September 25, 2019

During my time in Nashville this weekend, I was able to visit with some folks at home, or meet them in neutral places. YES, I got to check out the Loveless Café. It got me thinking about what we are doing when we get involved in a community, most especially a church.

The world can feel like a pretty love-less place these days. We are divided by politics, life choices, racial and economic identities. And, there are entities that want us to feel divided, or even loveless, because it benefits them.

Consumer and capitalist enterprise make lots of bounty from convincing us that better looking or smelling teeth, hair, skin, and attire will make us attractive and, I presume, lovable.

Schools work hard to instill competition and the notion that winning means either being super smart or working super hard to look smart. 

At some point, if we are lucky, and diligent, we learn that most of this is BS, and we choose to live differently: to become more spiritual, that is, less materialistic. We gradually give up “things” until there is nothing to give up but our own life.

Lots and lots of us try to avoid this reckoning as long as possible. That’s because it is painful and requires suffering. Instead, we fend off the realization with addiction, or, in Buddhist lingo, desire, tanha, or “grasping.” Addictions, from alcohol and drugs to food, work, sex, busyness and (one of mine) podcasts can stave off the loveless reality for a long time.

Buddhism tells us that there is a way out of this suffering, or dukkha. The way is the Noble Eightfold Path, which includes mindfulness and living, working, and even eating with intention. Buddhism also has the Three Jewels, which are the Buddha, the Dharma (teachings), and the sangha. That’s where church comes in. We can be your sangha. But this miraculous transformation requires something of you. We are not the MacDonald’s of spirituality. We are here to play, laugh, weep, learn, work, and even struggle together. I am grateful to be able to join you on this path at this time in your journey and mine.

Thank you,

Cynthia