Beloved St. John’s community,
This fall, with the presidential election and all that it means hanging over our heads no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, I have heard more than one of you say that anxiety, depression, anger or even despair are real temptations. I myself have dealt with clinical depression from time to time, and am familiar with the story it tells. The more things change, the more they stay the same. No matter what you do, things will not get better. When we are coming from a foundation of health, these thoughts are tough enough to deal with. If we already have burdens of illness or struggle or suffering, they can crush the spirit.
Twin Cities doctor Henry Emmons wrote about how to counter depression and anxiety, through both Western medicine and Eastern wisdom, in two books: The Chemistry of Joy and The Chemistry of Calm. I first read The Chemistry of Joy during a bout of depression in my thirties. Dr. Emmons described the Voice of Depression in one’s head, whispering things like: this person isn’t calling you back because they just don’t like you. Although they are too polite to say it, they really just find you off-putting and don’t want to be involved in your life. This described almost exactly what had been going on in my head. To imagine that these thoughts might not be true, but might just be Depression talking, was the first hope I’d felt in a long time.
We all tell stories about life as it is. Author Don Miguel Ruiz has written a book called The Voice of Knowledge: A Practical Guide to Inner Peace, in which he discusses the endless chatter in our minds, the interpretation of life we are listening to as if it is the truth. But it can be the most liberating reality imaginable to recognize that these thoughts are not the whole truth. They may not be true at all. This includes the stories we tell ourselves about the people we love who are going to vote differently than we will.
Beyond the world of thought, beyond intellect, is the possibility of inner peace, stillness, gratitude, and a great inner listening—not to one’s mental chatter, but to the Aliveness of God crystallized in the form of every living thing. This presence of God is wordless, but shimmering with light, love, wisdom and acceptance. It is as real as your existence or the Grand Canyon. Can you recognize it?
The presence of God is vast enough to contain this world and everything in it, all that has ever been and will ever be. What will happen in November and its aftermath matters a great deal. But this is not the ultimate reality. If we can find time each day to separate a little bit from the stories our minds tell, and instead listen with wonder and delight to the wordless presence of God in all things, we can have hope, and the strength to make a difference in our world from a place of love and not hate, respect and not contempt.
Beginning Monday September 16 at 7pm, St. John’s is offering an eight-session learning experience called Day1 in which we will explore how to live as people of faith before, during and after this election. You can get more information about it here. We will explore the attitudes, values, and behaviors we can take to make a positive difference in our world in such a time as this. But underneath those attitudes, values and behaviors, we need the spiritual nourishment to come from a place of love. Finding a regular way to unhook from our stories and re-connect with the vibrant presence of God in all things through silence and wonder is a great place to begin.
In Christ’s love,
Lisa
