By Sr. Sara Dwyer, ASC
A kaleidoscope meaning of holiness conveys the beauty of ever-changing perspectives, endless possibilities, and continuous evolution. As one lives, intricate patterns of relationships and experiences can unfold with the light of understanding and integration, creating a meaningful, interconnected existence. It is a never-ending quest; an adventure, not a destination.
As with a kaleidoscope, the fragments of our lives can look messy or ill-timed, but with a simple twist, a change in perspective, we see differently. When we can trust our experiences to assist us in an evolving process, we allow power and grace to form an authentic and grounded embodiment of our whole self — our True Self.
A quote from Dag Hammarskjold, a UN Secretary General (1953-1961) was my entry point, even though I didn’t know it at the time, on a journey of grappling with spirituality and holiness. This is his quote in Markings: I don’t know Who, or what, put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone, or Something, and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal.
The “goal” has continued to evolve, and there have been multiple encounters, some chosen, some not; some that were scarring, some that were healing; some found in darkness, some in the light. The journey included, includes, an eclectic mix of people, backgrounds, and perspectives, all challenging and comforting in a kaleidoscope called ‘the inner life.’
The “Who” has unfolded from an old man in the sky, with mostly a bag of judgments and punishments, through a nature-based Creator offering abundant life to a still-expanding encounter with Mystery — a Divine energy within me, within everyone, and every aspect of creation.
My consciousness still awakens me to the interdependent nature of all life. As my experiences deepen my appropriation of Mystery, of Oneness with the Earth, the cosmos, and myinner world, there is a renewed appreciation for my existence in community with all that is!
I feel this quote from Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Marie Rilke clearly reflects an authentic spirituality with a kaleidoscope theme: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves… live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
Retreats offer a person an opportunity to ‘be patient toward all that is unsolved’ and, at the same time, to ‘live along some distant day into the answer.’ This is a kaleidoscope process.
Each person creates their own kaleidoscope of holiness, with their unique times of light and dark, as they continue ‘seeking an authentic spirituality.’
For more from Sr. Sara Dwyer, ASC:
https://bonsecoursrcc.org/event/a-kaleidoscope-of-holiness-seeking-an-authentic-spirituality/