8/9/24 Here is what I shared on my cottagebythesea.net blog. What follows is my prayerful response.
Every year one of my daily readings reminds me of the three sieves, a set of questions attributed to Socrates, who reportedly asked an man who was about to tell him a story if he had put it through the test of the three sieves.
Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?
I'm wondering what percent of the stories and information passed along among family and friends fit through such a sieve. I'm wondering about my little world, just little me sharing stuff, passing along information, letting folks know what going on. When I consider this, or for a moment actually practice it, I sense that I become rather boring, uninteresting, and passive. I have little to say; I disappear, at least from the social scene.
Hmm, it's rather appealing.
It's what monastics do. I observe that the brothers at SSJE follow something similar. They don't talk very much; they listen. Their primary communication is with God.
When someone talks, it takes practice and commitment not to respond with more talk, which usually includes giving an opinion. Some people need to talk in order to figure out what they believe about a given topic; they need a dialog, a conversation with someone else. Others prefer writing.
Thought and language. As a kindergarten teacher I get that. But let's put that aside. Perhaps some of us don't need to have ideas and opinions about everything. Perhaps we long for less to put through the sieve. When we start to put 'Is it necessary?" through, perhaps we might consider, "Is the topic even necessary?" Conversation with God doesn't need a sieve.
Every year one of my daily readings reminds me of the three sieves, a set of questions attributed to Socrates, who reportedly asked an man who was about to tell him a story if he had put it through the test of the three sieves.
Is it true?
Is it kind?
Is it necessary?
I'm wondering what percent of the stories and information passed along among family and friends fit through such a sieve. I'm wondering about my little world, just little me sharing stuff, passing along information, letting folks know what going on. When I consider this, or for a moment actually practice it, I sense that I become rather boring, uninteresting, and passive. I have little to say; I disappear, at least from the social scene.
Hmm, it's rather appealing.
It's what monastics do. I observe that the brothers at SSJE follow something similar. They don't talk very much; they listen. Their primary communication is with God.
When someone talks, it takes practice and commitment not to respond with more talk, which usually includes giving an opinion. Some people need to talk in order to figure out what they believe about a given topic; they need a dialog, a conversation with someone else. Others prefer writing.
Thought and language. As a kindergarten teacher I get that. But let's put that aside. Perhaps some of us don't need to have ideas and opinions about everything. Perhaps we long for less to put through the sieve. When we start to put 'Is it necessary?" through, perhaps we might consider, "Is the topic even necessary?" Conversation with God doesn't need a sieve.
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