Balancing Stability and Conversion

One of the paradoxes of Benedictine life is that we take a vow of stability (being rooted in one place) while seeking constant conversion (being open to change). Fortunately, teachers in this great balancing act are all around us, and their lessons are particularly striking in the season of autumn. I’m speaking, of course, of earth’s great gurus, the trees!

Trees spend a lifetime standing in the same spot, and yet we cannot deny that they are constantly changing; sap begins flowing in the spring, leaves sprout, photosynthesis occurs, winds bend branches, seeds ripen and fall to earth, water and nutrients are absorbed from the soil, birds and bugs and squirrels take up residence, leaves change color and flutter away, and bare branches are highlighted by ice and snow. Furthermore, although trees stay in place, interconnection with other beings occurs underground as spreading roots communicate with roots from other trees.

Like the trees, we do not need to move from place to place to awaken to the life within us. St. Benedict believed that being itinerant is a hindrance to the spiritual life because it is a means of escaping uncomfortable situations or truths about ourselves we would rather not face. When we choose to stay put and observe our long-held unconscious beliefs, attachments, aversions, coping mechanisms, and desires, we gain access to light and wisdom. As the trees know, participating in ongoing conversion leads to the good life, whether it is spring, summer, fall, or winter. May we join them in the great balancing act of stability and conversion!