Soul-scape - Prayer

The concentric circles crossed and connected ~ like the web of life that supports us all.
The circles quickly faded ~ like a day we don't want to end.
As new circles appeared ~ the temptation was to compare and contrast.
"I like the previous circles better."
"Oh, they were much more rounder and beautiful-er"
"Oh look, that one is like Mickey Mouse ears."

All around us the world is shaping us.
All around us we interact and insect with the sacred still crafting and creating.
We miss so much.
But even if we tried to slow down and soak in everything, our minds and hearts and souls would be too saturated to take it all in.
If you were able to see everything, smoke might start billowing from your ears as your mind tried to process the beauty and brokenness ~ the ordinary and otherness of the world around us.

So, we do what we can.
We observe the world through the filters of our experiences.
And sometimes even through the lens of our perspective something new manages to wiggle and work into our worldview.
Suddenly our perspective finds its limitations and boundaries.
What then?

Do we dismiss such new information as "fake"?
Do we deny and say, "My eyes are playing tricks on me"?
Do we discount and think, "Well, I for one am not changing my mind".
Do we stick our heads in the sand rather than risk admitting our own bias?

The dangers of living life today is that there are many voices who will tell you that you are right and everyone else is wrong.
The dangers of living life today is we can find lots of support for our safe, personal perspectives.

The brave, bold way of the world is to admit not only that you could be, but probably are, wrong
And right.
And both at the same time.
The brave, bold way of the world is to accept our limitations and still be vulnerable enough to say, "Here I am, send me."
The brave, bold way of the world today is to stop trying to impress or improve or institute our will, rather to know that it is all a divine dance where sometimes we are waltzing with grace and other times stepping on toes and other times tripping to fall flat on our face.

There are traces of grace, concentric circles of God's presence surrounding it all. 
Surround you right now.
And that kind of truth, love, and promise gives us hope.

Amen.