Green Patches

Pondering Franciscan Spirituality

Alongside ballroom dancing, quite a few visitors to Greenpatches seem to arrive here via a search for Franciscan spirituality. Obviously, I'm not the only one out there trying to pin down that (sometimes) elusive something or other.  It's always good to discover other souls out there, often far wiser than myself, who are pondering and trying to live out a similar path.  So, a happy discovery  - a newish blog: Franciscanponderings  who says:

 

Like a many-faceted diamond giving off different colours and hues as it is turned in the light, so the unsearchable riches of God encountered in Christ are reflected in the great variety of Christian approaches to the spiritual way. Each spirituality has its own tone and unique flavour, with its own particular emphases. I hope in ths blog to share a taste of the Franciscan contribution to the quest of the human heart for what will refresh our soul and give light to our path.

 - to read more, link here

Thank you for sharing your ponderings. I'm looking forward to listening to what you have to say.

 

Slow, slow...Reprise of the 'D' Word

"God is the lead dancer and the soul is the partner completely attuned to the rhythm and patterns set by the partner. she does not lead, but neither does she hang limp like a sack of potatoes." (Thomas Merton, quoted in Listening to the Music of the Spirit: The Art of Discernment, by David Lonsdale: Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1992)

 

For all those readers, who, according to stats are reaching 'Greenpatches' via a search for 'Ballroom Dancing,' I thought it about time to revisit  an old post: 'Listening to the Music of the Spirit: The Dreaded 'D' Word.'    Now with fresh clips. Enjoy.

Cycles, cider and circle dancing

A few  idle thoughts for a Tuesday morning. It does make me smile to see how many readers arrive on Greenpatches via searches for cycling events, notably La Marmotte, and Circle Dancing.  If I remember rightly, I've used the latter while pondering on matters of discernment, Dancing ( in my case suffering   umpteen corns and bunions  in the process) to the Music of The Spirit. No matter, it's nothing if not gratifying, in a modest, Greenpatch kind of way, of course. Even if the blogosphere now counts various puzzled folk dancers and cycle fans who're wondering just what they've stumbled upon.

Cider? Nothing whatsoever to do with this blog,other than  it begins with 'C'  plus Mr GP and friend have plans to embark on cider-making this year. Hmmm.

Dancing to the Music of the Spirit - Part 2

 

Or to put it another way - Nursing Your Spiritual Bunions. To continue the musings inspired by a quote by Henri Nouwen begun in The 'd' Word - a friend and I ventured out to our first ever ballroom dance class last week. Well, I say 'first;' Y did confess to having tried out a few sessions many moons ago with her spouse - an undertaking, which would likely have led to divorce had they decided to carry on! (Not unlike my experience ski-ing with Mr GP). And we'll draw a discreet veil over a certain  epic motorway trip. (I learned to drive in France where unlike the UK, learners are let loose on the autoroute straight away!).

Anyway, slow-  (in my case, extremely) slow- quick-quick - slow and all that, and lo, at the end of the evening we emerged having picked up  - in theory if not practice - the rudiments of the quickstep and rhumba. On the agenda next week: tango and jive. No more slow- slow then, I guess. As somebody who posesses two left feet, the prospect is not a little daunting.

But starting as a complete beginner I found so much that empasised what Nouwen had said about God and the soul as partners in the spiritual journey or dance. You begin being shown the moves step by step, slowly at first, then quicker, trying them out over and over again, joining them together to form a whole.  Only when you've mastered the basics do you begin to add fancy touches like turns and twirls. To start you may be very - even over conscious of each separate move you make, which foot you start with, (whether you're about to tread on your partners toes, or he/she on yours). When the music starts, you - as I do - watch all the experienced dancers whirling round - seemingly effortessly, may wonder how on earth you'll ever manage. 

It's here the analogy of the lead dancer and partner kicks in. I discovered  firstly, what a difference it makes to the flow of the dance when the lead really 'leads' and the partner actively  'follows.' (No sacks of potatoes allowed). If either partner is tense you end up hauling each other round the dance floor like a couple of sumo wrestlers. Or you may end up with a scenario like the one below. I'll leave you to make the connections with your own faith journey.  Just remind me what I said come Tuesday evening as I reach for the bunion pads!

The 'D' Word

(picture above from wikimedia commons)

"God is the lead dancer and the soul is the partner completely attuned to the rhythm and patterns set by the partner. she does not lead, but neither does she hang limp like a sack of potatoes." (Thomas Merton, quoted in Listening to the Music of the Spirit: The Art of Discernment, by David Lonsdale: Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1992)

"The thorny issue of discerning God's will is mentioned but not examined. The author is forthright in saying we would "be fools to believe we knew God's will for certain." Yet the sense of seeking the will of God hovers around much of the spiritual journey he maps. Do we pray to find definite guidance, even direction, for the decisions we face? Or do we pray for courage and wisdom to make those decisions for ourselves, and so take the responsibility for the consequences instead of blaming them on God?" (Peta Dunstan in  Church Times review of Deep Calls to Deep: Going further in prayer by David Foster, Continuum, 2008)

As my course moves into a new phase, the 'green' tinge remains, but readers might notice  the not so  much dreaded as ever-fascinating 'D' word moving to the forefront. I've never been one of those people who appear to think that God micromanages one's life down to what colour socks to put on in the morning. However, the tricky issue of maintaining the delicate balance between trusting that God's will will be done and individual responsibility is one that's kept the Greenpatch thinking cap in constant use these last few years.

A friend put me on to Listening to the Music of the Spirit last week, and I'm finding the imagery of  God as the lead dancer in co-operation with the soul really speaks to me, resonating as it does with recent experience. Looking back through old photos (our silver wedding comes up in a few months time) at a rather scared looking younger self being steered up the aisle on the arm of my father - reminds me of the co-operation, trust and teamwork  that's needed in any sort of partnership, especially, as I discovered, if one of you is taller than the other. Beneath the yards of tulle a tug of war was taking place, as I made determined attempts to loose myself from his well-intentioned but rather too firm grip, (think old Victorian portraits a la aspidistra and you'll get the picture), turning what should have been a dignified glide into a sort of hop, skip and jump more often seen in a three-legged race!

Or if you've ever performed that perilous square dancing move the basket, when by supporting themselves with arms round the shoulders of the men, the women should be twirled round in the air. In my (admittedly limited experience) the move generally ends up more like this:

Women who do not want to go flying can a) push down with their elbows, b) keep the basket slow by tripping up the men, c) grab the men round the neck to strangle them or `accidently' digging a thumb in under the ear or d) determinedly lean back. Most `respectable' dance clubs prefer to keep the women under control (which leads to a faster basket); the barn dance crowd likes to show off. I leave it to the women to say whether they want to go flying, and don't do it at all in a crowded room since flying feet are quite heavy weapons.

Armed with this wisdom, I'd like to think that my dance   with God will take on all the purpose, skill, certainty  and championship quality of  these people. Sadly, knowing myself only too well, I fear the reality will be more like the scenario here!