Friday, July 20, 2018

Life in the Grip of God

I am nearing the end of my career. Just a few more days and I will quit my job, take my savings and fund a life of spirituality and service. The compensation won't be monetary, at least at first. The people I work with have not understood why this is happening at all. Why would anyone quit a six figure job at such an early age? Dreams are hard to carry out, why give up the surety of a salary and company health insurance?

I haven't been able to explain because my spiritual reality does not really overlap with the corporate reality of which these people are a part.

This is not the first time in my life when I pursued a spiritual life as my only work. At the age of 40, I also quit my job, gave away everything, and went off to live in a monastery.

Walt Whitman does an admirable job of explaining why I do this:

"Well, every man has a religion; has something in heaven or earth which he will give up everything else for -- something which absorbs him -- which may be regarded by others as being useless -- yet it is his dream, it is his lodestar, it is his master. That, whatever it is, seized upon me, made me its servant, slave -- induced me to set aside the other ambitions -- a trail of glory in the heavens, which I followed, followed with a full heart....When once I was convinced, I never let go....  "

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have shown me the path of life... Psalm 16:11

Shannon said...

Beautiful and eloquent. Fully surrounded. I feel you friend. Carry on...

Unknown said...

Beautiful. Not always something the status quo understands.
Complete understanding here as my sled dogs and their happiness is my life. It is not a life of wealth and "things", it is a life of poverty as everything I take in goes to the dogs' care and well being. Whatever is left is what I live on. Yet it is the most fulfilling and rewarding life I have ever known and I cannot imagine living any other way.