The other day, I was on a short walk as I wrestled with a few things in my mind tinted with emotions of sadness and disappointment.   So, I allowed this.  Once I made some space for all my thoughts and emotions, I felt the spaciousness of nature and a loving God waif into my awareness.  I also had the distinct feeling of ‘I do not know’.  Not in a frustrated sort of not knowing, a not knowing that brings me back to beginner’s mind like God is whispering to me, you do not need to have all the answers. 

I have found that seeking knowledge leads to some wisdom but true wisdom comes from God and leaning into the vastness of his love and his beautiful creation including ourselves.   Why is it so hard for our busy minds to loosen their grip on the details and how the story will end and simply be.  Of course, we have had years and years of conditioning that can contribute to  a lack of wonder, trust and faith when our path feels cluttered.

Fr. Richard Rohr alludes to this idea here as he discusses beginners mind in his daily meditation; Jesus says the only people who can recognize and be ready for what he’s talking about are the ones who come with the mind and heart of a child. It’s the same reality as the beginner’s mind. The older we get, the more we’ve been betrayed and hurt and disappointed, the more barriers we put up to the beginner’s mind. We move further away from the immediate delight and curiosity of small children. We must never presume that we see, and we must always be ready to see anew. But it’s so hard to go back, to be vulnerable, and to say to our soul that “I don’t know anything.”  

What Fr. Richard is referencing is found many times in the Bible mostly stated by Jesus.  Here are a few examples; Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.- Luke 18:17 and Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.- Matthew 18:4.  I appreciate that Jesus’s is describing a spirituality that is less about ego and knowledge and much more about experiencing God through the wonder filled lens of a child and with great humility rather than pride. 

It seems modern day education and ‘hard living’ teaches us to problem solve, to get the job done, to be productive citizens.  Somewhere along the line this also included growing up early, putting our big girl and boy pants on and closing off our eyes and hearts in the guise of self- preservation and mistrust.  Somehow spirituality and mysticism became ‘woo-hoo’ and not grown up enough, even our church services can be serious and lacking in wonder and awe.  No disrespect intended.  I honestly loved how Jesus tended to teach outdoors and used the natural world for inspiration and to perhaps open the eyes and hearts of those that he preached to.

The wonder and freedom of childhood, how can we choose to participate in this type of spirituality?  Perhaps by allowing ourselves to have a bit of fun, to play!  Particularly in nature and see the bigger picture and all of the majesty that God has created.  Or simply just taking off the filter of the world and our experiences and seeing with new eyes, with beginner’s mind again and again. 

Cole Arthur Riley author of the book This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us speaks of a spirituality that is deeply rooted in wonder and joy and reflects on the idea of losing this quality as we get older; The tragedy is that as we distance ourselves from the delight of our youth, we become increasingly prone to disillusionment. Wonder and beauty are not precise cures for disillusionment, but they certainly can stave off the despair of it. To reclaim the awe of our child-selves, to allow ourselves to be taken by the beauty of a thing, allows goodness to take up the space it’s often denied in our interior worlds….

I love this, allow wonder and beauty to take up space inside us, akin to acknowledging the spirit of God that lies within. This blessed space that often gets ignored or clouded over by the more pressing details of our busy, important lives.   Cole reminds us that wonder and awe are not just to be beheld on mountain tops and on expansive beaches, indeed wonder can accompany us always with a sense of meeting every even mundane moment with newness and in beholding the beauty of another and not just our beloved, all beings.

I appreciate how Cole admits to her happiness meter being set quite below average, that she has been prone to depression and that her “soul is often slouched’, she even allows her version of ‘sorrowful joy’.   Just like all spiritual practices there is practice involved, a sense of freshness and newness to a life lived with a conscious choice to include wonder in new faces and places.    A beginner’s mind practice that has grounded and uplifted this inspiring author. 

Beginner’s mind is a concept most of us associate with Buddhism, which of course it is and the more mainstream mindfulness movement.  I cannot help but see the unifying threads of teaching that weaves through all faith traditions, especially when Jesus teaches to the masses about having this childlike capacity, remember his words; Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.- Matthew 18:4.  Perhaps it was Jesus, who began the mindfulness movement!

Shunryū Suzuki, prolific author and Buddhist teacher affirms these teachings; In the beginner’s mind there is no thought, “I have attained something.” All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn something. The beginner’s mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless.  I admire Suzuki’s take on beginner’s mind that speaks of the humility and compassion that Jesus finds so important for attaining the kingdom of God, here on earth.  Seeking a boundless nature that is truly a worthwhile practice. 

So as we close,  let us consider the practices that may lead to this type of boundless, childlike beginners mind.  What would help you ‘allow goodness to take up more space’ within your body, mind and heart?  For me time in nature is always a win when it comes to opening my mind and heart and helping me to be more like God and less consumed by thoughts about me.    Maybe for you it is connecting to your breath, time on your yoga mat, church service or in service to God’s children and I do not just mean the ‘littles’, we are all God’s children, even you.

 Remember practicing beginners mind is just that practice without judgement. We can begin again and again as we remember the pure part of our being untouched by our past or future. Present moment is the only place where we can truly find God with eyes and heart open to receive Him. It is in this present moment where we enter into the kingdom of heaven here on earth with a pure and childlike heart aligned with God. Sometimes the best place to meet Him is in the open space of our heart where we say ” I do not know’ and make more room for his story and not ours.