It takes me time but I eventually do get it, or else I am hit in the face by reality. This week, I was hit in the face by stark reality. Yes, where have all the flowers gone, a long time ago? It took a "toilet epiphany", no less, to shock me into a new level of consciousness. What is this all about?
When I was at the cathedral this week for mass, I was greeeted by a new toilet in the sacristy. Marble! I look, I stand back, I am simply amazed! What is going on? Within the eyes of the local culture, I see how such extravagant use of church funds is justified. I can see what is happening within the context of the local culture, but I am still left speechless. .
As I continually face issues, and ever the same issues, in working here, this image could become the symbol of my lot in Thailand. No matter what I do or how hard I work for the common good, for good practice, ultimately the same forces are at play and the show continues as it always has and, as they say here, always will. Where is the Kongdom of God in all of this?
As I shared from my heart, at the end of mass, "As I saw photos of Pope Leo, this week, from his hospital bed, I saw how human he is. With his 'thumbs up' signal to the world, he looked like a boy. I was so happy. I think you see how human I am. It is in our humanity that we see the sacred. " Do they get it? I do.
Where have all the flowers gone? Seen only through the eyes of my pride, my fragility weighs me down and I can never see the flowers. They are there to be enjoyed as my fragility lifting me up, allowing me to approach life with a lighter heart, a heart that consoles me as I see convictions ignored, values misplaced and expectations unmet. We just keep moving on. .
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