It began, for me, with the reading Irina chose for our morning contemplative prayer group. Well, that is, the contemplative prayer group that happens for me in the morning, but as it is a Zoom group, it happens at many different times for the participants. Which is kind of wondrous in its own right, isn’t it? Our centering prayer group happens at the same time, and simultaneously at many different times, for the participants.

So what was this reading that so impacted me? Well, Irina told us it was from a book by Thomas Keating, and she told us the name of the book, and she promised to email the quote and reference to us – which is good because all other specifics are lost to me.

But this i do remember – the reading made me think that maybe if we did not capitalize the word “I”, maybe if it were always lower case, like me and you and us, like mine and yours and ours – maybe then we would find it easier to sometimes give up our preferences, our angers, our grievances and accept i as having no more – or less – importance than you. (And so i now have even more appreciation for the poetry of e.e. cummings.)

At that point i realized that i had just felt my own way around to the second great commandment, which is, we are told, like unto the first, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31).

And it seems to me that once i give up that isolated, over-powering “I”, then it is so much easier to know myself to be so much more than an isolated “I.” Lower case i is marvelously part, with you, of an uppercase Unity.

Namaste