Freedom Has Its Rules.
We live in a world with so many choices. But with all of this freedom, are we any better?
Let me explain. Think about music. Pretend someone hands you a flute. You love music but have never played an instrument before. “Play some music,” your friend says. You bring the flute up to your mouth and blow only to hear the squeaks and squeals of the instrument. Without instruction, you wouldn’t be able to do much with it. But, if someone taught you where to put your fingers, where to put your mouth and taught you how to read music, you could really play! If you know the rules then you can exercise the freedom to create beautiful music!
And so it is with our lives. There are rules to this life. And sometimes we all may need a reminder especially in this tumultuous time. As I reflect on spiritual teachers who have studied the “rule book”, I find encouragement in the Peace Prayer by St. Francis:
Lord, make me a channel of thy peace;
that where there is hatred, I may bring love;
that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
that where there is error, I may bring truth;
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
that where there is despair, I may bring hope;
that where there are shadows, I may bring light;
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood;
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.
Imagine the world if we could all follow those rules.
If you would like to request an appointment, contact me at debianson@therapymatters.net
