A Rose By Every Other Name

February 13, 2018

“Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts,
the depths of their hearts
where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach,
the core of their reality,
the person that each one is
in God’s eyes.

If only they could see themselves as they really are.
If only we could see each other that way all the time,
there would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed…
I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.”
~ Thomas Merton

Sometimes, among the seemingly mundane events of the day, we find an unexpected connection.

That’s how it was for me, one evening last October, watching the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.  Stephen’s guest was the comedian Russell Brand, who was on the show to promote his latest project, like every other guest.  The interview began with some light banter about small talk, followed by a surprisingly deep question and answer:

Stephen:  “Why are we here, Russell Brand?  Why do you think there is something, instead of nothing?”

Russell:  “Do you think it’s to move towards oneness?  Could the tendency be unity?  Could there be some consciousness trying to realize itself through material?”

The conversation that followed was decidedly not the standard talk show babble.  They were discussing Brand’s new book Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions.  Stephen asked him if he thought one could really have freedom from ones addictions or simply hold them at bay:

Russell:  “It depends, I suppose, on how one interprets addiction.  If you see addiction, perhaps, as a yearning to connect that our culture doesn’t know how to service, then you can have freedom from the malevolent manifestations of addiction.  If addiction is a drive to know truth or, in another lexicon, to know God, to know oneness that we are unable to medicate successfully because our culture tells us that there is no meaning, tells us that we are but material, tells us that we are individuals trapped in flesh, only here to consume, and there are some people who just can’t bear that; so they take a little heroin to unwind.”

Stephen: “Yes, that’s true, as Thomas Merton said, that ‘Ourselves we clothe, we wrap in the bandages of other people’s perceptions of us or in our appetites and pleasures and we say, “Oh, those bandages, that is ourself”, without ever looking at what’s underneath the bandage, which is a hole in our heart the size of God.'”

Stephen and Russell’s conversation and, in particular, Stephen’s paraphrase of Thomas Merton’s words, so resonated with my own spiritual philosophy, that I immediately set to googling the name of “Thomas Merton”.  I found that he was a Trappist monk, theologian and mystic, born under the sign of Aquarius, who wrote more than 70 books on spirituality, social justice, civil rights and pacifism.  I found a number of other quotes from his writings that also resonated with me, such as this one:

“It is when we love the other, the enemy, that we obtain from God the key to an understanding of who he is , and who we are.”

It is important to remember what connects us, rather than what divides us, especially in times such as these when social media algorithms and outrage-peddling bots and trolls continue to push our politics away from the center and our citizens apart from one another.

These are interesting times, to say the least, and I have found myself disappointed by some I had previously admired, and inspired by many that I had formerly assumed I had nothing in common with.  As a fairly true-blue liberal, I never thought that I could be moved by a speech from George W. Bush.  But one he gave on October 19, 2017 touched me deeply, especially these words:

“We have seen our discourse degraded by casual cruelty.  At times, it can seem like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together.  Argument turns too easily into animosity.  Disagreement escalates into dehumanization.  Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions – forgetting the image of God we should see in each other.”

The Gods truly do have a sense of humor.  I never imagined I would connect with the words of George W. Bush, but I did.  Russell Brand, our 43rd President and Thomas Merton have all echoed my deepest belief; that we are on a journey towards connection, towards the recognition of God’s face when we look in the mirror, as well as when we look at each other.  Sri Aurobindo, a favorite philosopher of mine, wrote poetically about our origins, defining creation as:

“Existence that multiplied itself for sheer delight of being and plunged into numberless trillions of forms so that it might find itself innumerably…”

And I have no doubt that we can find our way back to civility, to camaraderie, and that one day, perhaps generations upon generations from now, we will find that recognition of the divine in ourselves and each other.  Sri Aurobindo’s quote continues:

“….Love is the keynote; Joy is the music; Power is the strain; Knowledge is the performer; the infinite All is the composer and audience.  We know only the preliminary discords, which are as fierce as the harmony shall be great; but we shall arrive surely at the fugue of the divine Beatitudes.”

Love is not always easy.  Sometimes, the most difficult relationships are the ones that teach us the most important lessons.  So, in honor of Valentine’s Day, and in the name of true love, take a moment to seek a connection, to see the humanity, as well as the divinity, in someone you disagree with.

“Love is our true destiny.  We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another.”
~ Thomas Merton

~~~~~~~~~

Dust off that waffle maker that’s been sitting lonely on your top shelf.  Chocolate Brownie Waffles with Coffee Maple Syrup make a lovely breakfast or brunch treat, on Valentine’s Day or any day.

Chocolate Brownie Waffles with Coffee Maple Syrup
These delicious dark chocolate waffles taste like you’re having a brownie for breakfast.  The Coffee Maple Syrup adds a sophisticated pick me up for your morning meal.  I added blueberries to the waffles in the picture above, for extra anti-oxidant power.  Freeze any leftover waffles to heat up in your toaster oven on hurried mornings.  I like to spread a waffle or two with peanut butter for an easy, portable, high protein treat.  You can also serve them as a dessert with a scoop of ice cream on top and chocolate syrup drizzled over all. 

Note: if you haven’t used your waffle iron in awhile, plan on throwing out the first waffle; it will serve to season your waffle iron.

 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup butter, melted (still warm but not hot)
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt*
*you will want thinner Euro style yogurt for this – not Greek style

Coffee Maple Syrup (recipe follows)

 

In a large bowl, stir cocoa and warm melted butter together until smooth.  Stir in sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well with a fork.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt together.

Add some of the flour mixture to the large bowl with the cocoa mixture, a little at a time, alternating with some of the yogurt, mixing fully between each addition, until everything is added and mixture is fully combined.

Bake in your waffle iron, according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Serve with Coffee Maple Syrup for breakfast or ice cream and chocolate sauce (and some strawberries or raspberries, if you like) for dessert.

Makes about 9 – 10 waffles (depending on your waffle iron).

 

Coffee Maple Syrup
You can double this recipe (just use a larger pan) for more syrup.

1 cup strong coffee or espresso
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
2 tablespoons golden brown sugar (packed)
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small, heavy saucepan, over medium high heat, stir together coffee, maple syrup and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half (about 15 minutes).  Turn off heat and add the butter, a piece at a time, stirring to melt and combine between each addition.  Serve immediately over Chocolate Brownie Pancakes or let syrup cool, pour into a jar and store in fridge.  This makes a nice gift from your kitchen.  Make sure to let the recipient know to refrigerate the syrup and warm it before using.

 

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