Tag Archive for: Steps

Necessary Steps: Lent

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Armodoxy for Today: Necessary Steps

I saw a performance by Paul McCartney this morning. It was in a sold-out stadium somewhere in the world, which is usual fare for him. The cameras were being switched between McCartney, his band, the audience and wide angles covering the large arena.

He was wearing a t-shirt with writing on it. The words “No more…” at the top of the shirt caught my eye. For a moment there I thought, how appropriate at the beginning of the Lenten season to be advocating for vegetarian diets. He’s known for being a passionate advocate for plant-based diets, promoting animal rights and environmental sustainability. Lent? Meatless diets? No, there was a greater message underneath the words.

NO MORE LANDMINES, yelled out the words on his shirt.

Landmines: they maim and injure people with lifelong scars, both physical and psychological. I remember a few years back, spending a few days at the Halo Trust in Artsakh and learning how they meticulously and methodically, one-by-one cleared the fields of these vicious weapons of war.

I wondered why McCartney hadn’t opted for the bigger issue of “No More War”? Why stop at landmines? And then I caught myself. It’s just a t-shirt with a message.  It’s the message he wanted to spread. It was a message I aligned with, but he was the one wearing the shirt, not me.

As we begin the Lenten season, we are called to use this period of the Lent, the 40 days to prepare ourselves for the bigger picture, namely life. Much in the same way that getting rid of a landmine is a process toward a bigger goal, the forty days of Lent are not an end in themselves. They prepare us for the 325 days that follow, that is, our lives. Lent is our m means to methodically evaluate our lives and selves to better function in this world in harmony and peace.

Pray today for strength and patience, as we take the small steps of fasting and introspection to deliver us to a more productive and blessed life. To borrow from the Taoist tradition, we keep in mind that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Small Steps to Big Changes

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Armodoxy for Today: Small Steps

Richard Dawson was a popular game show host during the 1970s. In one episode of the “Family Feud,” he came out to the cheers of the studio audience and in front of the millions who had tuned in to the weekly show. He took a long puff from a cigarette, exhaled, threw the butt on the floor, stamped it out, turned to camera and exclaimed, “That was my last cigarette!” The audience cheered even louder. And then, without missing a beat, he added, “… for the rest of the show.”

Often, we are overwhelmed with the size and magnitude of our dilemmas and problems. The war in Ukraine has been going on for a couple of years. Artsakh was taken over by the Azeris. The war in Gaza has taken the form of a genocide and though the bombing may have stopped, realists know that the conflicts are much bigger than a seeming ceasefire would indicate. Next to wars, our planet is threatened by weather changes, overbearing populations and food shortages. Add to these global issues our own private and personal challenges of health, finance and relationships and it’s easy to see why so many people are overwhelmed, and diagnosis of depression is on the up. We have heard the Chinese proverb, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,” but our gaze is usually stretched out so far ahead that we fear inevitable defeat. We succumb to those fears and abandon the run.

Armodoxy is discovered in the long run. It has been cultivated through a history of overwhelming odds for survival and has pulled through. Armodoxy came from a people who thanked God for the day and found themselves in continuous prayer for millennia. It is the small victories, the day-to-day accomplishments that add and make the entire story of life. The smoking habit is overcome by putting out that first cigarette. That long race is won by taking the first step. Peace is achieved by the small expressions of compassion and understanding.

Take a moment to enjoy the victory of a single minute, hour, day, year and you’ll find that the prize is a life filled with meaning and purpose.

Today we pray a prayer from the Armenian Church’s Book of Hours, Jamakirk, Lord our God, we give thanks to You, for You have granted us to pass this day in peace. Grant us, O Lord, to pass this evening and the night before us without sin and stumbling, and to stand firm and abide steadfastly in faith, in hope and in love and in the observance of Your commandments. Give peace to the world and stability to Your holy Church and salvation to our souls. For to You is befitting glory, dominion, and honor, now and forever and ever. Amen.