Saint Augustine said that the whole purpose of this life is to restore to health the eye of the heart, by which we see God in all things. Meditation is the means by which we restore health to the eye of the heart so that we can see the unity of God wherever we are, whoever we are with–even in the heart of conflict and discord, especially in the heart of conflict and discord.
As we follow our journey, we begin to transcend the dualities that keep us locked into conflict, suspicion, anger and violence—verbal, psychological, or physical. All of which we know are the negative forces in ourselves, in our relationships, and in the world. As we move forward on the journey, meditation by meditation, day by day, we cut ourselves free from the root that holds us back from love, from the vision of God.
It is the acceptance of our own being, as we are, at this moment in our life’s journey. That is what meditation is about. It is not trying to regain control over life, not trying to change God’s mind, not trying to change our fate or destiny, not trying to reinstate the threatened ego as managing director of our personality. Meditation leads to an acceptance of the reality of the human situation, as it is here and now.
After meditation: “The Future of Community” by Carol Bialock RSCJ in CORAL CASTLES (Newberg, OR: Fernwood Press, 2019), p. 95.
We all come from a place of pain
and a place of peace
and the sharing is a resurrection.
It’s all right to be human, hungry, hurt;
and it’s all right to have joy, serenity, hope.
Trust opens our mouths to tell the truth of our pain;
trust opens our hearts to the balm of love;
trust opens our eyes to the thread of light
that weaves us into one.
