Network leaders basically travel and have lunch for a living. As posh as that sounds (and sometimes is), it has been undoable since March. Thankfully, reading is also part of my job (yes, it’s quite a gig) which took me to a very valuable book by Larry Siedentop called Inventing the Individual. We’ll explore his work in other posts. For now, lets take a lesson from a story he retells about a young monk who was just not sure what else he should do.
”…a young anchorite trying to learn from a venerated elder claimed and asked all at once, ‘as far as I can I say my little office [says the younger man], I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?’
The old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, ‘If you will, you can become all flame.” (pg. 84)
Well, there’s that. We could offer more and more of our body, soul, and strength until we’re afire in God’s love. It’s an exceedingly hard work, but never boring.
