Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Risk and Reward

Tuesday 1/23/18 5:14 AM

This morning I seem to be having difficulty concentrating and staying awake. My devotional theme for the week is Going Inward. In her book Death by Bread Alone, Dorothee Soelle writes, “The inward journey is an exercise, something that is cultivated; it requires concentration and attentiveness. Above all, the inward journey requires the greatest sincerity of which we are capable. It entails a risk – the risk of shame if nothing is there, the risk of emptiness if one does not change as a result, the risk of one’s own person – and this risk is no less than that encountered on the way to another person. For us moderns, perhaps, fear of being ridiculous in our own eyes is the greatest shame.” Given my lack of concentration and attentiveness today I have a feeling that an inward journey is not in the cards for me this morning. The good news: There is no risk of finding an emptiness inside, no risk of having to change, and no risk of seeing myself as being ridiculous. The bad news: No risk, no reward.

No comments:

Post a Comment