distancing ..

yes, i've said a thing or 2 on it before
just read one of richard rohr's comments, and it brought it to mind again, although he labels it differently, and may have a different take on it than i

i've found, mostly accidentally, that i need space, regularly
space to be alone (even if i'm in a coffee shop, say)
to be unengaged with other people in conversation

' accidentally ' i say because much of my youth was spent just that way
i wasn't hanging with this or that crowd, wasn't much into sports, etc
it also happened because i'm an introvert by nature

but before you go blaming this thought on ' distance ' at my youth-experience and introversion ..
i also chose, in my late 20's and progressively since then, to make that alone-time happen, whether reading or writing or studying or journaling, i found it to be a helpful mode in several areas ..
- the world runs on what's popular; getting apart from the pressure of popularity
   allows me a more reasoned and reasonable worldview, i think
- the world-think is driven by the media, and that media reflects the think of
   whoever powers ( monied, business, etc ) drive the economy, and
   determines what it means to be ' in ' in that particular country;
   taking time away from the media ( tv/radio/internet ), allows me to
   be not-so-influenced by that
- there is a huge ( my opinion ) amount of indoctrination that prevails in our lives
   today; although that smacks of the previous point, this is more oriented
   towards a political mindset, inculcating ' patriotism ' and a nationalistic
   involvement to allow the rulership to move in a desired direction, to garner
   support from the masses;
   distancing myself allows me to resist that propagandising, and to maintain a
   more objective view of the world
- finally, and most importantly to me, is religion and spirituality. i have walked a
   path that allowed me to come to my own personal conclusions on
   things ' christian ', as in dig-out my own convictions. i believe this to be a
   major failing in ' christianity ' today, fostering a feed-me mindset, as if i
   was studying it in a classroom; the result of this is a weak and immature
   church where the convictions are borrowed, not mined from scripture
   through the eye of the spirit of God. that, by the way, is a massive failure
   on the part of the leadership, from the seminaries back down to the pulpit
 
one thing i know, God wants an engaged relationship with his children, wants them asking, seeking, questioning, doubting ( in faith ), pursuing God at every turn, relentlessly
similar to a mutually positive and growing relationship between a child and their parent
distancing has helped me along that path

just thought i'd say that; maybe there's a thought there worth something to you ..

here's rohr:-

" ... my daily and primary practice is contemplation. I try in every way and every day to see the events, people, and issues in my world through a much wider lens that I hope is “Christ Consciousness.” I have to practice hour by hour letting go of my own agenda, my own anger, fear, and judgments in very concrete ways. In that empty space, often made emptier by my very failure, God is always able to speak to me, and sometimes I am able to hear. In that space, I find joy.

I have worked for most of my life, with the help of my Franciscan tradition and other spiritual teachers, to spend a good chunk of every day in silence, solitude, and surrender to what God and the moment are offering. I fail at it far more than I succeed, but grace grants me just enough “wide-lens experience” to know that it is my home base, my deepest seeing, and by far the best gift I can also offer to the world, and to you.

Without a daily contemplative stance, I would have given up on the church, America, politics, many people, and surely myself a long time ago. Without a daily contemplative practice, I would likely be a cynical and even negative person by now, but by Somebody’s kindness, I do not think that I am. With contemplative eyes, I can live with a certain non-dual consciousness that often allows me to be merciful to the moment, patient with human failure, and generous toward the maddening issues of our time. For me, it is the very shape of Christian salvation or any salvation. My sadness is that so few have been taught this older and wiser tradition, although many still come to it by great love and great suffering. "

peace to  you, and love
in Jesus' name