Guests, Gifts, and a Simple Path

Guests and Gifts

I enjoy having guests at the table. A great way to gain insights about others and yourself is to simply spend time together. This week I spent time with the enneagram who brought a surprise guest, Chris Heuertz. I also spent time with worthiness who also brought a guest in Brene Brown. It was a pleasure to spend time with these four and I was grateful for the three gifts they brought. I’ve had these gifts before, but it never hurts to have a second serving. The gifts were Solitude, Silence, and Stillness. My guests and their gifts were welcome company this week at the table.

The Power 3 and Mother T

Solitude, silence, and stillness were treasured gifts, and spending time with these gifts reminded me of a previous guest who shared time at my table. I love my weekly literary guests, and I cherish our time together. I soak up their wisdom and am grateful for their company. I love them all, but it's hard to top Mother Teresa. Earlier I read her book, A Simple Path, and as I flip through my copy of this book, I’m struck by the number of underlined passages and notes in the columns. This book had an impressive highlight reel of quotes and thoughts, but the message was the power of silence.

A Second Simple Serving of Silence

I invited Mother T back for another visit. This time, she came clothed in the pages of Meditations from a Simple Path. Yes, I can hear you now, “Hey, wait a minute. This is just a book of excerpts from A Simple Path. It’s the same book!” And maybe so, bust instead of thinking that we’re here eating left-overs, I think of it as having a second helping. It’s still just as good as the first round. It’s still nourishing my soul. So I’m giving myself permission to head back to the table with another serving of A Simple Path.

Some Fruit to Chew On

Today, I’m going to share a simple gift of a simple passage. You have likely received this gift before, but today I ask that you chew on this fruit a little more slowly. Savor it. Sit with it in silence. We’re all just sitting here at the table. You, me, and Mother T. We don’t have to talk, let’s just enjoy our time together in silence. If we do it right, it just may lead to peace. And that seems like a pretty nice path to follow.

The Simple Path

The fruit of silence is PRAYER.

The fruit of prayer is FAITH.

The fruit of faith is LOVE.

The fruit of love is SERVICE

The fruit of service is PEACE

Mother Teresa