Somehow ‘doing’ has become a more conscious ‘being’ and what was an effort has become a gift Photo: Lel4nd / flickr CC
A shift
Sonja Rose finds that ‘doing’ has become ‘being’
A few years ago, a long-standing attender stood up during Meeting for Worship. His ministry was brief and memorable: ‘What do you do in Meeting? I do not remember any ministry that might well have followed, but the question reverberated with us over coffee and beyond: it was decided quite spontaneously that those of us who were free to do so would gather with an ad hoc picnic at a member’s home and garden to explore further. It became a good afternoon, rich in sharing of very diverse contribution and deep probing, details of which I regretfully cannot remember either!
More recently the question has popped up in my mind again: what do I do in my quiet times? This time, in my eighties, I was no longer sure of its relevance. It now seemed that it was no longer about doing at all. I remembered the story of a maid who had very demanding employers and who worked very long hours; finally, late in the evening, she got to her room, too exhausted to do more than undress and get into her bed. Yet bedtime prayer was important to her; so, nearly asleep already, she murmured: ‘It’s Betty, God, I’m here.’
I also remembered Satish Kumar’s book, Only Connect, and had a similar response. I can no longer always make the effort to connect; but what is vital for me now is to be open to be connected to, to be ready for someone, something. Something – be it a person, a need, a piece of music or art, even, dare I say it, God, Spirit, the Divine – to connect with me, to become meaningful, life-giving, grace-full. Somehow ‘doing’ has become a more conscious ‘being’ and what was an effort has become a gift.
So this is where I am, and I say with Martin Luther: ‘Here I stand, I can do no other.’
