Sitting Back Amid Chaos

We are indeed living amid chaos these days. Every time I turn on the news, there is yet another report of an event that generates finger-pointing, anger, and confusion among many I encounter, myself included. We exist within systems: family, church, community, government, school, and other forms of organization where groups of people determine how things operate together. What is acceptable and unacceptable in a given system is often unconsciously agreed upon by its members.

The systems surrounding us seem to be based on a mindset of scarcity and a hunger for power, creating a spirit of greed and fear. The world has operated this way before and leaves us in spaces of certainty, needing to prove our own rightness regarding a situation or viewpoint. We tend to react instead of respond in these environments where we feel the need to defend our own place in it.

Yet, we also live in a generous and gracious universe infused with a spirit of reciprocity. As we observe the creation that surrounds us, especially with Spring approaching, the plants are reviving and turning green, with a variety of other colors beginning to bloom. Many trees and plants that were dormant now show signs of life, as they respond to the warmer temperatures and sunlight. I cherish this time of year after Winter.

As I step outside my apartment, I observe squirrels scurrying and birds constructing nests, marking the beginning of the promise of new life. I have created space on my balcony to plant beautiful spring flowers with buds that signify this new life. This is the work of the Sacred that unites our Creation and accompanies us in this generous and gracious manner. Throughout history, many in our world have perceived the Sacred, God, with the characteristics of both perspectives – one reflecting the world and another representing a God who is always for us and with us.

The question I have been pondering over the last couple of months is: how do we navigate a system of scarcity that impacts us financially, socially, spiritually, and physically? We truly live in the midst of this system. Regardless of how we may have voted, we are all part of this chaotic world, experiencing the consequences of decisions being made. Yet, we also inhabit a generous and gracious world, where the Sacred is always with us and for us. How do we reconcile living in both of these realities simultaneously?

I recently moved to Texas due to health concerns and to be closer to one of my daughters and her family. Relocating from Oregon to the Houston area has been quite an adjustment. Settling into this space was gentle because my daughter and her family had prepared my apartment to make it feel like home. She understood what I was hoping for, and her generous and gracious hospitality created a spacious environment for me.

These words from Steven Charleston allowed me to enter this place of rest.

Come down easy, dear soul,
Come down easy into the rest you need.

Here is the place prepared for you.
A quiet spot in the midst of the swirl of life
A still pool, where you can be undisturbed and at peace.

Let your worries drift away like autumn smoke.
The world will wait for you,
But for now it is on the far side of the hill.

Your only task is to be healed of impatient time,
Unburdened by demanding thought,
Free of the daily dance of any expectation.
This is the timeless place
The healing place for which you have longed.

Come down easy and stay as long as you like.
(Spirit Wheel: Meditations from an Indigenous Elder, p213)

These words gave me a moment to pause once everything was unpacked. I enjoy my morning coffee on the balcony, prepared by my daughter and her husband, with the pine trees just out of reach. I can be present with myself, the trees, and the Sacred, listening in this place, knowing the world is on the far side of the hill. I can breathe here.

As I sit with my question about living in these two places, I begin to wonder if this is the way to be in both. Grounding myself in the Sacred’s generous and gracious way allows me to enter the systems I am part of with a grounded posture, offering generosity and grace. I can respond more than I react. Holding these thoughts, I notice an inner posture that feels like sitting back. It seems less like the energy of striving and more like letting go of needing to be something I am not called to be. It feels like being present in the scarcity system while knowing I live in the context of abundance. This feels like living instead of surviving.

Sitting back doesn’t mean we aren’t engaged. I believe it allows us to respond to what is going on around us, bringing God’s gentle and gracious way of being into the context of the system(s) we are currently living in. We still experience the consequences and limitations of the world’s system, but we don’t have to allow it to define us or the way we live. In fact, I have discovered a space of unforced gratitude in this space.

I wonder how you experience sitting back, the place of surrender and letting go. How do you feel that internally? Is there a texture, posture, color, or image that comes to mind?

How do you feel that same inner energy around living in the system(s) you are part of? What does that feel like internally? Is there a texture, posture, color, or image that comes to mind?

Returning is the key I believe. God, who is with us and for us, doesn’t condemn us but only invites us to gently and compassionately return. May you find that space in your world today.