This morning's "Rohrism" along with a couple other reads, seems to have further challenged my now urgently driven, legacy journey.
Get ready for some drama here!!
"It seems we Christians have been worshiping Jesus’ journey instead of doing his journey. The worshiping feels very religious; the latter just feels human and ordinary. We are not human beings on a journey toward Spirit; we are already spiritual beings on a journey toward becoming fully human, which for some reason seems harder—precisely because it is so ordinary." (See Rohr link below).
My aforementioned, now quite heightened awareness of Legacy, began stirring months ago, as I poured over three books in preparation for a talk with our local Chamber of Commerce.
I had been asked back in the Fall if '23 to prepare to participate in the kick-off of 2024, with a theme focused on Impact.
This week, I finally delivered my talk with this amazing group of local leaders and entrepreneurs.
Though several in the audience have graciously offered very positive feedback, it was as much for me as anyone in the room. My inner being was stirred as I spoke, my compassion compounded, and at one point, I even shed tears!
Your Purpose for Existence (your PFE, per author John Strelecky's "The Cafe On The Edge of the World") truly matters to humanity! As well, your career choice and life priorities either an aid to its unpacking, or a wasteful distraction!
Your PFE is the Womb Work of God, a "piece" of God that passes understanding, assigned only to you, and again I'll emphasize, its full unpacking critical to all humanity. I don't take that lightly!
However, our 30,000 days (one's average life span) is quite limiting, given the distractions of life!
To put that in perspective, as I shared with the chamber, assume the pressure of being near retirement with only $30,000 in savings. Thankfully, that's not my situation, though the average American, according to Northwestern Mutual's 2023 Planning & Progress Study, has only $65,100Â in savings, which belive it or not, is a 5% increase from 2022. However, the median balance is $8,000. That's alarming and sad!
Now translate that financial limitation into days remaining in your "time account". If I do the math, its 1,058.5 days for me at 75.3 years old.
Can you begin to sense my urgency, again compounded by my felt responsibility as shared this week, to be "the 75 year old that I wish I had met at 25!"
As I have said before, books find me, and in this case the one mentioned above, a gift from a friend, unbeknownst to him quite timely.
Once read, I was compelled to followup with another written by Strelecky, "The Big Five for Life".
Then still another gift offered in return for preparation for another "Cabin Talk" with the board of a local foundation.
Patrick Lencioni's, "The Six Types of Working Genius" provided further insights not only for my preparation, but an invaluable assessment affirming my own Piece of God!
It seems my working Genius types are Discernment and Galvanizing (consider this a recommendation to grab a copy so as to better assist your own journey).
On top of that, an unrelated conversation was occurring with a local Skunk Eradicator. What??
I know this feels like another Bost "rabbit trail" but keep reading.
This local trapper guy while rigging his camera, traps and other pest constraints in our backyard, threw in a 30 minute seminar on these territorial pests.
It's mating season for skunks and I have a female with a den under our grandkids' playhouse.
Meanwhile, my wife LaDonna, the Queen of Hospitality is planning for Easter guests who will soon be out in the yard, but hopefully not with our domesticated skunk. You see, she can be quite cat-like when she sees you in the yard! Yes, she will walk right toward you!
Per the "Trapper Guy", it seems that female skunks can be treated quite brutally by multiple suitors, left with numbers of offspring to deliver from each male. Oh, and to protect them all from hawks and other predators.
And you think you have life distractions!
As well, other skunks, all very territorial, will even invade the mother's den, if not protected by the dominant male who thinks they all belong to him!
Whether all this is factual or not, it sure sounds like we humans at times.
Back to this morning read from Richard Rohr as we turn the corner on this drama!
It seems more easy for us to be religious, than it is to be entirely human on our spiritual journey. Perhaps more the message of Jesus, than His need for us to offer Sunday worship?
Oh, I almost forgot, there was another early morning conversation with my dear friend, Stan Lake!
I had just read through his Substack post, entitled "The Bridge" detailing rather stunning memories of his days in Operation Iraqi Freedom. (See link also below).
Whether the Holy Spirit pulled all this together or it's just the bizarre way my mind works, all this seemed connected.
Given our present political distractions, Hamas and layed with Lake's vivid imagery of the nature of war, I must wonder if over these last decades and well before 911, if we have not lost our way, war now for decades an ordinary old news necessity for holding an ever growing number of enemies at bay!
This seems so unlike the Jesus whom we are now so divided over in this once deemed "Christian" nation.
Unlike the trauma imposed upon those thrust into the inhumane environment of war, as determined in Lakes' post, we folk back home seem to have grown comfortable with each evening now about the "old news" of war, sedated by the words of power hungry autocrats, conveniently capable of "unseeing" the inhumane and lasting trauma inflicted upon our men and women in uniform.
War most always is driven by global politics deemed necessary to sustain multiple approaches based upon nationalism. Yet too often behind the scenes, sustaining the profitability from an economy that must be protected, at least sufficient for the re-election of dictatorial autocrats, whether left or right and from an ever aging base of leaders (most near my age in fact)!
Back to this legacy thing, and my own "last days" on this human journey.
Some say, why not just retire, play, enjoy, as it does take precious time to stay engaged, even if only by way of writing.
However, when I pray, worship, read, I always hear, "Just write!"
Maybe it's the hope that the upcoming generation's collective womb-work, holds the capacity for spiritual transformation, if they chose to live into their PFE.
The perhaps better allowing their offspring to be more human, and more Christ-like than mine.