Breadcrumbs: A Collection of Spiritual and Philosophical Essays, Francis J. Shaw [little readers .TXT] 📗

Did Jesus doodle in the sand that day? I like to think so. I like to imagine he drew an image because he had a problem to solve. How to help us transform from enforcers of the law to ambassadors of forgiveness. How to help us see, in his story we can find our own and know the power of love is the good news.

The Butterfly Effect

LIKE ALL THE BEST STORIES, it begins with…Once upon a time…but I am getting ahead of myself, because before thoughts of a story, there was a hunt to complete. How easy it is to misplace something and how difficult to find what is lost. We begin by looking in places that make the most sense; convinced we would have been thinking sensibly at the time we placed the item somewhere. When that fails, we turn to the next most logical location, until it turns into the grand search, and finally, when all else fails and frustration sets in…we plead. I am stuck and it’s time for a quick prayer to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things in the hope he can help. ‘Tony, Tony, look around, something’s lost and must be found,’ and then I am there…standing in front of the bookshelves.

Home to the most complex environment within our dwellings, they say more about us than any other location. Surrounded by dust with endless longevity, they contain so much more than books we expect to see. For many things without a home elsewhere, find their way to crowded shelves. Heaps of papers and photographs stacked on top of aging memories. Nick-knacks perched on the edges, ready to fall any time, and trophies hard won; reminders of a different age.

But, pride of place goes to the books. An assortment of wonders and wanderings, telling stories of past lives and un-kept promises—favorite recipes tucked inside guide books to places we visited or hoped to one day—a thesaurus and how to learn French in a week. Between the books is another world: letters written and forgotten long ago—postcards from relatives sending their love and wishing the rain would stop soon. Then there are the stories—perhaps romances, thrillers, coming of age tales, or biographies. Opening them, we remember and reminisce, keeping a favorite aside to read once again, hoping to be touched as deeply as we were once before. Clearing out some of the unwanted old, we make room for the new. It was at that moment, staring at an empty row, I pondered—if we filled the spaces we create with our own story, what would the shelf look like?

At first, the answer seemed obvious. Hasn’t it been said before, that we all have our own book of life? Each chapter detailing the dramas, celebrations, disappointments, and joys of the different parts of our journey and how we would be very sure no one would be interested in reading it. Is life about writing our book and placing it on the empty space we create on our shelves?

There are plenty of views of what life is about. William Shakespeare thought of us as actors. “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances.”21 Others say life is about art, music, or dance. Acting, painting, singing, making music? Perhaps, Forrest Gump’s mother had it just right—“Life is like a box of chocolates,” because it seems so often, we never know what we are going to get.

We are as fascinated with stories today as we have been since the beginning of time. Each takes us on a journey with someone to somewhere. We choose to go with them for many reasons, and when the last page is turned or the movie credits roll, we are satisfied. Glad we enjoyed it or happy it is over, we were touched and the memories of our experiences remain, calling out to us to visit again soon. So, do we place little importance on our own story, and if so, why?

We do. Constantly bombarded with images of success we feel the push to measure ourselves against the victorious. Judging how we look, what we have, and what we do, all contribute to pulling us further away from our essence, to a journey seldom satisfying. It is a diversion away from dissatisfaction and that’s why it’s attractive. Avoidance is also a productive tactic, because once we embrace it, we are able to make it self-perpetuating and it runs on its own without the need for intervention. Comparing, judging, and avoiding all contribute to our lack of interest in our life book, because if we write it under those conditions, we would have one chapter after another detailing how we measured down. The result, an extended resume filled with only the events of our lives and with a little creativity we can stretch it to several volumes, filling the space we cleared on our shelves. No wonder we wouldn’t want it sitting there gathering dust, but comparing and avoiding are only distractions. To get at what’s really occurring, we need to go back to our bookshelves; to the fiction books lined up side by side and ask a seemingly stupid question—what are they really about?

For example, a romance story—boy meets girl; loses girl; gets her back in the end, would appear to sum it up neatly, but we don’t need 300 pages to describe three major events. We know that weaved between what happens, is the depth of the characters and how their choices, emotions, and dreams, connect them to each other, and if it’s a great story—the relativity we see in own lives. There are millions of stories with more appearing each day. Billions of people, each with their own yarn to spin. How easy it is to feel overwhelmed and lose sight of our story on our journey, but help is at hand.

According to Christopher Booker in his book: “The Seven Basic Plots: Stories And Why We Tell Them,” there are seven plots that cover all the stories we read: Overcoming the monster, Rags to riches, The quest, Voyage and return, Comedy, Tragedy, Rebirth. It’s no coincidence that we experience all these story lines in some form on our journeys: overcoming fears, growth, seeking, humor, loss, and becoming, are all present. They all point to one major theme—change. Wanted or unwanted, change is a constant and if there were just one word to include in the title our life book it would be a strong contender.

We face obstacles along the path and make choices that decide how we make the journey, so what stops us from investing our total selves in this unique opportunity we have been given? It’s more than our struggles with change...it’s the lies and deceptions we speak in whispers, because we feel it’s the safe road, which of course is another lie we discover later on. By that time, we have shut the door to change, found folly instead of wisdom, and can produce a list of reasons to prove the validity of our chosen approach. Despite all our resources: knowledge, facts, skills, experiences, and intelligence, they only help to provide us with an ample directory of excuses to support our lies. I call them the untruths of the shadow, because once we embrace and feed them, they never leave our side, driving us far away from our story.

I can’t...I have listed this one first as it’s the showstopper. When we employ this approach, we are left stuck at the starting line with no drive to move forward. Since the depletion of energy we feel by saying, ‘I can’t,’ deprives us of the resources we are going to need to finish the race, this stubborn habit requires two steps to overcome. The first is to stop deciding what outcomes need to look like. Every ‘I can’t’ contains a pre-determined future, which we fill with unhappy endings. Removing it creates room for all the possibilities. Our minds will push to fill this space with logic, firing up the reasoning part of the brain in an effort to convince us with rational thinking to abandon the quest. Trust your intuition and move forward—“If you think you can…or if you think you can’t…you’re right.”22

I have nothing new to contribute...How much we do embrace our uniqueness? Don’t diminish your journey as being insignificant because you have been called here by name. Think of the books on your shelves—there are only so many words and ways to combine them, yet it doesn’t stop us from wanting to read, does it? When you were born, a new soul was summoned here to accomplish something. Seek it for it is for you alone—don’t ask for permission, nor seek approval. Your words and actions are for your unique story.

I don’t fit in with what the world wants…

Indoctrination is pervasive in our societies. Our schools lay out a required path to the work future. Our workplaces, necessary steps to success. Our media, what beautiful looks like. How do feelings of not smart enough, successful enough, and attractive enough, support your journey? This is not our home. We are visitors here and when we are away from home, do we not seek what gives us joy and happiness? We don’t ask the world to decide. Being in the world doesn’t mean we have to be of the world, and just because there are powerful messages in the shadows, it doesn’t make them right or truth. Ignore those voices and follow the one that speaks inside of you.

I am not creative...At first glance, you may think this an odd choice, but how often do we compare the gifts of others to what we see in ourselves? The great violinist, artist, thinker, or winning idea. We fall short and the comparison limits us to seeking what we have been given. We see gifts as the world defines them and rate them as society says they have value—in the riches of possessions and wealth of money. We say, ‘if I can’t be that good, why should I bother, because someone is always better.’ Creativity is not about a human end, but a spiritual process; where the connection opens a channel to the true treasures; given to support your journey, and in doing so, the journey of others. Before creativity is doing, it’s being, and when we create space, we open the door to the greatest creations—love, forgiveness, kindness, and compassion. “Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found.”23

I have no purpose...You are the narrator and protagonist of the only story that matters—yours. There is something you need that you don’t have, and your story, your purpose, is to find it—with every step; every breath. You must trust that it will be revealed to you, so listen and watch for the signs. No matter what anyone says, don’t expect it at a particular time or under certain conditions. People will cross your path. Some will be a blessing you will embrace and others, lessons you will want to push away. Accept all you encounter and take time for