“Our times are desperate for meaning and belonging: There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life.” John O’Donohue
Spiritually speaking we are living in the oddest of times—at least in the West. Not only is church attendance on a rapid decline but even more lamentable is the increasing number of people with no interest in organized religion—where rules and restraints often seem to dominate.
Ceaseless Longing for Purpose and Meaning
And yet, oddly enough, interest in “spirituality” is as strong as ever. Irish poet/philosopher/theologian John O’Donohue frames it well, “There is a quiet light that shines in every heart.” I believe most of us are ceaselessly striving to discover something that brings us purpose and meaning and vitalizing relationships.
Of course, those of us steeped in the loving doctrines of Christianity find hope in God. But even we experience times of longing and yearning for something more, something deeper and richer. So much teaching from pulpits and Christian books seems awfully transactional. It’s as if we must “perform” so that God might be willing to “respond.” And it just doesn’t work that way. In fact, it works quite the opposite. The truth is, it is much more like “God performs” graciously and then yearns for “us to respond.”
Divine Alignment
Perhaps the issue is a matter of alignment with the Divine. While we are interested in stuff and health and personal desires, God seems to be more concerned about matters of the heart like love and peace, kindness and goodness, faithfulness and humility. Nothing surprising really. Even in our own personal search for meaningful spirituality we long for these same matters of the heart, from ourselves and from the world we live in.
Life in a Lost World
I feel as if I am living in The Lost World—one with division, vitriol, selfishness, and radical self-centeredness. In other words, it is a world unaligned with the Divine Intent of the pleasure for which it was created. Yes, I believe in a Creator. Yes, I believe that Creator is as active on this planet as ever. And yes, I believe that our Creator has empowered us with the free will to love or not to love. Much of the world we are living in appears to have opted, rather unwittingly, for the latter. Mostly, I believe in an inherent goodness in the hearts of people that desires what is good for all. Unfortunately, this is often difficult to recognize in a Lost World.
Perhaps this is an opportunity to consider that our greatest desire (often hidden) can be found only in our “Mystic Heart” which yearns for meaning and purpose, and is aligned with the Divine Intent of a loving and patient Creator. Selah.
Explore Your “Mystic Heart”
To Discover Divine Meaning and Purpose
Photo courtesy of csuzda at istockphoto
