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Roots Exposed

October 08, 2008

susan_preston_rootsExposed.jpg

Roots Exposed ~ Canon 30d

When you hear 'Repent for your past,' realize it's a great religious distraction from waking up. Wake up! That's what repent means. Not 'weep for your sins.' Wake up! Stop all the crying. Understand! Wake up!

~ Anthony De Mello, 1931-1987 (Jesuit Priest & Author)


I love this quote because it's just so fresh and void of condemnation. Anthony De Mello may not agree with me on the definition of "wake up" and all its nuanced meanings, but I do think we'd agree that seeing ourselves as we are in this moment without identifying with what we see is a good thing. By not identifying, I mean not taking it personally when we open our hearts to what is – not judging the Self as "bad" or "not good enough" – these negative identifiers motivate us to run and hide from our personal truth. Maybe you've done some selfish things. Maybe you've been kind of greedy – the mistake we all tend to make is coming to the conclusion: I AM GREEDY, or: I AM STUPID, instead of the gentler and more realistic, "I did a few not so smart things." As long as we judge ourselves and grasp onto the story our judging creates, the less inclined we are to see ourselves through the eyes of compassion, take steps toward constructive change, or "repent," as Anthony De Mello puts it.

I think I'll run with definition 2b for "repent" from the online Merriam-Webster dictionary: to change one's mind. All it takes to get right with the world, simply put, is "Right Thinking". Interestingly enough, Buddha's term for it was Right Mindfulness – same thing. Definition 2b implies choice, personal power and responsibility. Actions follow thought, so change the way you think.

Change the way you think is a radical assertion – if thoughts are changeable, then thinking can be inaccurate, so stop buying into every self-sabotaging idea that blips off of the mental computer chip, which is at the mercy of a lifetime of conditioning, desires, and emotional impulses. Grasping hold of thoughts is like holding onto the tail of a wild tiger or hugging the wind.

The kicker is, it's impossible to change what we refuse to see, and societies have just as hard a time fessing up to their shadows as individuals do. As long as the sharp edges – the motivations behind the low self-esteem compelling us to be consumers instead of creators is unacknowledged – living, real living, can't begin.

But make no mistake, changing one's mind is rarely an overnight sensational thing. This kind of think-repenting takes practice and changing life-long thought patterns is a gradual process... not to mention turning our collective ego-driven desire for enormous houses and over-consumerism. The mind of this country, and the hearts of the individuals within it will need to wake up from a decades-long slumber to the reality which has always been there in the clear light of awareness, but which we've refused to face.

We've brought this upon ourselves. It doesn't mean we're evil or despicable. No... our humanity, our vulnerability... our fear and disconnection from nature and those things that matter the most has caused this mindless and reckless behavior. May these heavy burdens begin calling us take a long hard look at these bitter roots and inspire us to repent – there is no time to waste.


Image: The roots of an uprooted tree here in DC. Perfect symbolism.

Posted by susan at October 8, 2008 01:32 PM

Comments

It's admitting that humanity and vulnerability that allows us to humbly decide we need to "rethink" things in a way that makes more sense and does more good. So many people cling to their dogma like a life boat. They never realize the perfect peace with admitting that we really know so little. Beautiful post, my friend.

Posted by: jayne at October 9, 2008 08:37 AM

The quote stirred me to copying and will use it a number of places. The photo is fabulous. Wow. Sometimes you just amaze me. Your words speak truth. Well done.

Posted by: janet at October 9, 2008 03:19 PM