Done and Left Undone
Wednesday in Holy Week
Reflection By Jan Kwiatkowski
But I believe that the desire to please you, does in fact please you.
- Thomas Merton
Most likely you, like I did, started Lent with specific intentions and desires, and then found yourself having to adjust, perhaps letting go of some of your original intentions, or maybe you realized that you took on more than was possible this season. We all have a sense of what we did and were not able to do regarding practicing compassion toward ourselves and others. No matter where we find ourselves at this point, I don’t think it matters to Jesus what any of us did or did not accomplish. What matters is that we paid attention as best we could, learned, stayed engaged, and continue to stay engaged in the process of practicing compassion.
At Living Compass we use the metaphor of watering a garden. Whether a community garden or one we cultivate at home, what we water and pay attention to is what will grow. In our gardens we get to see both what flourishes under our careful, loving attention, as well as what suffers from not enough watering.
It helps me to remember that we never 100% get any spiritual practice right. The reality that we sometimes “don’t and can’t” because we are human can be the perfect opportunity to practice self-compassion. Let us remember to be gentle with ourselves as we pay attention to where we are in our practice of compassion and the next steps we feel ready and inspired to take. Trust that God notices our desires. Trust that compas- sion and love surround us waking and sleeping, no matter what is done and left undone.
Making it Personal: How has your understanding of compassion evolved this Lenten season? What did you water well in your compassion garden, and what still needs attention? In what way could you extend compassion to yourself as you examine what was done and what was left undone?