The DAILY SPARK Blog

Tripping Over Joy

What is the difference between your experience of existence and that of a Saint?

The Saint knows that the spiritual path is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the Saint is now continually tripping over joy and bursting out in laughter and saying “I Surrender!”

Whereas, my dear, I am afraid you still think you have a thousand serious moves.

Poem by Hafiz.  From the book:   I HEARD GOD LAUGHING: Poems of Hope and Joy  – Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

Hafiz Khāwje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī, (1320 – 1389) known by his pen name Hafez and as “Hafiz”,  is one of the most beloved poets of the Persians, and is considered by many – from different cultures – to be one of the seven literary wonders of the world. 

REFLECTION:

  • Are you still making moves… playing chess with God?
  • Are you willing to surrender?
  • What is your next move?

RISK WORTH TAKING

Every time we make the decision to love someone, we open ourselves to great suffering, because those we most love cause us not only great joy but also great pain.  The greatest pain comes from leaving.  When the child leaves home, when the husband or wife leaves for a long period of time or for good, when the beloved friend departs to another country or dies…. the pain of the leaving can tear us apart.  Sill, if we want to avoid the suffering of leaving, we will never experience the joy of loving.  And love is stronger than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than despair.  We have to trust that the risk of loving is always worth taking. 

Quote by Henri Nouwen

REFLECTION:

  • Have you made a decision to love someone despite the risk of pain and suffering?
  • Are you attempting to avoid suffering by not loving?
  • Is there someone you can take the risk of loving today?

THINK vs. LIVE

You don’t think your way into a new kind of living.  You live your way into a new kind of thinking.

Quote by Henri Nouwen

Henri Nouwen  (1932 – 1996) was ordained as a Dutch Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Utrecht, Holland, in 1957. Then he went on to study psychology. Nouwen taught at several theological institutes in his homeland and in the United States, including University of Notre Dame and the divinity schools at Harvard and Yale.

REFLECTION:

  • Reflect on you… do you think your way into living or live your way into thinking?
  • How is it working for you?
  • Need to make any adjustments?