Classroom Reflection 10/3/07

Anna Hemphill

The week of October 1, we talked about symbols (the Mother Earth symbol of labrynth as emergence). We also talked about how man reads the sacred on the world. We experience the sacred, but as soon as we reflect on it and tell someone else about it, we "read it on the world." I guess we impose our worldly perspective on a spiritual/supernatural experience. It's interesting that the operative of that idea is "read," which might imply some sort of written language. I think we are more prone today in our society to analyze spiritual experiences while they're happening instead surrendering ourselves over to it. To be fully involved in the sacred, you can't realize you're having it; once you realize your experience, you're no longer in it. But we are bombarded with so many stimuli now, it's difficult to release our minds and give in to sacred experience.

One concept that we talked about on Wednesday (10-3) really impacted me. It's the idea that we can "become a walking prayer." As a physical metaphor, we are a bridge between the earth and the heavens - our feet are on the ground and we are upright toward the sky. But spiritually, we are a walking prayer in our peacefullness and love of the life around us. Though it's nearly impossible, I try to be a "walking prayer" every day - to love the people I come into contact with, to be ever meditative and focused on God. My mother is the greatest example of this I know. She is a beautiful woman, and she is always growing in her ways of reaching out to people. One literal example of how she practices being a "walking prayer" is in her exercise routine. She runs the same route through town everyday, and at each point in the run she is praying for someone or something very specific. She runs by the elementary school and prays for the children, she runs by the nursing home and prays for the people living there, she runs by the creek and prays for the beautiful nature God has created, she runs by certain houses and prays for lonely people. It is a way of acting out prayer, and she stays mindful of humanity as she exerts her body in a positive way.

There are many ways we can be a "walking prayer." As Saint Francis said: preach the Gospel always; when necessary use words. We can be peacemakers simply in our treatment of every person we meet. We can bridge the gaps between people as we bridge the gap between earth and cosmos.