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Bill Plotkin speaks of the first half of life as doing our “survival dance.” The second half of life can then become our “sacred dance.” Most of us never get beyond our survival dance to ask the deep concerns of the soul (we are too busy “saving” our souls, whatever that means!) and to do our sacred dance. Money, status symbols, group identity, and security are of limited value; but to the soul they are a distraction, and finally they become the very problem itself.
However, don’t misunderstand me—and I say this as strongly as I can—you’ve got to go through this first half of life and its concerns. Every level of growth builds on the previous ones. The principle is this: transcendence means including the previous stages. Then you can see the limited—but real—value of the early stages. But you will no longer put too much energy into just looking good, making money, feeling secure at all costs, and making sure you are right and others are wrong. That’s what it means to grow up; and Jews, Muslims, and Christians need to grow up just like everybody else.
Adapted from
Loving the Two Halves of Life: The Further Journey
(CD,
DVD,
MP3)
The Daily Meditations for 2013 are now available
in Fr. Richard’s new book Yes, And . . . .
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“The spiritual gift of discernment is when seemingly good things can be recognized as sometimes bad things, and seemingly bad things can also be seen to bear some good fruit…. It invites people into what I call ‘Yes/And’ thinking, rather than simplistic either/or thinking.”
— Richard Rohr,
Yes, And: Daily Meditations
Join Fr. Richard for a teaching on Sic et Non,
the ancient practice of “Yes and No.”
Live Webcast
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
5:00 – 6:30 p.m. (MDT)
Register today and get a signed copy of the book at cac.org.
Note that the webcast will be available for replay for 90 days after the live event;
pre-registration required by Monday, August 5, 2013.
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