Seeking Wholeness in Life

We live in a society that makes it far too easy to buy into the temptation of living a divided life. The internet welcomes an encourages us to become different people online, creating a "second life," a disembodied existence that may bear little, if any, resemblance to the embodied life we live each day, filled with incongruous posts, photos, comments, and snarky remarks that belie the story we claim to live in our "real" lives. Our churches too often encourage us to leave the realities of life kindly at the door, tucking our pains, frustrations, and despair, not to mention our distressing doubts about God, into our coats with our winter hats and gloves. "Hang them in the coat closet before entering the sanctuary, please. You won't really need those in here. Those are private things, not public."

Today, I was encouraged and challenged by this little quote from Henri Nouwen on the ways in which the most personal things are actually the most universal. Like most of Nouwen's material, the beauty of a short simple phrase is only reinforced when you stop and spent time reflecting on the deep and rich implications of what he's suggesting. There are a lot of posibilities here for growth, for healing, and for transformation of individuals, communities, and the world.

We like to make a distinction between our private and public lives and say, "Whatever I do in my private life is nobody else's business." But anyone trying to live a spiritual life will soon discover that the most personal is the most universal, the most hidden is the most public, and the most solitary is the most communal. What we live in the most intimate places of our beings is not just for us but for all people. That is why our inner lives are lives for others. That is why our solitude is a gift to our community, and that is why our most secret thoughts affect our common life.

Jesus says, "No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house" (Matthew 5:14-15). The most inner light is a light for the world. Let's not have "double lives"; let us allow what we live in private to be known in public.