This week I received a Hi Judith message that said, “We’ve loved being your website partner for the last 7 years. Here’s to the next 7”, their courteous reminder that my annual WordPress fee was due. It has also reminded me that I’ve been standing on the Edge for many weeks, without writing a word.
The number seven plays a big part n everyday life, from Sunday through to Saturday and the seven colours of the rainbow, always a show stopper as they arch across the sky. Grass Grows by Itself, by Melbourne writer Elizabeth Cain, introduced me to the energy that ‘gathers and intensifies in seven centres in the human body’, known as Chakras. And if you ever had music lessons you’ll remember that the number seven forms the basis of Western music scales. Then there’s that wonderful sentence in the opening chapters of the Bible; “On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all his work of creating”.
References to the number seven are not particular to Judaism and Christianity. The number seven has spiritual significance for religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. Catholics and some other Christian denominations have actions, or rituals known as sacraments, seven of which, Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation (or Confession or Penance), the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony, have a birth to death personal relationship with God’s love, healing, forgiveness, nourishment and strengthening .
My life is back-dropped by my Catholic upbringing and for many years I assumed that spirituality was a one-size-fits-all, practices involving religious pictures, feast days and repetitive and formal prayer cycles. As I’ve aged I’ve come to understand that Christian spirituality actually flourishes in pockets of space. Those in-between gaps -watching the jug boil, waiting at the traffic lights or taking the dog for a walk. God is in the gaps, patiently waiting to visit with us, giving us the opportunity to scratch beneath the surface of our reality and see what wisdom or riches lie there.
Saying “I am spiritual is an affirmation, whether we name it Karma or the Universe, Yahweh, Giai, Lord God or dear God, we are touching into God. It’s recognisable when you are overtaken by an experience that goes beyond the mundane and hints at the inexplicable. Words from the Edge is my now- and- again wordy dip into the relationship we all have with God, something we recognise a as spirituality.
Writing things down is the way I find my way to God. Words from the Edge is not about religion, however important religion may be to the development of spirituality, but it’s about what’s happening in the world, questions that beg for answers, about everyday life and issues that have emerged in my life, and perhaps even in yours. Joan Chittister says that “we can only become spiritual adults when we go beyond the answers, beyond the fear of uncertainty, to that great encompassing mystery of life that is God.”
Write back to me if you feel the urge to respond, or when Words from the Edge has given you something to talk about but no one to talk to, consider sharing it on-line with a friend – or a group.
Peace be with you, wherever you may be.
Judith Judith@judithscully.com.au
Words From The Edge 