But now you will ask me, “How am I to think of God himself, and what is he?” and I cannot answer you except to say, “I do not know.”

— The Cloud of Unknowing

Greetings, Inspired Seekers!

Here we are at the beginning of a new year and a new decade! These are exciting — and demanding — times for all of us, but we are spiritually ready for them. Or, are we?

If you are like many of us, the past year has held both triumphs and joys alongside sufferings and heartaches. We are creatures composed of opposites. Sometimes those opposites are held in place by beliefs that no longer serve, even as they are firmly imprinted upon us. Yes, those things we think we know often imprison our hearts and souls. The more time I get to spend on this planet, the more I come to understand that “We don't know what we don't know.” And yet, we cling. Some of those clingy thoughts are our beliefs about God.

St. Augustine wrote, “If you comprehend it, it is not God.” Lao Tsu said, “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.” Both of these spiritual leaders understood what so many of us struggle with — if we think we know God, it's not God that we really know.

We are so terribly limited by our human thoughts and language that we mistakenly believe we KNOW — in capital letters — the truth. The mystics of the faiths of the earth understood this and saw beyond words; they knew, in their souls, the bigness of the Creator. They felt the expanse of the holy universe and the interbeing of life. For them, this idea of interconnectedness and of “unknowing” flowed easily.

And so, dear readers, as we prepare for a new decade and the next step on our spiritual paths, perhaps we might engage the idea of interbeing and unknowing a bit more willingly. And perhaps, in that internal struggle, there will be great reward.

Happy Grace-filled New Year!
Reverend Deborah

Monthly Affirmation: I don't know what I don't know. And that teaches me!

If 2020 brings rites of passage and sacred celebrations, consider a personally crafted ceremony that reflects your beliefs and your life. GraceMatters@TheSpaceForGrace.com or 215 260 1611.