Skip to main content

Morning of Expectations

 

            Many of us like typologies or stereotypes, as we often call them.  For example, some of us claim to be introverts and others clearly are extraverts.  I belong to the former introvert category.  Of course, most of us have a touch of both within ourselves.  But one tends to be the dominant type.  Being an introvert means that most of us need some time by ourselves to recharge our batteries.  I know that I need some regular time alone.  I like being with people, but at some point I look for some solitude.  Extraverts are different.  Being with people charges their batteries.

            Another, less scientific typology is the morning vs. night person.  Again, I feel very clear that I am naturally a morning person.  Maybe that is due, in part, to growing up on a farm---a dairy farm no less.  But I have always favored the morning hours.  Even when I don’t have to get up early, it is difficult for me to stay in bed.  Once I wake up, I am ready to hit the floor and get going.  Of course, the other end of that spectrum is my preference for bed much sooner than any night person would contemplate.  I know; I have lived in a house filled with night people.

            One of the favorite parts of the day for me is the early morning hour when I can be by myself.  I am happy to be up at an early hour and just as happy to be by myself.  I could be social at this hour, but it is nice not to have to be.  Being a morning person leads me to think about it in spiritual terms.  At first, my mind goes to the Liturgy of the Hours, as monks label it.  This simply means the prayer schedule with which monks structure their day.

            The Abbey of Gethsemani, where Thomas Merton lived and about whom I have much to say, begins their day at 3:15 in the morning!  Appropriately, they call this particular gathering Vigil, which means, “keeping watch.”  Intentionally, they precede the day---they go before the emerging daylight of a new day.  When I am at Gethsemani, I participate in all the Liturgy of the Hours.  There is something strange about getting up and “going to church” at 3:15am!  But I realize it is only strange if it is not part of your routine.

            I like this because it puts a premium on the morning.  Effectively, there are no night persons at a monastery like this.  They simply could not function very long on so little sleep.  What must be true is some night people have been called to this way of life and have had to adapt.  For me it was close to my preference and would only require slight adjustment to get up a little earlier than I usually do.  I could do it.

            I admit that I don’t normally get up and immediately go to church.  Rather I get up and go for that first cup of coffee and daily newspaper.  Instead of beginning with spirituality, I start with sports!  On second thought, however, I realize it is not quite as crass as I make it sound.  Instead of making coffee and having a paper delivered to my front door, each morning I walk to a local store and buy a cup of coffee and the paper.

            This tends to be a meditative walk for me.  I don’t drive.  If it is raining or snowing, I dress appropriately and head out for the trek.  I like being outside in the weather.  It is what it is.  Being on the outside is to be in God’s world.  It is not artificially heated or cooled.  I love the stars when they are out.  A walk when there is a full moon is splendidly spiritual.  I have a chance to be quiet and to be thankful.  The only one around is God, so God gets thanked!

            To awaken into the morning is to be gifted with a new day.  For me this means a day with some hope.  And just as importantly, it is a day with expectations.  I try to frame my expectations in a spiritual way.  Of course, there are routine expectations, such as having breakfast, etc.  But I also create spiritual expectations.  Let me enumerate a few.

            I expect to be involved in some meaningful and purposeful activities.  I don’t want to waste my time; that would be a waste of a divine gift.  It is not necessary to be successful if my life is meaningful and purposeful.  So many signs of success are fleeting or superficial.  Too often, they are nothing more than ego-boosters.  But meaning and purpose typically are more transcendent.  They go beyond my ego.

            I expect to be involved with some interesting people.  Some days I know much of my interaction with be with people I already know---friends, students, etc.  But I expect each new day and each new interaction can be special.  I don’t want to take people for granted.  I want to be open.  I want to be willing to be surprised by someone’s growth in a way I had not seen coming.  I also want to be open to serendipity.  Maybe I will meet someone new.  I don’t want to plan everything!

            Expectations are not the same thing as a guarantee.  Expectations are a form of hope.  I might be fairly confident I know that what I expect to be true will be true.  But an expectation is always a future event.  Expectations are like the morning.  You have it, but you are not sure what will happen.  You have to live into it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I-Thou Relationships

Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber.   I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s.   It was already a famous book by then.   I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it.   It has been a while since I looked at the book.             Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks?   I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece.   I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation.   I wish more people read him and took him seriously.           ...
13 comments
Read more

Spiritual Commitment

I was reading along in a very nice little book and hit these lines about commitment.   The author, Mitch Albom, uses the voice of one of the main characters of his nonfiction book about faith to reflect on commitment.   The voice belongs to Albom’s old rabbi of the Jewish synagogue where he went until his college days.   The old rabbi, Albert Lewis, says “the word ‘commitment’ has lost its meaning.”    The rabbi continues in a way that surely would have many people saying, “Amen!”   About commitment he says, “I’m old enough when it used to be a positive.   A committed person was someone to be admired.   He was loyal and steady.   Now a commitment is something you avoid.   You don’t want to tie yourself down.”   I also think I am old enough to know that commitment was usually a positive word.   I can think of a range of situations in which commitment would have been seen to be positive.   For example, growing up was f...
20 comments
Read more

Inward Journey and Outward Pilgrimage

There are so many different ways to think about the spiritual life.   And of course, in our country there are so many different variations of religious experiences.   There are liberals and conservatives.   There are fundamentalists and Pentecostals.   Besides the dizzying variety of Christian traditions, there are many different non-Christian traditions.   There are the major traditions, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so on.   There are the slightly more obscure traditions, such as Sikhism, Jainism, etc.   And then there are more fringe groups and, even, pseudo-religions.   There are defining doctrines and religious practices.   Some of these are specific to a particular tradition or a few traditions, such as the koan , which is used in Zen Buddhism for example.   Other defining doctrines or practices are common across the religious board.   Something like meditation would be a good example.   Christians meditate;...
10 comments
Read more