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5.0 out of 5 stars
Straight to the heart, January 18, 2005
"The very best translation of the Bible" (I enjoy saying this to friends ---- always pausing for dramatic effect) . . . "is the one you pick up and actually READ every day."
By my own standard then, I'd have to say this is my second-favorite book. Published at the time of Henri Nouwen's death in 1997, it is almost without peer. There is one other that may be as good: Mother Teresa's book of 365 daily meditations, "The Joy in Loving" published the same year. Yet, Nouwen's "Bread for the Journey" may appeal to an even wider audience --- for reasons that become evident the moment you open it anywhere.
Well, we're only as good as our latest work . . . so why not start literally with 'yesterday, today and tomorrow.' You'll find each reflection interlocks with the previous one, and each is barely 100 words. Just see if these thoughts don't speak to your heart . . .
(Yesterday, January 17) -- BE YOURSELF
Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly to others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty, ashamed or jealous. It is very important to realize that our vocation is hidden where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what no one else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now.
We will never find our vocations by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others. We are good enough to do what we are called to do. Be yourself!
(Today, January 18) -- FINDING SOLITUDE
All human beings are alone. No other person will completely feel like we do, think like we do, act like we do. Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness. The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful; solitude is peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and create community.
Letting our aloneness grow into solitude and not into loneliness is a lifelong struggle. It requires conscious choices about whom to be with, what to study, how to pray, and when to ask for counsel. But wise choices will help us to find the solitude where our hearts can grow in love.
(Tomorrow, January 19 - CREATING SPACE TO DANCE TOGETHER
When we feel lonely we keep looking for a person or persons who can take our loneliness away. Our lonely hearts cry out, "Please hold me, touch me, speak to me, pay attention to me." But soon we discover that the person we expect to take our loneliness away cannot give us what we ask for. Often that person feels oppressed by our demands and runs away, leaving us in despair. As long as we approach another person from our loneliness, no mature human relationship can develop. Clinging to one another in loneliness is suffocating and eventually becomes destructive. For love to be possible we need the courage to create space between us and to trust that this space allows us to dance together.
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