Start Where You Are
When being asked for directions to a far distant location that cannot be accessed without extensive and complicated directions, there is an old Maine saying, namely “You can’t get there from here.” Initially, we may laugh at this quip, but in reality, there is a lot of truth in the phrase.
When we initially think about getting from here to there, we are focused on the travel between the two locations. In particular, we are very focused on getting to our destination, i.e. the proverbial “there.” However, this old Maine saying offers a unique perspective. Before we can start forward movement, we have to ask ourselves a question about whether or not we starting at the right place, i.e. the proverbial “here.” From my experience, we do not spend enough time thinking about where we are.
When living in chaotic times, most people look at what is happening around them and within themselves, and then want things to be different. They want change to happen, and for us to move to a new and better place, i.e. a better “there.” In particular, they want the new “there” to feel less chaotic, inside and outside.
Yet, as reflect on this desire, I am reminded of an old saying by American spiritual teacher and psychologist, Baba Ram Dass, who shared many years ago: “Where ever you go, there you are.” In simple terms, we take ourself, including our problems and baggage, with us where ever we go.
Translating Baba Ram Dass’s insight into our current situation of living in chaotic times, we must recognize that if start from a dysfunctional and misaligned “here,” we will only carry our confusion and lack of clarity to the new place called “there.” Thus, the old Maine saying of “You can’t get there from here” holds a greater depth and holistic understanding about where we need to start from in our journey to a new and better place.
Furthermore, by choosing to not start the journey to “there” from the wrong place, i.e. the wrong “here,” we are committing to creating a better “here” from which we can move toward a better “there.” For we all know that if we change the current “here” into a safe, relational space where confidence, clarity, connection, and collaboration all come together at the individual and group levels, namely between people and within people, then the inter-dynamics of being here will generate a new and transformative there that is not defined by chaos, but instead is defined by respectful unity and understanding, which are the building blocks for healthy community living.
See The Mystery; Receive The Grace
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is,” wrote American author, minister and theologian, Frederick Buechner. “In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”
When living in chaotic times, we have important choices to make. First, we must listen to our hearts, and reclaim our imagination. Next, we must choose community over chaos, and we must seek and tune into inner stillness. Finally, we must start where we are, and build a better here before focusing on a distant there.
When we do the combination of all these choices, we discover the small blessings and transformational moments within each and every day. We come to the same understanding that Rumi, the 13th century, Sufi poet and Islamic scholar, discovered, namely “There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” We, too, can recognize that there are a thousand ways to experience and count our blessings. For when we do this, we see the mystery and receive the grace that is always present around us and within us, no matter how chaotic these times have become.
© Geery Howe 2024
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