The Nodes of Life Part 4
May 19, 2025
The Nodes of Life Part 4
Life’s nodes are frequently turning points. We all have them, and they come in different forms. We may reach an awareness that we can never “unknow” and that changes everything. Perhaps our thoughts and ideas mature about something and we must take a different approach. Possibly, reality dawns on us unexpectedly, and we change our life direction. Maybe we reach a point of exasperation and stop pursuing something we thought we’d never give up. Perhaps we come to terms with a relationship and are now hopeful when, before, we felt hopeless.
Each node on the stem of life, is a turning point at which the stem can grow in a different direction, keep the same trajectory, change color, or sprout new shoots. In the spiritual life, one thing is consistent: The light of love grows us; without that light, we whither, we shrink, we falter.
An American film, “The Turning Point” (1977), stars Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine. It is about a ballet dancer who dreams of rising to stardom. Instead of pursuing her career, however, her life reached a turning point when she became pregnant and had to give up her aspirations. She married and moved to Heartland, America, to raise her family. The film is about the agonies of giving up our dreams, the grief involved, and the need to accept new ways of life instead of living in defeat or resentment.
The movie illustrates how the ego writes a story, but the soul follows the true story. Eventually in this movie, the star comes to terms with her life as it is, and her resentments fade away.
The saying "Man proposes, God disposes" originated from the 15th-century classic The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas a Kempis, a German cleric considered for sainthood but never canonized. The words reflect the truth that humankind can propose or plan anything, but divine powers can do away with anything instantly. Thomas’s saying was referring to turning points of life that occur when ego must give way to soul.
Giving up the expected, deserved, and desired takes spiritual strength and courage. When we become attached to any idea, we think we possess it, and when the hope for its coming true vanishes, we feel robbed. But hopes, dreams and aspirations are only ideas. We may own the ideas, but we cannot be sure they will always manifest. We cannot own their coming true or staying true.
It’s a challenge to live with the fact that at any point, things can “change on a dime”. But in the spiritual life, we are aware that not everything we hope for can actually come true and that things that do come true can suddenly vanish. So, we surrender the ideas of our ego to the greater light of the Divine. We learn to “own” nothing. Then, when the node we thought would appear doesn’t, we wait for the light to penetrate the situation and inspire a new node that we couldn’t have imagined. This is a spiritual turning point.
Spiritual practice: When your ego proposes something, how well do you adapt when things take another turn? Are you pleased with your ability to surrender, or could that ability use more soul work?
Self-inquiry: Do you tend to trust the change in plans or resist it? Why?
Dear God,
When I propose and you dispose, I am sad. But in your mercy, you teach me that what I propose is not always in line with your will. Help me to go with your lead without feeling crushed. Instead, when things seem to go awry, help me understand the divine order in it; or if I can’t understand, at least give me the courage to trust. Amen
