Pacing the cage...

Someone has said that Bruce Cockburn's "Pacing the Cage" is the music of a mature man: damn straight! He speaks of trying so hard... and failing over and over again. And he says it with beauty, grace and even a little humility.

This morning in prayer I read the words: Once a seeker came to the ancient elder and asked, "What can I do to make myself Enlightened?" And the Holy One sat quietly and then answered, "As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning?" The surprised disciple asked, "Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you have taught us?" To which the elder replied, "To make sure that you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise."

"There is NO escape from life," writes Joan Chittister, "only a chance to confront it, day after day in all its sanctifying tedium and blessed boredom and glorious agitation... at any given moment of our lives." And so it goes...

NOTE: a recent posting was recently picked up by my Internet buddy, Trevor, over at ROCK OM. Check it out - it is a wonderful resource for this quest of spirit and music and how they advance our maturing in humility and hope: http://www.rockom.net/.
photo: dianne de mott