I Am Not the Same Everywhere

Reading from Wednesday, March 2, 2016 yoga class

From the book, "A Year of Spiritual Companionship" by Anne Kertz Kernion

"The trick to much in our spiritual lives is remembering, and that's why I find silence so necessary.

There is a well-known Hasidic story that speaks to our sense of place and its deeper meanings for our spiritual lives:  The child of a rabbi used to wander in the woods.  At first his father let him wander, but after a while he grew concerned.  The woods. were dangerous.  The father wasn't sure what lurked there.  He decided to discuss the matter with his son.  One day, he took him aside and said,
You know, I have noticed that each day you walk in the woods.  I wonder why do you go there?"  The boy said, "I go there to find God."  "That is a very good thing." the father replied gently.  "I am glad you are searching for God.  But my child, don't you know that God is the same everywhere?"  "Yes," the boy answered, "but I'm not."                        

I understand the boy's perspective.  Every so often, I head to a monastery or retreat center for a few days of reflection.  Certain places--call them "holy" or "sacred" or simply "inspiring"-- ground me like no others.  I see things in new ways.  I remember, again, the essentials of life.  I will breathe and walk and listen and observe, in gratitude.  That's all.  Sure, I don't have to go anywhere to do those things.  But I go to the monastery because, as this little boy says, I am not the same everywhere.

Some monasteries practice bowing to another person upon greeting them or saying good-bye.  In this simple way we pause to honor the person in front of us, to acknowledge their humanity, their dignity. The practice of bowing reminds us to look for the sacred in the other person.  Bowing creates a moment of silence in which we have the space to remember what is holy in others, what is sacred in ourselves."