Much of what we have known as “regular” life is up in the air these days. With so much isolation, many of us have been feeling the effects of a long term, pent up anxiety. We watch the news of explosive anger, violence, slander and bickering among our peers. We see more racism than reconciliation, more violence than victory, and more stress than sanity. COVID has us all guessing about what’s next and in need of some serious relief.
We need more than slogans like “stay positive” and “keep it real.” We need wisdom that has its roots deeply in the ground, we need to hear from people who’ve been through stuff like this before. We need ancient wisdom for anxious times. After all, we’re choking on information while we’re starving for wisdom.
We need to hear from someone who has the audacity to say things like this:
It’s okay that things are not fine. Carpe diem, anyway. Don’t worry about it, whatever will be will be. Find some friends to go through hard things, you can’t do it alone. While you’re busy figuring out how to buy food and pay rent, make sure you don’t let your soul starve. What was will be again, what happened will happen again.
Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody’ll remember them either. Let go and live. (from Ecclesiastes “The Message” translation)
These are the things I’ve picked up from reading and writing songs about ancient wisdom. Before being introduced to the sages of old in seminary, I was previously unaware of Wisdom’s secrets. As I studied the Wisdom of many traditions, I began to see that beneath all the layers of do’s and don’ts that we’ve packed into our spiritual and religious traditions, there is a water table of cool, refreshing, thirst quenching wisdom. Just waiting to be discovered especially in times like these. Wisdom was made for times that feel like the end of the world. Wisdom’s got this.
“Out beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing, there is a field, I’ll meet you there.” –Rumi, 13th Century Sufi Poet
Maybe one doesn’t go looking for Wisdom, maybe it just finds you after you’ve thoroughly exhausted every other possible answer to the existential dread we all feel inside. For me, it happened a few years after that life altering experience known as divorce. I headed to seminary and was introduced to the wisdom literature of the world, including the books found in our very own Old Testament.
Wisdom is not something we really notice that much, but it’s been with us along. Calling out to us in the voices of ancient grandmothers, storytellers and poets of old. Telling us not to fret, it’s okay that things are not fine. Giving us honesty over politically motivated speech. Wisdom doesn’t dish up easy answers, but calls us to get rooted in something greater than ourselves and stop chasing the wind, for God’s sake.
Wisdom literature comes to us from many traditions, it’s timeless. It’s something that we all have in common, it’s built into us, it comes with the whole “created in the image of God” thing. But we need to cultivate it in order to experience its fruits. It can ground us in difficult times, show us how to live through anxiety and fear and even enable us to continue to bear fruit during times of drought.
It helps us to be still long enough to cultivate peace, even in the midst of unsettled issues. Wisdom teaches us how to trust God for the next right thing to be revealed.
It’s exactly what we need to get through COVID.
Rumi, a Sufi poet from the 13th century said: “perhaps you are searching among the branches for what can only be found at the roots.” I invite you to consider that this COVID chasm, this time of great change might be the one time when you can truly listen to the roots of wisdom calling.
We hear from the sages of old, reminding us that “this too shall pass.” COVID has pulled back a few layers and exposed us to our vulnerability. As we work through what that means, it’s good to take some advice from ancient wisdom, to find something at the roots of us, at the core of our collective humanity, something that connects us all.
Here are a few takeaways from Ecclesiastes, one of the Wisdom books of the Old Testament. If you’d like to explore some of the voices of ancient wisdom traditions and learn how to apply them to your every-day life, join me for an upcoming workshop “Kiss the Ground: Finding Peace in a Chaotic World” (see below) There’ll be music, laughter, some aha moments, new friends and some creative wisdom to take with you in a special gift from me. So don’t go crazy, get grounded!
From the Quester in Ecclesiastes:
- Don’t Worry About It
What was will be again, what happened will happen again.
Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story. Nobody remembers what happened yesterday. And the things that will happen tomorrow? Nobody’ll remember them either. Don’t count on being remembered. ...
- You Can’t Do It Alone
By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.
- Carpe Diem, Anyway!
Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,
Drink wine with a robust heart.
Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Dress festively every morning.
Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love
Each and every day of your precarious life.
Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange
For the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!
Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!
This is your last and only chance at it.
- Don’t Let Your Soul Go Hungry
We work to feed our appetites;
Meanwhile our souls go hungry.
Join me for this online workshop on Aug 2nd. Just click the image above to register. Participants will experience the voices of ancient wisdom from various world traditions including poetry from Rumi, Hafiz, Ecclesiastes, and even some ancient Egyptian wisdom poetry. Learning how to let this ancient wisdom flow into our modern lives in anxious times. With registration, participants will be given a link to download music and a PDF with creative journaling prompts and highlighted wisdom poetry that will form the content for this workshop. Participants can use this material in every day lives, creating a habit of visiting ancient wisdom and becoming rooted in that which is greater than ourselves.
Sherry received a grant from the Louisville Institute to study Wisdom traditions from around the world and channel them into modern songs. She created “Kiss the Ground,” a beautiful CD full of wisdom from the sages of old. These songs, curated from Wisdom traditions in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Egyptian and Native American spirituality act as guides through difficult topics. The workshop will cover the topics of the sages including: loneliness, finding purpose in a meaningless world, love, death, and entering into a dialogue with creation.