April Fool’s Day. A day for playing tricks, and being cautious of others doing the same. Sometimes it is not so bad being or acting the fool. Remember “only fools fall in love” and evangelists tell us to be ‘fools for Christ.” Sadly the term is often used as a criticism or worse, it becomes a word that is meant or does inflict pain – “Don’t be foolish, or “You are such a fool!” It is amazing how one word can have so many meanings depending on how it is said, and how we receive it.
During our Lenten meditations, we learn to displace harsh words, and the emotions that are derived from them, to the periphery of our awareness. We avoid being distracted by these words, although we remain dimly conscious of this twilight area. Our attention is focused like a laser beam inward to the core of our being. It is like an anchor dropped to the ocean floor. Our concentration is shifted from the periphery of conscious, where the emotions brought on by harsh words lie, to the depths of our being. So when and how we respond to the disturbances brought on by such words is from a very deep place, rather than reacting superficially. Rather than react to infliction of pain, whether purposeful or unintended, from the periphery of our consciousness, we respond from our core. From our core our thoughts are creative and future-oriented. Like portents rising from the depths, they indicate how things could be.
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