Day 169, Evening
Today’s evening meditation is available below in audio and script formats. The audio version is also available for free download on the player.
Reading
“A conscious relationship is one that calls forth who you really are. Regarding relationship as a vehicle or path that can help two people access the powerful qualities of their true nature provides the new vision our age so urgently needs.”
—John Welwood
Commentary
Instead of looking to a relationship for shelter, we could welcome its power to wake us up in areas of life where we are asleep and where we avoid naked, direct contact with life. This approach puts us on a path. It commits us to movement and change, providing forward direction by showing us exactly where we most need to grow. Embracing relationship as a path also gives us a practice: learning to use each difficulty along the way as an opportunity to go further, to connect more deeply, not just with our partner, but with our own aliveness as well.
By contrast, dreaming that love will save us, solve all our problems or provide a steady state of bliss or security only keeps us stuck in wishful fantasy, undermining the real power of love—which is to transform us. For our relationships to flourish, we need to see them in a new way—as a series of opportunities for developing greater awareness, discovering deeper truth, and becoming more fully human. (CAC)
Stillness
As your day draws to a close, spend a few moments in silence and stillness.
Prayer
• for the relationships in your life
• for the peace and well-being of our communities
• for those who work in the field of counseling
Abbreviations
BC The Belgic Confession
CAC The Center For Action & Contemplation
CD The Canons of Dort
CIB Church In Bethesda Prayers
HC The Heidelberg Catechism
NT The New Testament
OT The Old Testament
RP - Ryan Phipps
WC The Westminster Confession
WLB Words To Live By
WLC The Westminster Larger Catechism
WSC The Westminster Shorter Catechism