LET
THE WAVES WASH OVER ME
ROBERT
TRABOLD
In the distance, I
hear noise
waves crashing onto
the surf
washing over sand.
They are constant -
unending
sand is washed -
washed.
So white - clean!
I pray!
I want waves to wash
over me.
I too need washing -
healing
past memories of the
hard times in my life
suffering –
abandonment – treason.
I sit at shore - let
waves
wash over me.
Let them wash away -
heal memories
images – faces –
voices.
As the water recedes,
sand is at peace clean.
I need same peace –
rebirth – cleanliness!
Sea is grace of God
divine water will
wash me – wipe away
heal biting memories.
Hurt will lessen –
peace
will come to me
washed sand is
always new
my hope also.
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LEAVE SELF BEHIND
Robert Trabold
We humans are complicated beings. There are many
levels to our life and consciousness and it is good for us to take stock of
this and understand these various levels. We have the wounded side to our being
where have memories of the hurts which have been inflicted upon us. We are plagued
with worries and fears of our life on earth. There can be questions of our
survival in a world of many difficulties and tragedies. Of course, we are
worried about our coming death and what will happen to us after our departure
from the earth. Jesus tells us that we
have to leave these fears and anxieties behind and have confidence in God our
Father who takes care of all his creatures on earth despite the many mysteries
of our voyage on earth. Jesus calls our attention to the birds of the air for whom
God cares and will do the same for us who have a greater value.
In our human life, we are also
conditioned by the pressures of the world and its culture. In the modern world
we live in, we are pressured to do many things and produce more. We are to
become well known and famous as part of this process. There is never a moment
of rest but constant striving to do more. This is part of our industrial world
and its ethic and we cannot escape it. It is all around us. The industrial world
and its ethic is a tide which pulls us along.
For the above reasons, our voyage
into prayer and into the silence of contemplative and mystical prayer is a counter
culture in opposition to what is presented to us each day. We are called to sit
in silence and simply repeat our mantra which in one sense is out of step with
life around us. When we do this, we become aware of another part of ourselves
which is not made to be enslaved by the pulls of the world. This deeper part of
ourselves is open to another reality who does not change and who loves us and
wants us to reciprocate this love. We become aware of the presence of the Lord
who came on earth to show us another way of living.
When we grow in the awareness of
this presence within us, we get the strength to unlock ourselves from the
anxieties and fears which we have about our life and future, and to liberate us
from the pressures of the modern world which wants us to produce more. We
obtain a vision to step back and put our life on another path and to live in
the freedom and liberation which Jesus wants us to have. We become strong to
love one another and try to make the world a different place to live in which
is no mean task. We live in the riches of God’s life which Jesus calls “the
fullness of life” and to which He calls us to participate.
When we pray saying our mantra and
sitting in the quiet, we may have the feeling that nothing is happening. It is so different from what passes in our modern
life with its constant activity. It is not true that nothing is happening but
we are growing into a way of living which is God’s way and to which we are
called to follow. We have to realize this so that we do not give up and let
drop our daily prayer life. It is a
pearl of great price which we have to continually cultivate and so reap the
fruits of a God filled life about which Jesus talks.
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QUESTION: Over
the years and with your perseverance in prayer, have you noticed a change in
yourself and your attitudes where you are becoming more selfless and less
influenced by the world’s views?
I
am interested in hearing the opinions of the readers of my articles. Leave also
you name and e-mail and I will try to keep you abreast of interesting spiritual
trends.
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