Gut Check: Writing Straight with Crooked Lines

(Note:  I’ll continue on with the Blue Monday series later, but this post seemed more timely.)

As I mentioned in my first post of 2013, words only have power if they inspire actions – and I include new ways of thinking as an action.  One of my 3 words for 2013 was guts, and it’s the word that has been most on my mind recently.  2012 presented a few more challenges than perhaps anyone had anticipated, but the darkness of struggle and suffering is the most fertile ground for seeds of hope to take root. 

Some years ago I heard a quote while on retreat that has become a mantra of sorts for me this past year.  I believe the author is Thomas Merton, and it is simply this: “God writes straight with crooked lines.”  This simple phrase has taken new meaning at various stages over the past year.  Each time it seems that I’ve arrived at a new understanding something unexpected brings me to a deeper appreciation of the sentiment. 

From my perspective, this phrase embodies the idea of guts.  Faith takes courage.  If we are to have faith in God, in life, in ourselves, and each other we must have the guts to live.  We must acknowledge that life happens, and events unfold that are out of our immediate control.  Then the idea that we cannot always see around the corners on our path (the crooked lines) becomes easier to accept.  Once we accept that there are twists and turns in our road, it becomes a little bit easier to understand that despite our fears there is forward motion. 

That’s why life is about the journey.  That’s why life is a process to be experienced.  It is through that process, as Bruce Lee explains, that we learn and grow.  “Since life is an ever-evolving process, one should flow in this process and discover how to actualize and expand oneself.”  And that’s the point - growth.

Real growth takes guts. 

Guts to take risks.

Guts to have faith.

Guts to act despite our fears.

When we have the guts to live, we become open to good things, unexpected things – and there we often find joy. 

As Lent comes to an end; as we move forward along our path; as we encounter new people and experiences – let us all recommit to having the guts to live our lives, to have faith in the goodness of one another, and appreciate the crooked lines.