Mike Paschall . com

I cry a lot these days. Not for any of the usual reasons we cry. Like you, I know pain and loss. I’ve had my share of betrayal and disappointment, and I’m pretty sure there are those who have known me who have also felt betrayed by me at one time or another. I have frustrations and limitations with many things that are beyond my control. I’ve got plenty of reasons to cry. But these recent tears come from a different place—for a different reason.

“WE ARE EARTH THAT HAS COME TO CONSCIOUSNESS.” —ROHR

I recently read a line in one of Rohr’s writings that stopped me in my tracks. I literally had to think about it for a day before writing it in my journal. The context aligned with what I consider to be my life message: descent is the true path to significance. It’s a message I care about. I believe it and I’ve done my best to embrace it, but it’s not a fan favorite in our present-day culture.

Rohr writes,

The word “human” comes from the Latin “humus,” which means earth. Being human means acknowledging that we’re made from the earth and will return to the earth. For a few years we dance around on the stage of life and have the chance to reflect a little bit of God’s glory.

That’s enough to fill up our journals with rivers of thought and prophetic expansion. Who does this not pertain to? As unique and gifted as we all are, we come from the same source. Or am I missing something here? How can we harbor such indifference and self-inflicted blindness towards those who, at the core, reflect our own nuclear commonness? And then we dehumanize and stiff-arm based on our opinions and differences. Our affection for tribal exclusivity and exceptionalism has done nothing to nurture our embrace of basic global commonness.

Rohr finishes his thought:

We are earth that has come to consciousness. If we discover this power in ourselves and know that we are God’s creatures, that we come from God and return to God, that’s enough. As a human, I’m just a tiny moment of consciousness, a small part of creation, a particle that reflects only a fragment of God’s glory. And yet that’s enough.

Mic-drop.

So, about the tears… here comes a confession. Ms. Patti has got me hooked into some of her stupid T.V. shows. I only watch because of DVR. We can binge AND skip the commercials. I had to put my foot down about Dancing with the Stars, but I did the last season of American Idol and an entire season of The Voice. She also got me hooked into America’s Got Talent. Currently, we’re in another season of The Voice. I laugh a lot at the antics of Adam and Blake, but I might cry more than laugh. Yeah I know, WTH?

Honestly, the whole image and performance thing wears me out with these shows. I know they’re feeding the beastly appetites of young and immature vanity, and I get it. There is a sad shallowness in our addictions to this kind of glamour. But, it’s so grafted into the code of it all, I just don’t know how that course could ever be corrected. Maybe, just get old? Yeah, that will fix you. Get old.

The tears come once I’m able to push past all the facades of projected image for effect. When the beautiful and heart-altering sounds that formulate voice and song come out of another person, it produces tears of wonder and amazement that God shows himself through simple humus and dirt. It blows my mind. I simply can’t contain the tears.

There were a couple of children that blew the competition away in this last edition of America’s Got Talent. They had miraculous singing voices. OMG! I cried like the big sissy that I am. Those voices in children? Incredible.

I think what I’m getting at here has to do with our continually defaulting to a consistent truth that people are pretty dang amazing. I must say that right now, you can turn on the TV, listen for a few minutes to the talking heads as they analyze our world, and wonder, “Where is the goodness?” I get it. But there is goodness, and it is all around us. God is sifting through all kinds of humus and dirt right now… everyday… everywhere! Miraculous gifts of beauty and creativity are exploding all over the planet. Everyone from poets to chemists is doing his or her thing to contribute and enlighten us all.  Don’t only be guided by hopelessness or lack of vision. God shows himself all the time.

There is more to the dirt than dirt. Look, listen, touch, taste, and see. It’s enough to bring tears to your eyes. I speak from experience.

Live every day inside this magnificent truth: GOD LOVES US ALL!

Mike

Prepare yourself to hear a child CRUSH IT!  OMG!