Why Confetti Spirituality does not Work...
...and why creating your own Desert does.
A Word from the Desert
This little word 'desert' encompasses much more than a geographical expression where, in our imagination, we think of a piece of land that is not only uninhabited, arid, and dry but also uninhabitable. For those influenced by the spirit that animates the word of God, 'desert' is the quest for God in silence, and "true silence is a suspension bridge that a soul, bound in love with God, builds to break through the darkness, to span terrifying ravines, to traverse the unknown abysses of temptation, the steep rocks of our fears that obstruct the path to God." (Carlo Carretto)
A Word from a Brother
"How often do you throw around the 'busy' card?" my friend quizzed as we strolled through the park on a Saturday afternoon. I had just recounted my workweek.
"Uh, I don't know," I shrugged. "What's with the sudden interest in my busyness?"
"Well, I've noticed people toss 'busy' like confetti. It's this weird status thing and the ultimate excuse. Some act like others won't take them seriously unless they claim to be 'busy,'" he observed. "But you don't need to play that game. You are my friend regardless of whether you are busy or not.”
He patiently asked me to stop hiding behind a mask of self-importance…again.
I realise the same mechanism goes for our ‘too-busy-to-pray’ excuses. How often do we blow off prayer, blaming it on not having enough time or energy? But really, how much of that is legitimate? How many of these barriers are just in our head, when we are trying to impress everyone, even God? "If only I could escape to a monastery or hit up a desert," we say, "then I'd have time to pray." It sounds deep, but it is a flimsy excuse.
Carlo Carretto clarifies that the desert where we can pray is not a place but a state of mind, namely that of a mind that wants to be with God. He once said his desert could be on a packed train to work, Bible in hand.
What about you? Where can you create the desert in your life?
A Prayer for the Road Ahead
Lord, You are the Living One
in the heart of this world
that waits for you.
Will we pass by You
without seeing You?
(Carlo Carretto)
Picture: thanks to SatyaPrem (Pixabay)