Walking into the fog, living the ambiguity & fullness of life – Episode 33

Join Sara Marks, passionate and inspiring Franciscan, as she shares her wisdom and skill in navigating life’s possibilities and paradoxes. 

 

From Sara’s interview:

“I would say it is simply all about relationship and I know we say that a lot and it can seem a bit reductionist, but it's what Francis and Clare and the late penitents modeled for us. It is about relationship and everything that I do, I try to go back to, am I in right relationship with this person that I'm working with? Am I in right relationship with the person I'm living with? Am I in right relationship with the environment and the world around me?”

 

“So often we see energy and passion, and we want to squelch it. We want to like put the water on it, turn off the fire. And that's not what we're called to. We're called to live passionate, like, open crazy lives.  And so that's how I try to embrace. I try to fully embrace Franciscan values in terms of living my fullest best life. Being authentic and building relationships in every corner and aspect of my life.”

 

“Isn't all of life a paradox? Why do people not see that it's all a paradox and that we're constantly in flux and changing?  As I think of this question, Monet had a series of paintings of London in the fog…it was this concept that there is a beauty in the fog because it sort of softens the details for us. That's an image for me in terms of living with paradox and change and outside of boundaries.  Sometimes you can see the skyline really clearly and it makes sense to you and you feel like you understand the world. But then the fog rolls in and, and you know what it looks like because you have experience of looking at it before. But you can't see it now and you kind of trust that it's there, but you don't know, maybe some catastrophic thing happened and the skyline is gone. We do have this trust in situations like that, and I think I can transfer that trust very easily to the faith side of my life and choose how I make decisions.”

 

“If there was any kind of sage advice I could give people about living with ambiguity and all of that, it's that I really don't believe there are any boundaries. We need to stop thinking in terms of boundaries, because boundaries limit us. We have to think more in terms of that fog. There is a certain boundary in what you can see and know, but that doesn't mean you're confined to that space. It means you start walking toward the unknown, and more will appear….put one foot in front of the other and go!”

 

For a full transcript, please include episode number and email: [e-mail].

 

References:

Fina Catalysts: Sara’s consultant and project management business, working with Catholic non-profits: https://finacatalysts.wordpress.com/

 

Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia, located in Aston, PA: https://osfphila.org/.

 

San Damiano Cross – https://franciscanmissionservice.org/2012/10/san-damiano-cross-telling-the-history-of-christs-passion/

 

Saint Anthony of Padua: http://www.walkinghumblywithgod.com/blog/2022/1/30/st-anthony-of-padua-greater-than-for-finding-lost-objects

 

Novenas: an ancient devotional practice. For a broad look at ecumenical and global prayer practices, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novena

 

Saints Francis and Clare with companions, rapt in the flames of shared contemplation: https://www.franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-prophet/the-little-flowers-of-saint-francis/2491-fa-ed-3-page-590 

 

Carrie Newcomer’s song Holy as the Day is Spent: It begins with “Holy is the dish and drain…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxzO8DyY9e8&t=13s

 

French impressionist Claude Monet and London fog: Monet said “Without fog London would not be beautiful”; see: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/feb/19/monets-obsession-with-london-fog-weatherwatch

 

The exquisite edge of courage: Michelle referenced a quote from When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions, Sue Monk Kidd, p. 110.

“To be fully human, fully myself, to accept all that I am, all that you envision,

This is my prayer. Walk with me out to the rim of life, beyond security.

Take me to the exquisite edge of courage and release me to become.”

 

Franciscan Federation: www.franfed.org.

 

Catholic Cares Coalition: https://catholiccares.org/

 

Francis asking Clare and Sylvester to discern with him: The response, one of choosing the both/and of prayer and of being in the world. See Little Flowers 16: https://www.franciscantradition.org/francis-of-assisi-early-documents/the-prophet/the-little-flowers-of-saint-francis/2492-fa-ed-3-page-591 - see pp. 591 and 592.