Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!
This is a classic question that daily bedevils the person who feels lost or afraid or trapped or wonders what the right thing might be, whatever it is—that sense of wanting to know what one is supposed to do in the moment—is asked of priests in churches, gurus on mountaintops, parents in kitchens all over the world and throughout time and what we are often really asking are two very specific forms of this question:
- Is there an objective thing for me to do—a way to go or action to take—that can solve my confusion right now?
- As someone I trust who may have insight on this important dilemma I am having, what can you say that can help me understand what to do right now?
And the proper answer is something like “probably not”. But there are useful approaches that get us closer to it. One of the popular articulations of that is to do “the next right thing.” Which doesn’t tell you what to do, but rightly implies that you do know what is right. And getting hold of what is right helps you understand the way to go in a moment.
I’ll be asking this question and leading us through a short exercise this Sunday at our monthly Rector’s Forum after the 10:00 service. I hope you join us!
With love,
Drew