One drop continually dripped wears away even the strongest stone.

Little strokes fell great oaks.

No one comes out of their mother’s womb hateful, racist, or evil.

More and more I’ve come to believe that to be a Christ-one—or minimally, a person of goodwill—calls us to connect the particular and the universal by tending to the sphere of our influence. It will no doubt appear anemic to the cynic, Pollyannaish to the crank, and piddlin’ poor and inconsequential to the avowed grouch, but anything more seems unrealistic, if not impossible, and anything less seems irresponsible, if not immoral. What am I getting at here?

Last week while I was offering spiritual direction, I guided some of my directees at the beginning of our session in a simple breath exercise. I invited them to breathe in what they most desire or deem good, healthy, or holy, and breathe out anything that feels toxic, maybe worry or resentment or anger or the temptation to be paralyzed by fear or drubbed by despair. But I also gave them the option on the out-breath to breathe out into the world—maybe to a specific person, loved one, or group, for example, the people suffering in Ukraine, or to a region on the planet where the environment is especially imperiled—a blessing of love or peace or goodness or hope.

One of my directees commented afterward that he had done similar practices before, but that he couldn’t recall ever being invited to use the out-breath for anything other than catharsis or expurgation. He had never reflected on and then released into the world something that was good or intended for good, some blessing or kindness or healing or breath of fresh air or wholeness needed by others.

We recall how after his resurrection, Jesus came and stood among his disciples who were hiding in a locked room in a dwelling. He said to them, “Peace be with you.” Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they realized it was Jesus. Seeing this, Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (Jn. 20:19-22) And in the second creation story in Genesis, the Creator forms the original creature from the dust and the ground (adam), and breathed into the earthling’s nostrils the breath of life; and the creature became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) So, what we put forth into the world, what we breathe onto others has a sacred precedent and an implied mandatum: Do as I have done.

We forget that the negativity, hostility, hate, evil, and destruction that are present in our world, for example, in the form of sexism, racism, white supremacy, homophobia, xenophobia, violent extremism, militarism, and ecocide—all actively cruel, corrosive, and lethal—begin when one person chooses to put out into the world by thought, word, or deed—not something that is good or beneficial or uplifting or kind-hearted or encouraging—but something that is self-serving, belittling, callous, unkind, prejudiced, fear-based, mean-spirited climbing toward brutal climbing toward horrific climbing toward inhuman climbing toward desecrating climbing toward deadly climbing toward blasphemy and betrayal of our humanity.

And then, like a leech, what that one person puts out toward another person and breathes into the world attaches to someone else who puts out similar negativity or venom that attaches to yet another person who puts out something equally or even more destructive until we wake up to a collectivity of cruelty that seemingly moves everywhere with the force of a malicious, callous tsunami. And it is easy to despair, to drown.

And I think wouldn’t the cynic and the unhappy bitter critic in the back pew and the monstrous dictator have a field day with what I am going to say next, namely, that the world would be a different place, a beatitudinal place, if each of us who were none of the above woke each morning and vowed consciously and intentionally to put out into the sphere of our influence, into our seemingly unremarkable day, in and through our thoughts, gestures, random encounters, words and conversations, spontaneous actions and deliberate deeds, what was good and thoughtful and kind and just and generous and hospitable and true and compassionate and lovely and worthy of praise?

And wouldn’t our spheres, our days, our world, our lives be better, be good, be enjoyable, be a blessing if these thoughts, gestures, words, and deeds attached to people with similar thoughts and words and actions that then attached to even more persons who thought and spoke and acted similarly until this wave of goodness, kindness, generosity, humaneness, love, and blessing became a bigger wave than the tsunami of hurt and horror and hell and drenched and drowned it until it was baptized into the belovedness of being human, the benediction of being alive, the boon of friendships, and the blessing of simple pleasures and the joyful mystery of enacting peace and spreading loving-kindness and enhancing life for the good of others, for the good of all the earth, to the glory of the One from whom all blessings flow?

And, of course, what makes it so difficult, is that it is so simple. If we could shirk the excuses and just do it. One life, one morning, one good intention, one vow, one good thought leading to one thoughtful gesture leading to one kind word leading to one not-so-random act of kindness leading to a beaded string of endless acts of love. Repeat.

May we each dare to think such a simple strategy, such a seemingly naive plan bound to evoke ridicule, such a counter-cultural pattern of living, such a doable Christ-like work of grace and graceless grit could turn the world around and point us in the right direction. May we dare daily to do the difficult simple. And until we form a critical mass of radical love to turn the tide, won’t it be a seditious delight to be mocked for appearing to have failed, for continually giving ourselves to something so good, so ridiculously common, but so noble and so beautiful and so deeply satisfying and so pleasing to Spirit?

THE ALMOND TREE ~ Pass it on.
Thank You.

© Dan Miller, 2022. All Rights Reserved.

♣ GOODPEOPLE ♣ HOW ABOUT YOU? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SPIRITUAL DIRECTION ONLINE? Would you benefit from having a trustworthy companion to listen with you to your yearnings, hopes, struggles, burning questions? Someone who will pay attention with you to your quiet desire to cultivate a life of spiritual depth and meaning as well as to the One from whom all wonder, joy, and blessings flow? I am offering spiritual direction online. If you, or someone you know, are interested in beginning or returning to spiritual guidance CLICK HERE where you will find both practical information and explanations of spiritual direction. I’d be honored to hear and hold your unfolding story.