egos. Ego, as described in the dictionary is: “the self, especially as contrasted with another self, or the world”. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ego

I know there are voluminous writings on the word from a psychological perspective, and I am not a psychologist. I will define ego for the purposes of these writings/teachings as simply “your personal wants for life in a given situation, or your preferences”. You like a particular color, I like blue. You like Fall over Summer. You may like to wear your hair a certain way, or use makeup. I like cheeseburgers. I want Spring to come. I want more people to read my blog, etc.

There’s no “morals” to these-these are just very basic human tendencies. Obviously the preferences/wants can get more elaborate: I want to work in this industry, go to college, live in Paris, marry so-and-so, or be single, on and on. But, we know that our egos soon bump into other’s egos! We can’t agree on what movie to watch tonite on Netflix, a suburban, and unimportant “battle”, but one that happens. Pizza or Chinese tonite? Do I agree with Democrats or Republicans in the USA? Where do I want to live? What does my pocketbook allow me to do, or do I swipe a card, if I even have one?

Others live much more challenging lives: I don’t want to get shot today, or beat again. I don’t know what rights might be taken from me today, or how I will be treated because of my skin color, ethnicity, apparent religious affiliation, nationality and the like. Some of us have the luxury to have very mundane ego concerns, others of us are hoping to survive another day!

Whether it is “dumb” stuff, or life and death–our egos our interacting and colliding. When it’s minor things, we must recognize our ego, and hold it with some lightness. Things we learned in Kindergarten, or should have learned, come back: sharing, letting the other person have a turn. We may laugh as an adult, but did you let that person out onto the road that was trying to exit the parking lot? Or were you too busy “getting there”?

If we are a person of means, did we donate a dime to anything? Did we give away things we no longer needed to someone less fortunate? Have we stopped to notice anything around us other than our day, our job, and our next vacation? I’m not saying you can’t enjoy life, or enjoy money you worked hard for! But the disheveled guy on the street corner with the cardboard sign asking for a few bucks-what did you do for him? It’s easy to drive by. “Have to get to work,” and I “don’t know their situation”, etc. But in that moment, our ego has said: “I don’t have time. I don’t want to get involved. It might be dangerous.” All may be true. But the guy with the sign- his ego says: “I just want to get a sandwich. I am cold and tired. I had a job and home, and that and that happened, and here I am. ” Maybe he is scamming-maybe not.

Aligning with love means taking chances and taking some risks, it means caring.

You might be on the “other side”, the one who’s ego wants the basics, because everyone else’s egos has prevented your’s from having any voice. I am sorry the world is this way! (And that sentence is woefully inadequate to express my sorrow at your trauma, hurts, and ongoing pain.) Too many hearts have no Alignment in them with the right things, only False Alignment within themselves, which isn’t real Alignment at all! I can only do my part–and writing this blog is part of it. Aligning with love is to not ignore the needs of others, but to meet them! Excess is not for hoarding, but for disbursing. (My own ego just gulped, writing that.) So, I have work to do–being the “Align With Love” guy means confronting my own selfishness in my interactions with others, and where I do not share my own excess!

Watch yourself-observe yourself. Look for your “ego moments”. Some of it is fine-some of it needs to be discussed. Some of it needs to be discarded, and let go. Have some Openness and Lightness with yourself to notice where you became rigid in preferences, beliefs, and attitudes. Your ego needs a regular trip out into the sunlight! If you are religious-you know the Psalmist’s request:

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139: 23-24, NIV)

If you are not religious, you can still self-reflect. You can still ask: What am I wanting to have happen here? What does the other person want or need? Try asking. You can do this whether you are religious or have some other spiritual practice, too! It is amazing to me how selfish I can still be, in so many things. God help me to see myself better, to be more Aligned with your Love!

Notice those who’s egos just want (need) the basics: food, shelter, clothing.

Do something, if you can. Make yourself do something.

Next, I will talk about the 2nd Member of this trinity: Expectations. That one is a doozy! And I will get to how we can start to overcome these-stay tuned.

-Eric, the Wordsmith

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The Wind and the Waves (From the Vault)

(This was originally going to be my very first blog post–but it got pushed off. I think it is a nice interlude after writing about my proposed Approaches to Life. Image from West Haven, CT, in the USA. I made some light edits on this post, as it was from March 2024 originally.)

My writing continues. This entry is one of the first, tucked away in MS Word, and now shared with the world. It’s not just going into a journal, but out into the real world, where real people will read it.

Today’s post is about an experience I had on vacation with my wife in Connecticut in the USA. I was at a beach in March 2024—not real beach weather yet, by any means.  I had discovered this jetty that went out into the ocean, and as I sat there, the waves crashed and the wind blew—howling around me. It even carried the sand this way and that.

As I sat on this rock, I heard the Spirit say: “The Rock is Christ”, a line from Saint Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. (1 Cor. 10:4, Christian Scriptures) It was as though I was being given a clue, and I was able to see the rest of the puzzle, which I did not even know was there.

I could fumble my way to the rest—I stared out into the vastness of the Ocean—this was a metaphor for God-limitless, and uncontainable, and yet always seemingly in a state of motion, creating and re-creating.

Then there was Wind, blowing, that I could not see-but I could see its effects, such as the sand blowing, and I could feel that Wind caress my face, and see it play on the waves. It’s what Christians call the “Holy Spirit”. That Spirit in the Genesis account of creation “hovered over the waters”. (Gen 1:2)

Don’t check out if the Christian imagery does not resonate with you—I imagine we all have our moments in Nature where we are awed, touched, moved, and inspired.

That is what I experienced,  and how I interpreted it.  I also thought how the jetty led me, in a sense, and supported me as I venture out into that vastness of my own soul, my own feelings, an exploration of  who I am and what I should do. I do this by writing now–and you get to share this moment with me. You get in some way to be there with me and experience that wind and waves, however you wish.

Get “out there” if you can—away from the screens! Breathe the fresh air, see what may speak to you. If that is not possible, perhaps find a quiet place where you can encounter yourself, and perhaps  discover a Greater Reality.

-Eric, the Wordsmith

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Alignment

Now for the 3rd Approach–and this one will get mystical. I perceive Alignment as something that simply “is”, partly something you receive, and partly something you “do”. As in, Align with Love.

I have been journaling, musing, and reflecting on the notion of Alignment for many years. Let’s start with what the dictionary says Alignment is. One definition is “the proper positioning or state of adjustments”, or “a forming in line“, as in being lined up. Another is “an arrangement of … forces in relation to one another.“ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alignment

I want to be very careful here to say that I do NOT believe Alignment means you have to be in some perfect state of being! As I processed this in my own soul, I wrestled with the idea of being “just right”. I live in a world of precision as an accountant. Numbers have to match, be accurate, and agree with one another. When you have OCD, you believe things have to be “just right” to feel peaceful. But Alignment as I am imagining it, is NOT that.

Alignment is a fundamental aspect of the universe–

things, people, situations need to “line up” in order to flow, function, and be harmonious.

I am NOT talking about everyone agreeing/believing exactly the same things. We know in history there are numerous examples of people enforcing a False Alignment on others, demanding they bend the knee to some ideology or doctrine. I am talking about a deeper, True Alignment, beneath what we see and experience, that I think is even deeper than our perceptions. Deep.

I believe there is a “Great Flow” to the Universe, a Love-Flow, which is how God is manifesting Himself/Herself/Itself in everything everywhere. Religious folk will recognize this, non-religious folk will be skeptical, and rightfully so, but please play along. I imagine a Great River, illuminated with Light, glowing and flowing, becoming what God has intended all along for the Universe. I don’t think this negates our choices, but contains them. I am getting into deep waters that are outside my scope as a non-theologian layperson. But, we don’t have to have doctorates to live well, be decent human beings, or be Aligned with this Love-Flow. No disrespect to those more learned!

I already talked about being Open and Light. These two Approaches create space. Alignment fills that space. God aligns you, and you cooperate, not by “trying hard”, or following commandments, but by allowing yourself to be Aligned. We may not like the notion of some Supreme Being “aligning” us, but again, it is not a forcing on the Being’s part, but a receiving and absorbing of God’s love. The sunlight hits your face, and it just falls on you. You feel it’s warmth, and it caresses you. If this seems hard to grasp, consider how at some point, we all experienced some form of love, maybe a parent (hopefully), maybe a friend, or a romantic relationship. We felt something from that person, or for that person, and we took actions, actions of love. We asked them out, we cleaned our room, we visited them in the hospital, we made sure they were fed and clothed, if you are a parent.

In other words, we aligned with their love for us, or our love for them, and we acted accordingly.

Somewhere, somehow, we felt love or warmth for someone, and aligned with them. We may have formalized it and gotten married. We may just have a buddy we watch soccer matches with, but in these examples, we had some alignment with that other person based on common interests, common feelings, shared experiences, etc.

We know the power of alignment in shared beliefs and causes. Reciting the Serenity Prayer with a group of fellow addicts can be powerful. Praying the Lord’s Prayer, or some other established saying in unison with others, can be very powerful, even is we might not fully agree with the saying!

I imagine also on this River of Flowing Light, being on a sailboat, as shown in the Blog Picture for this post. I am not a sailor, and do not know how to be one, but I know you have to adjust your sails to catch the wind. You must align with the wind, or be buffeted by it. Likewise, you must adjust your rudder to align with the current. (Yes, I know with a motor, you can by-pass all this–but there is still “drag” and it’s not as efficient. It is more work to not go with the current and wind.)

Even Jesus, in his famous encounter with Nicodemus in John’s Gospel declares: The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going… (Jn 3:8, NLT) Jesus plays with the metaphor of wind, relating it to the Spirit of God, and I am imagining it similarly. Will we align with that Wind-Spirit, that we can’t “see”, but can sense?

When we choose to be unloving, stubborn, un-open, and not living with lightness, we go against what I wrote earlier: the Alignment that is a fundamental aspect of the Universe. Of course I can’t “prove” this. But I believe it. I hope you, dear reader, will play along. Even if you can’t buy into my notion of the universe, can you at least consider that being kinder, gentler, and loving is better for the world?

I believe there is a way to live in harmony with this Great Flow of the Universe. There is a way to be Aligned with God/Spirit/Other Being–and that way is to Align with Love. Starting with Openness to others, Lightness with yourself, and receiving/being/practicing Alignment. It is a way to have peace inside your soul, true friendship with others, and connection with the Divine. I probably am not able to articulate this as well as I would like–but I hope you can feel/perceive what I am saying. Deep down–I sense this is so. More than belief–I know. I feel like I always knew and knew I had to share this with others. I had to say it with my own words, so others could hear it and align themselves with God and Love in their own ways.

The Approach of Alignment is recognizing the deep, omnipresence of God and Divine Flow in all situations, regardless of how they may appear to the contrary! At any given moment, your body is doing a myriad of things, from pumping your blood, to receiving all kinds of data from your senses, and you are not fully aware of it. The planet is spinning on it’s axis and hurtling though space and you are not “feeling it’ moment by moment, but you see the sun rise and set, the seasons change, and you believe it is so, because others told you so. I am telling you, I think this is how we can respond to the Spiritual Universe, with these Approaches, as there are unseen and unknown things we can’t hold in our hands, but can only be perceived and partially felt. These things matter, and we ignore them at our peril.

To ignore them, to not be Aligned, to be closed and heavy,

hurts ourselves, others, and the world around us.

Next, I will talk about Obstacles to the Approaches. I want to talk about the “Unholy Trinity” of Ego, Expectations, and Myths. I will continue unpacking Alignment, and what it means, and how to Practice with it. Until then, be kind and gentle, with yourself first, and with others second. Be open, be Light, be Aligned with the deep Divine Love-Flow in this Universe. Believe it IS–even if life told you “no way”. Dare to believe, even if your hopes were long crushed–there is a True and Deep Alignment that you can find, where you will find freedom from the prisons of heart and mind. Trust.

Stay tuned-

Eric, the Wordsmith

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Psalms Project (continued)

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The Psalms Project is my attempt to take the spirit of the Psalms and re-apply them and write new ones for today. I am NOT trying to replace the amazing Psalms already in the Bible! I am in no way trying to paraphrase or restate each Psalm, but I do pay homage to them and other Bible passages, of course. I invite you to play along, see what you might identify with or relate to in these. So, here is another Psalm for a Modern Day.

TRUST

The seas roar, and the mountains quake, or it seems to be that way in my heart…but I will Trust in Him. He is Other, and sees a thing at its end.

Why oh why, do I only “see” the end WITHOUT Him?

Will His Grace run out?

Will His Love run out?

Is he Man or Woman that He tires?

No. He holds entire galaxies on His finger!

Selah.

What are mysteries to us, are laid bare to Him–He knows it all.

I know this–but I find it hard to believe–my eye is too small, my mind too dull.

I must fix my eyes on Him, and let go of me.

If I die because He seems to release me, will He not catch me?

Am I not worth more than many sparrows?

Selah.

If he brings me to suffering–of the body, or heart, or both,

will He not be by my side?

Can I not accept both good and bad from His hand?

I must step down from my little throne, for my territory is small.

Let Him enlarge my borders, my vision, and my faith!

We choose Half-Life, safer, but not ALIVE.

He bids us step out into the dark. Step onto the waves,

Step into criticism, step into misunderstanding.

STEP—and look at Him–nothing else!

Biblical References: Psalm 46, Matt. 10, Job 2, 1 Chron 4, Matt 14

-Eric, the Wordsmith

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