Faith Venture

Drawing away from people to be alone is another of the spiritual disciplines little discussed today.

I don’t mean to suggest becoming like my heroes, the Desert Fathers of the second through fifth centuries. Some of them went a bit overboard with the solitude thing.

I can actually find solitude at a local coffee house. People and commerce and noise surround me. Yet, I know no one. I am alone in my little corner contemplating or writing. There is an energy for an introvert being around activity but not being part of it.

Alternatively, I pack a coffee and laptop and head for a park. Alone. Surrounded by trees and creatures (hopefully no larger than a raccoon or opossum). A few hours there refreshes the soul and my outlook on life.

I have been told of Catholic monasteries that will accept people who are not Catholic for a period of solitude and reflection. That’s something I’ll have to try someday.

However you can withdraw for a bit on a regular basis, do it. Your soul needs that as part of the rhythm of being alone and serving with others.

When I was training as a soccer referee, I liked the sprint part of the training. I didn’t like the distance part even though it wasn’t really that long.

Sprinting you see the finish line just ahead. You spring off the line, work up to full speed as quickly as possible, maintain that top speed for the distance.

The 2,400 meters, or even running a 5K, took a mental toll. You can’t think of the finish. You must focus on the next step. One step at a time to finish the course.

Both the Apostle Paul and the anonymous writer of the letter to the Hebrews used running and training as metaphors for life. Throw off every yoke that keeps you down and run the race set before you.

I’ve known for many years that life is more like that distance running than sprinting.

The first requirement is to see the course in long term and set out in the right direction. Changing directions comes at a heavy cost.

Then it’s one step at a time. The next decision. The next relationship. The next task. You go forward with intention. Make decisions for the long term, not for short-term enjoyments. What stupid risks are you taking? What habits detract from the goal?

Run the race a step at a time. And keep going forward.

An adult robin pecked and clawed energetically at a spot in the flower bed. Quickly it jumped away. An adolescent robin with mottled breast not grown yet into the resplendent burnt orange had been watching. It went to the spot, repeated what it saw, spotted a bug or a worm, grabbed the meal and ate.

Similarly, when someone asks me for help with a computing device, I put the mouse, keyboard, or other input into their hands and guide them toward a solution. They develop the muscle memory for the solution. They will know what to do the next time.

Thus we learn.

Maybe our teacher/mentor sits in the same room. Maybe the teacher lived 2,000 or even 3,000 years ago. We see, we listen, we read. Then we repeat. Sometimes we repeat many times until we have thoroughly brought it into our life.

Awareness helps. Many times in my life I didn’t realize I had a mentor until much later. Often I didn’t know how to ask for more. Other times I have sought out mentors both in the room and in a book. They have taught much and deeply.

I appreciate each and every one. My life is richer. Both for the teaching and the practice.

They were driving through a number of states on vacation. He visited a small group Bible class on a Sunday stopover. The teacher commented on what he surely thought was common geographic knowledge of ancient Egypt introducing the class. He thought the teacher was wrong. Rising, he told the teacher he was wrong and leading the class astray. He left.

Actually, this man was most likely in error espousing a popular, but misleading, translation from the Hebrew. Understanding what those ancient writers meant in their ancient language is not as straightforward as some think.

Perhaps he could have asked, “Beg your pardon, but where do you get that idea?” And the teacher could have explained the translation as he had been taught. Perhaps then both could use the opportunity to explore the idea and come to a deeper understanding of the story the class was studying. Everyone could have learned something, even if they agreed to disagree.

These opportunities are rare. Missing the opportunity is unfortunate. A good discussion enlightens everyone. Now it is only a story of a disagreement that most likely ruined the day for everyone in the class.

Opportunity lost. Where are you (we) losing opportunities to learn and relate?

We so easily take the path of least resistance. Sometimes with intention we can make that work for us. Usually it takes us away from spiritual and personal growth and healing.

This is a sub topic in this Tim Ferriss interview with Jason Portnoy on addiction. Portnoy found himself taking that path with an addiction to porn and sex. He advises 12-step programs. His 10-year work with a life coach was invaluable. “If you can in any way afford it, working with a life coach or therapist will pay you back richly.” Do the work upfront, he said. Climb that mountain.

Seth Godin recently wrote about Carrying Benefits “Pay once, but come out ahead over and over again,” he advises. “There are habits, assets and learnings that seem too expensive right now. And so we simply stick with our status quo.”

That’s why I have risen early and exercised every week day even often while traveling. It’s why I meditate and study and reflect daily. Pay upfront. Do the work upfront.

Benefits follow.