Pie Pie. Me oh my,
Nothing tastes sweet, wet, salty and dry
All at once, oh well it’s pie
Apple! Pumpkin! Minced an’ wet bottom.
Come to your place everyday if you’ve got em’
Pie, Me oh my, I love pie!
1. An increased tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
2. Frequent attacks of smiling.
3. Feelings of being connected with others and nature.
4. Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
5. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based on past experience.
6. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
7. A loss of ability to worry.
8. A loss of interest in conflict.
9. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
10. A loss of interest in judging others.
11. A loss of interest in judging self.
12. Gaining the ability to love without expecting anything.
Do you remember parts of this list? I used it in the February newsletter. This is a longer list of things that some see as symptoms of spiritual awakening. The question to all of us is can we say we have these 12 symptoms? Do we allow things to happen, do we smile, do we feel connected? Do we appreciate things around us, are we spontaneous, do we feel joy? What about worry and conflict, judging and loss of expectation?
My friends, when we look at this list it may seem like a pie in the sky kind of list… maybe only those who wear rose colored glasses can feel this way. But as I read the Bible; as I toss around the ideas of Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit in my mind, and I search and hunt for answers to my questions, and those questions that people ask me, I find that what we are supposed to be about as Christians is love, grace, and mercy.
It is all summed up in the 2 greatest commandments, found in Matthew 22:37–40. If we turn to the Message, it states, “Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”
How can we love the Lord our God, and others as ourselves, if we want to continually be in charge, if we cannot smile, if we are not connected? How can we love the Lord our God, and others as ourselves, if we cannot appreciate things, if we have to have everything planned out, if we cannot feel joy? Seriously, worry and conflict, judging and expectations, what do these things have to do with love? Is there a way, a shortcut, a thought that anyone can give me that would help me to find these 12 signs of spiritual awakening that doesn’t involve God and God’s love?
Let’s talk about it.
