Your anger will not rule me

Desert outside Jerusalem  

I am finding being in the desert a good and healthy spiritual place to be.  Not being a dualist but strongly holding to the whole of our humanity - body and soul together as one - I can see the positive effects in my living.

At work this week, I dealt with an issue of justice that was also most sensitive.  This invited opposition from within the workplace which I understand.  As the opposition from one party heated up, I sat there listening, determined not to respond in anger.  My one response was to say -
"I know you are angry but I will not let your anger rule me."

This was one of the few inspired moments in my life when I acted without thought and on the spot to opposition in a good and healthy way.  It happened naturally.  It does not happen that often as I more tend to react to people's opposition which is never really very helpful.

I give credit for my inspirational response to my being in the desert and so taking life more calmly or more subdued, taking a wider perspective or a kinder perspective in my everyday reality.  It is good for me to be here.  

The Unplanned

The best things in life are unplanned.  How true I find that to be.  My unplanned, and unwanted, journey with the flu continues, even if more gently.  I am finding it a journey full of learning and humbling experiences. 

Yes, I could talk about my attending a conference in the Vatican on modern day slavery and I could talk about how the Pope so strongly supports this effort and how he met us.  It was all a great experience. I could talk about the train trip up into Germany, just taking in the alpine scenery along the way. 

What stays with me is this unplanned journey, the journey that has taken me into my desert.  It is a special place to be and life giving as I stand back in life and look at it with gentler eyes. 

Both journeys have been an opportunity and both have had their blessings and gifts.  The journey within remains with me and is the much stronger

Guess where I have been?

Well partly, at least. 

I went to Rome for meetings - one was with Caritas International on migration and the other was a conference on anti-human trafficking which was held in the Vatican with the support of the Pope.  So guess whom we met?  He truly is a simple and humble man who keeps focused on the message of human dignity and of humanity being ever compassionate and siding with the most vulnerable of our day.

Yes, being on such a mission for good was part of my last two weeks.  It all sounds so ultruistic but really my travels became much more caught up with the nitty gritty of my life with the onslaught of a devastating flu which meant that the dominant journey became my interior journey as I dealt with an overpowering sense of unwellness and vulnerability. 

While this journey was unplanned, it became the dominant journey.  It was my desert experience that led me to an early retreat home.  This journey has been powerful and humbling.  It has taught me about myself and how I need people.  It is amazng where life can take us, even on the other side of the world on a well planned sojourn. 

I just wanted to share why I have been away and where I have been.  It has been a most impactful journey.