Lately I have been aware of and grateful for the people who
go with life’s flow instead of creating blockages by resisting change. Within
the past year a number of sisters have gracefully transitioned from full-time
to part-time work, retired altogether, moved from missions to the monastery,
and moved from the monastery to Dooley Center. As Karen Casey and Martha
Vanceburg say in their book The Promise
of a New Day, “When we try to hang on to … any part of life, we impede the
natural flow. To be in harmony, we must let go. It’s human to want to hold on
to what’s precious. But life’s real treasure is found in achieving the rhythm
of ebb and flow.”
As I’ve been studying the monastic vows, it is clear that “conversatio
morum”—fidelity to the monastic way of life and continually being open to
conversion—will be a lifelong challenge. However, it’s also clear that accepting
change gracefully is one of the life-giving fruits of that fidelity, contributing to peace and harmony not just for ourselves but for others.
As a friend from Shantivanam, Fr. Tom O’Brien, used to say, “Blessed
are the flexible, for they won’t be bent out of shape!”
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