Some of you like my notes because they resonate. You may not have experienced the depths of loss that I have, but everyone has known despair and heartache. More importantly, everyone has known that there are times of deep powerlessness. Times when you simply cannot force another thing.

Ours is a culture of forcing. Young children are forced to share. Grownups are forced to attend functions that they find no enjoyment in whatsoever. Feeding one’s own soul is not for sissies. It demands a deep insight into how useless society becomes when you are in the process of regaining your soul.

Yes, it has to be regained, because it has been stolen from us. This is the ancient story. Jesus became the Christ so we can become ourselves. He paid the price. Now we need to let Him redeem us. The only way to do this is through a conscious surrender to how bad things really are. Then we have the chance to live our own lives of true decency and goodness.

This is not the goodness of a celebrity on the red carpet. This is the goodness of a soul on bended knee in the depths of despair. When he or she sees that the world is too much with us. That it has taken over the child within us. And the child is crying for our attention. Our conscious attention.

The only chance we have of escape is one at a time. We stand on the shoulders of those who have made the flight to freedom. We cannot remain part of the sleeping masses and be happy. It just doesn’t work that way. My teacher frequently said in his talks that only a few escape the mass hypnotism. Pray to be one of the few.

Vicki Woodyard