Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Strategic Monk

Home
Contemplative
Listening to Sacred Stillness: The Week at the End of the Year

Listening to Sacred Stillness: The Week at the End of the Year

Last updated on: December 27, 2017 at 6:33 am by Greg Richardson

Listening to Sacred Stillness: The Week at the End of the Year 2017-12-27T06:33:06-08:00 Greg Richardson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

164647732_8c9b3183d7_z

The Week at the End of the Year

This is it. The final week of 2017. The week at the end of the year.

There is still a little time left. Some of us are still stretching to try to reach the goals we set for ourselves this year. We may be fooling ourselves or we may have just enough left in us to complete our tasks.

In a few days we will reach the end of the year. Some of us are celebrating what we have accomplished and some are gathering strength for next year. We may take a well deserved break to rest or we may assess what we could do differently. Some of us will party on New Year’s Eve while others will be up early to see the parade.

For all of us 2017 will be finished and part of the past. There will be nothing more we can do to change it.

This may be an exhausting week for us, struggling to get where we want to be. It may be a week of relaxation between Christmas and New Year’s. This week could be the week that changes everything for us or just one more frustrating week.

Many of us see the end of the year as a goal line. It is as if we are running a race and trying to get to the finish line. The end of the year is measurable. We can review everyone’s performance based on the same deadline.

On the surface that is accurate. As I look more deeply, listening to sacred stillness, there is more. Not all of us are following the same path or using the same calendar.

For some of us the end of the year is already a new beginning.

When the End of the Year is the Beginning

We like to believe we can control what we can measure. It can be comforting to assume measuring time allows us to use it more efficiently.

Measuring time with all our various tools does not necessarily help us relate to it wisely. Our watches and calendars, our hours and days, weeks and months can get in the way.

We invest importance in our measurements of time and assume they have meaning.

There is nothing magic about the end of the year, or the month, or the week, or the day.

Nothing requires us to wait until next week or next month to begin.

I tend to be a fairly organized, focused person. When I was growing up I would make serious New Year’s resolutions and work to keep them. While I still believe in the values of setting goals and working toward them, I no longer need to wait.

We may believe we have valid, healthy reasons for delaying our new beginnings. There may be ways we hope to prepare before we start. We might want to make sure everything is lined up to help us succeed.

There is no reason not to begin today. We are waiting for nothing. Today is just as good a day to begin as next Monday. December may be an even better month to start than January.

We realize, as we begin, there is no difference between the end and the beginning. Each ending is a beginning. The end of the year, each year, is a beginning of the next.

As we take time to listen to sacred stillness we realize we have already begun. Stopping to listen is how we begin.

The Labyrinth of Each Moment, Each Day

One of the disciplines I practice as I listen to sacred stillness is walking a labyrinth.

A labyrinth is not a puzzle to solve or a challenge to meet. Traditional labyrinths follow a pattern which has three parts.

The first part is the journey inward. We start at the edge of the labyrinth and slowly, quietly make our way into it. It is a deliberate process of taking one step at a time. There is plenty of time for breathing, listening, and calming ourselves.

The second part of the labyrinth is spending time at the center. We stand or sit at the labyrinth’s center listening to sacred stillness.

The third part of our practice is the journey outward. We have listened and spent centered time and now return to a world waiting for us.

Each time we walk a labyrinth we learn and reflect on deep truths we hear in sacred stillness. We may recognize something on the journey in, in the center, or on the journey out. There are no rules about where the truths are waiting for us.

We may start walking on the edge of the labyrinth, but there is no beginning and no ending. Our journey in the world brings us to the edge of the labyrinth and continues as we walk away.

Each day, each moment of our everyday lives follows the same pattern as walking a labyrinth. We journey inward, spend time at the center, then journey back out into the world. When we are aware and listening we recognize and reflect on the deep truths of life.

Beginning at the End of the Year

The end of the year on the calendar is arbitrary. How we measure time does not determine whether we are at the beginning or at the end.

Even when we believe we are at the end it does not mean we are finished.

There is no rule we must complete things this week or begin them next week. The end of the year may be exactly the right time for us to begin something new.

We each have our reasons to avoid or delay starting something new. It may be reluctance or fear or fatigue. Now is the perfect time to look those reasons in the eye, deal with them, and begin.

We open our eyes and become aware there is no beginning and no end.

What beginnings does the end of the year bring to us this week?

How can what we complete this week be new beginnings for us today?

[Image by jack dorsey]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].

Blog

Sacred Stillness

Previous Post

December 23, 2017

Practices From the Inside Out: What is Christmas All About?

Next Post

December 28, 2017 Looking Back: 12 Questions For Deeper Reflection From 2017

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Book Reviews Everything Else Guest Posts Leadership Monastic Strategies Neighborhood Pilgrimages Sacred Stillness Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Work

Select a Month May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said: "I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John (the elder) Paul Peter James