Shifting Priorities
Sometimes in the stillness of the quiet, if we listen,
/ We can hear the whisper in the heart / Giving
strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.
—Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart
CAC teacher Rev. Dr. Barbara A. Holmes shares how
contemplative times of stillness and quiet are an
integral part of the spiritual journey:
The journey of life is absolutely a sacred journey, but
we don’t know that when we’re younger. We often don’t
want to think about life in terms of a sacred journey,
because we don’t know for certain where we came from,
and we don’t know for certain where we’re going.
Depending on our faith traditions, we know this by
faith. We have traditions about who we are, how we got
here, and where we will end up.
In the everyday maelstrom of life, however, people
don’t want to think about any of that. They just want
to get through their day. They want to accomplish
things. They want to own things—and there’s nothing
wrong with that. But when we get to the halfway point
in our lives, we begin to realize that all the things
that we have accumulated don’t mean a whole lot. We
can’t take them with us when we die. As we age, we
begin to take into account what really matters in life.
Things like family, relationships, love, commitment,
and service to others are what matters. When we start
focusing on those things, it no longer becomes just a
church phrase to say or something to do. Working with
others really warms our hearts. Leading with love
changes who we are.
The journey is absolutely sacred because we are not
just flesh and blood. We are also spirit beings. And
what other kind of journey could a spirit being take
except for a spiritual journey?… I’m on the other side
of fifty now, and all of my priorities have shifted.
The ambition and all of the things that I was striving
for don’t make a lot of sense at this point. The
fulfillment comes in doing what you are led to do. In
the Christian tradition, the Holy Spirit is supposed to
lead you into all truth. I see the Holy Spirit as a
guiding light—we’re walking by the path and there’s a
lamp unto our feet that helps us to know what to do,
how to do it, and to be still.
This is where contemplation comes in. It is impossible
to shift priorities if we are in a constant, busy,
frenetic lifestyle. There has to be that pause, that
breath, that waiting, that willingness to be still
until we know. Be still and know—but the stillness
doesn’t immediately lead to knowing. At first, we have
to be still, and then we have to be patient until the
knowing comes about.
Read this meditation on cac.org.
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