How do we find what is already there?

How do we find what is already there?

Mrs. Abstract ad I stayed overnight with our son and his family on Christmas eve. Following day (Merry Christmas) , we hiked a fairly steep hill near their house.

view from the ridge

2 days later I walked to Napa River which usually takes me slightly more than an hour since I detour to a nearby shopping center on coming back.

a path to Napa River

Not that far anymore (New Year), I thought I should start a walk to the river as a daily health resolution. I don’t have to discover a trail and don’t have to drive somewhere.The walk will be a prayer, a time for solitude, for reflection.

It’s not just a health promise but a corollary to a daily quest, finding God. Richard Rohr (https://cac.org/richard-rohr) writes: “Both God’s truest identity and our own True Self are Love. So why isn’t it obvious? How do we find what is supposedly already there? Why should we need to awaken our deepest and most profound selves? And how do we do it? By praying and meditating? By more silence, solitude, and sacraments? Yes to all of the above, but the most important way is to live and fully accept our present reality. As James Finley says, ‘The greatest teacher of God’s presence in our life is our life.’  And Richard Rohr adds: “But the edges of our lives–fully experienced suffered, and enjoyed–lead us back to the center and the essence, which is Love.”

To be healthy in all fronts is not just devotion but faithfulness.