  Spiritual
This week: Herding Your Own Goat Edited by: Sophy  
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Hi, I'm Sophy ~ this month I am happy to introduce Mr. Sophy as your guest editor. He wrote this piece earlier in the year, and it was so good, I wanted to share it with others.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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Herding Your Own Goat
Gandhi -
"We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word and deed.
But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it."
"Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our being."
Martin Luther King, Jr. -
"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the one who wields it. It is a sword that heals."
"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time;
the need for humankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.
Years ago when I applied for a job working at the city golf courses, the superintendent warned me about one of the managers being difficult. I confidently reassured him I was easy to get along with and wouldn't have any problem. "This guy seems to know how to get a persons' goat," he explained. "No worries." I countered, "I'll leave my goat at home." Here I am years later able to recall at least a dozen times working with that fellow when I lost my temper and got sarcastic, spiteful or just plain loud and mean. I feel much more humble now about my capacity for grace under pressure. I justified my lapses in patience to myself as a reaction to being provoked (and they were), but there were always alternatives available. When I retaliated to a taunt or an insult with bitterness, it was because I let myself get drawn into an ego drama when I could have chosen to walk away or at least declined to participate. As the saying goes, you needn't show up for every fight you're invited to.
Lately I've come to understand something about human violence (and I do regard even the snotty barbs we trade in nonsensical personality conflicts as violence). It's clearer to me than ever before that we do it because it works. Violence is satisfying. It can often get us what we want (even if what we want is as petty as someone else's goat). It can stop things we don't want from continuing or even from happening in the first place. And not only that, violence can also be self-rewarding in that it's cathartic. There's an emotional release that happens when you express anger and frustration, and if that satisfaction is connected to causing fear or pain in another, there'll be a reinforcing effect in that way too, again facilitating violent behavior in the future.
There's another adage that says "violence begets violence." I've always taken that to mean being violent toward someone else makes it likely the other person will respond in kind, and there's probably a lot of truth in that interpretation.But it occurs to me that violence begets violence within the person who employs it, regardless of how it provokes those upon whom it is perpetrated. Choosing to cause intimidation or pain once makes it easier to do so again.The hopeful possibility is that we humans, as rational creatures with a capacity to reflect on our own behavior, have the ability to refrain from violence. We have the ability to make choices informed by moral reasoning. We can disallow our violent inclinations. In Buddhism, there is a concept called "ahimsa," which is the discipline of deliberately refraining from any and all violence, even relatively minor expressions such as irritable remarks passed in frustration or fatigue. As part of their training, Buddhist monks are taught to practice ahimsa and to achieve a long record of refraining from even the slightest expression of rudeness or irritability between themselves before they are allowed to learn yoga techniques for cultivating awareness and concentration.
I find myself convicted by the concept. I'm keenly aware of how easily and often I give expression to verbal violence in response to being irritated, frustrated, anxious and/or tired. And in considering it, I see clearly that there is never a justification. There is almost always a way to influence the behavior of another person more to my liking (and perhaps even for the better) without imposing shame, guilt, fear or pain. For that matter, there is always a chance that I might simply need to practice forbearance of another's behavior that, while irritating to me, is perfectly legal and just. For that matter, it may be that I must summon the resources to endure the unjust and illegal behavior of another person or an institution, and respond simply by withholding my participation and cooperation while speaking the truth of the situation clearly without malice.
Easier said than done, isn't it? I guess that just means I have to move ahead from where I am with as much humility as dedication. No doubt circumstances will unfold so that I meet some challenges with the character needed to make a positive difference, and some challenges will find me lacking in imagination, discipline or both. But I know that ahimsa is correct - an idea whose time has come and come again, and that it is my responsibility to be as disciplined, organized and brave as I can be to make what difference I can in the cause of a more just and peaceful world. And in service of that I will strive to practice non-violence with creativity and patience.
Thanks for listening, Mr. Sophy
Writing Assignment
I wonder if you are aware of your own penchants for violence and options for peace. Are there moments, circumstances, experiences, relationships that tend to get your goat, inciting you to lash out with violence in whatever form it might take? And if so, I wonder if you can imagine a way to tend your own goat rather than making it available for others to manipulate. Can you imagine an alternative behavior you might bring to bear in such circumstances? Is there a phrase or a gesture you can substitute to practice for whatever harsh, spiteful or sarcastic reflexes might have become ingrained as habit? If so I invite you to write about a hopeful thought about how you will choose to practice peaceful alternatives in the pursuit of herding your own goat as the weeks and months ahead unfold. And then share that writing with me to put in the next newsletter. |
Below you'll find some recent spiritual offerings from other WDC members. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review.
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Here is a response to my last newsletter "Spiritual Newsletter (February 8, 2012)" about MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech:
From kittygirl 
Hi,
I enjoy getting your newsletter...find it inspiring and uplifting. The topics you cover are wonderfully refreshing and gives the reader a moment to pause and reflect on thier own philosophies and beliefs.
"Today the world is ours...for today is all we have."
Thank you for your kind words - glad you enjoy the newsletter.
   
From ANN Counselor, Lesbian & Happy
What a truly wonderfull Newsletter. So easy on the eyes and filled with deepest thoughts. I love your 'dream' peace...yes, all of us have dreams for a better tomorriw. Thank you for your kind, helpful response to me. I always read the spiritual newsletters. Nice artful touches to this one. God bless and thank you for giving all of us something to think deeply about. My dream is that all people truly lived the Golden Rule: to do unto others as we desire they do unto us. Then peace would truly be. ANN
Glad this one was easier on your eyes, thanks for your kind words.
From larrylynch
Thank you for your submission about Martin Luther King and his "..I have been to the mountain.." speech. I offer this poem about one pilgrim's experience in spiritual mountain climbing. Peace and Love to all, Sunnyboy.
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Thanks for sharing your lovely poem!
From Mia - craving colour 
Hi Sophy. Reading your column is always inspirational. I love this line in particular:
"Holy imagination can deliver us from hopelessness and open the door to new possibilities."
Thanks so much! Yes, I like that too - the power and importance of imagination is so often overlooked, and yet is so vital to our survival.
From Specter
Bless them who will hear, then see.
Of all the subjects in the world, the soul is the least understood. There is but one path that leads to the way, the light, and the life . . . Jesus Christ. There is such as many paths that lead to nothing. Many have come forward to speak the truth, and they know not the half of it. It can be found that breath is the spirit of life, as God has said. And realization is the light of Christ. I thank Him for providing the way. He is the thunder in my soul.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. This is the Spiritual Newsletter, so respectful of a variety of spiritual paths, including but not limited to Christianity.
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming! Until next time! Sophy |
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Spiritual: March 07, 2012 Issue [#4915]
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