Excerpt from a message by Doug Bennett at Durham Friends Meeting, October 27, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot of the time I\u2019m pretty taken with myself. I admit that. \nI know that. Many days, maybe\nmost days, I can float on a river of \u201cme-ness.\u201d \nI\u2019m in \u201cme-land\u201d much of the time. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s my concerns I\u2019m thinking about; my needs, my wants, my\nworries, my hopes, my pleasures, my pains. \nMe Me Me Me Me Me Me. There\u2019s a\nlot of me in my world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I may be worse in this regard than most people. I don\u2019t really know, but maybe. I certainly don\u2019t think I\u2019m better at getting\naway from me-land than most people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, I do notice that most other people most of the time are\nwondering around in me-land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can be a comfortable place to be, even when I\u2019m annoyed or\nunhappy about something. I\u2019m the most\nimportant person in me-land. What I want\nis the most important thing. My thoughts\nare the ones I want to hear \u2013 and often the ones I want others to hear. My hurts, my pains are the ones that seem to\nmost need attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How about you? Are you\nnumber one in your feelings and thoughts most of the time? Are you in Me-land\nmuch of the time? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t believe I\u2019ll ever fully escape Me-land, but I think I\u2019m\nbetter for getting out as often as I can. I know I\u2019m going to wind up back in\nMe-land but I don\u2019t give up trying to escape. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where\u2019s the door? Where\u2019s\nthe pathway out? Where\u2019s the secret\ntunnel or hidden stairway? How do I get\noutside of Me-land? How does\nanyone? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, I\u2019ve come to think there may be many ways to\nescape. Some work better for some\npeople; some work better for others. (Number\n6 found a different way to try in each episode of The Prisoner.) If you want to escape and are willing to\ntry, you have to find the way or the ways that work for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s one way that works for me \u2013 one pathway: waiting worship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Meeting for Worship, I try to lay down all the Me-ness. I try to quiet the voices in my head that I\nknow are \u201cme\u201d voices. I try to lay aside\nthe voices that are talking about my wants, my needs, my hopes, my concerns,\nand see if I can hear another voice \u2013 let\u2019s call it the voice of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is it really God\u2019s voice? \n(How do I know who or what God is? I don\u2019t know. That\u2019s \u2018beyond me.\u2019) All I know is that sometimes I can find\nanother voice, and it\u2019s not mine. It\u2019s a\nvoice \u2018beyond me.\u2019 It\u2019s more than\nme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making friends with that voice is important to me. Making friends with that voice settles me,\nmakes me more aware. Makes me (I think)\na better person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a voice that connects me. \nIt connects me to \u2018whoever-that-voice-is\u2019 (call it God or Spirit or\nLight). But it also connects me to other\npeople. It helps me know them better \u2013\nand in a way that\u2019s less colored by \u201cme-ness.\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you have someone in your life who really knows you well? Who\u2019s honest with you, always, but always\ntells you things in a really tender and loving way? I hope so. \n(Actually, I\u2019m pretty sure you do.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s great if that someone is another person: a partner, a child a\nfriend. That bond of knowing you well,\nthat connection, is love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there\u2019s something else, I believe, that can know each of us\nreally well \u2013 who loves us. That\u2019s the\nvoice of God I seek in worship. That\u2019s\nthe voice we seek together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the connection that voice makes with us is love. Love: that\u2019s what\u2019s \u201cbeyond me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The entire message<\/a> can be found at Doug’s blog, River View Friend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Excerpt from a message by Doug Bennett at Durham Friends Meeting, October 27, 2019 A lot of the time I\u2019m pretty taken with myself. I admit that. I know that. Many days, maybe most days, I can float on a … Continue reading