Finding Calm in the Midst of the Storm
Finding Calm in the Midst of the Storm
by F. Vernon Chandler
As you descend along many of the heavily traveled mountain roads in western North Carolina,
you will often find signs identifying upcoming "runaway truck ramps." These inclined dirt ramps
are usually 50 - 100 yards in length and consist of several mounds of gravel or sand. The
purpose of the ramp is to safely slow a runaway truck. If you are a trucker with a loaded trailer
and lose your breaks going down one of those mountain highways, what a relief it must be to
come upon one of these runaway truck ramps!
These are difficult times in which we live. Never in my life have I felt a greater passion for issues
involving social action and social justice. At other times I am tempted to despair with feelings of
hopelessness as I reflect upon the plight of America and our fragile planet. I know the same is
true for many of you who are reading this article. It is easy to lose a sense of spiritual balance
as we involve ourselves in the issues of social action and social justice. How can we maintain a
sense of hope when our efforts seem to bring little or no positive results? Sometimes our lives
feel like runaway trucks and we yearn for emotional and spiritual runaway truck ramps.
The late Catholic priest, Anthony de Mello, is one of my favorite spiritual writers. In TAKING
FLIGHT, the last book he wrote prior to his death, de Mello gives the following illustration related
to prayer: "There was an exhausted woodcutter who kept wasting time and energy chopping
wood with a blunt axe because he did not have time, he said, to stop and sharpen the blade."
The well-known Quaker, George Fox, used to say, "Carry some quiet around inside thee. Be still
and cool in thy own mind and spirit, from thy own thought, and then thou wilt feel the principle of
God to turn thy mind to the Lord from whence cometh life; whereby thou may receive the
strength and power to allay all storms and tempests."
I have found that my need for devotional time and prayer has increased as I exert more of my
time and energy to issues related to social action and social justice. I need a spiritual discipline
to help me feel balance and hope. Allow me to share with you one of my own spiritual discipline
"runaway truck ramps." It was about 6 years ago when I began the discipline of beginning each
morning with devotion and prayer. Along with devotion and prayer, I began to create a
devotional altar within my home. My altar has grown over the years and now consists of religious
icons and symbols from all over the world. I have statues of the Buddha from Korea, India and
Thailand; Catholic crucifixes from Hungary, Italy and Mexico; a menorah from Jerusalem; a small
replica of the Blue Mosque from Istanbul; and numerous Eastern Orthodox icons of Jesus and
various saints from the Balkans and Eastern Europe. It is at my home altar that I keep my
devotional book. For the past several years, my devotional book has been MY IMITATION OF
CHRIST by Thomas`a Kempis. What a great little devotional book! Although I have read this
book from cover to cover several times, the readings are always fresh and inspiring. When I
travel, I pack a couple of the icons and my devotional book in my suitcase and I try and
re-create a temporary small altar in my hotel or guest room. I have found that having a special
place in my home or room for devotion and prayer adds to the peace and tranquility I
experience during the minutes I spend in spiritual reflection. When I sit in the chair adjacent to
my home altar, a sense of calm comes over me. Even before I begin to read from my devotional
book, my body seems to know that that this is a sacred time and a sacred place. Beginning my
day with prayer and devotion sets the tone for the rest of my day and this practice helps me find
a bit of calm in the midst of the storms associated with life and living.
How many of you use, or have used, a clock radio to wake you in the morning? Have you
noticed how often in the day your mind goes back to the song that was playing when you were
stirred from your morning sleep? Often times, without even thinking about it, you will find
yourself recalling the lyrics or the melody of the song. It is as if our minds are more receptive
early in the morning for whatever it is we experience, hear or read. I find the same is true with
early morning devotions and prayer. During the day, my mind will often go back to the devotion I
read in the morning and, like a planted seed, the wisdom of the morning devotional will often
sprout and blossom into a deeper spiritual awareness as the day progresses.
We all need our emotional and spiritual runaway truck ramps. We all need a way to find a little
calm in the midst of the storms of life. If you are not already beginning each day with some
prayer and devotional time, I encourage you to consider trying this daily devotional discipline. I
assure you that the 10 - 15 minutes you take for devotion and prayer in the morning will add so
much more to the quality of the remaining hours of your day.
F. Vernon Chandler is a Unitarian Universalist minister and former editor of the UNIVERSALIST
HERALD. He is the 2006 recipient of The Heart of Universalism Award. Vernon and Nataliya
Chandler reside in Eberstadt, Germany.
by F. Vernon Chandler
As you descend along many of the heavily traveled mountain roads in western North Carolina,
you will often find signs identifying upcoming "runaway truck ramps." These inclined dirt ramps
are usually 50 - 100 yards in length and consist of several mounds of gravel or sand. The
purpose of the ramp is to safely slow a runaway truck. If you are a trucker with a loaded trailer
and lose your breaks going down one of those mountain highways, what a relief it must be to
come upon one of these runaway truck ramps!
These are difficult times in which we live. Never in my life have I felt a greater passion for issues
involving social action and social justice. At other times I am tempted to despair with feelings of
hopelessness as I reflect upon the plight of America and our fragile planet. I know the same is
true for many of you who are reading this article. It is easy to lose a sense of spiritual balance
as we involve ourselves in the issues of social action and social justice. How can we maintain a
sense of hope when our efforts seem to bring little or no positive results? Sometimes our lives
feel like runaway trucks and we yearn for emotional and spiritual runaway truck ramps.
The late Catholic priest, Anthony de Mello, is one of my favorite spiritual writers. In TAKING
FLIGHT, the last book he wrote prior to his death, de Mello gives the following illustration related
to prayer: "There was an exhausted woodcutter who kept wasting time and energy chopping
wood with a blunt axe because he did not have time, he said, to stop and sharpen the blade."
The well-known Quaker, George Fox, used to say, "Carry some quiet around inside thee. Be still
and cool in thy own mind and spirit, from thy own thought, and then thou wilt feel the principle of
God to turn thy mind to the Lord from whence cometh life; whereby thou may receive the
strength and power to allay all storms and tempests."
I have found that my need for devotional time and prayer has increased as I exert more of my
time and energy to issues related to social action and social justice. I need a spiritual discipline
to help me feel balance and hope. Allow me to share with you one of my own spiritual discipline
"runaway truck ramps." It was about 6 years ago when I began the discipline of beginning each
morning with devotion and prayer. Along with devotion and prayer, I began to create a
devotional altar within my home. My altar has grown over the years and now consists of religious
icons and symbols from all over the world. I have statues of the Buddha from Korea, India and
Thailand; Catholic crucifixes from Hungary, Italy and Mexico; a menorah from Jerusalem; a small
replica of the Blue Mosque from Istanbul; and numerous Eastern Orthodox icons of Jesus and
various saints from the Balkans and Eastern Europe. It is at my home altar that I keep my
devotional book. For the past several years, my devotional book has been MY IMITATION OF
CHRIST by Thomas`a Kempis. What a great little devotional book! Although I have read this
book from cover to cover several times, the readings are always fresh and inspiring. When I
travel, I pack a couple of the icons and my devotional book in my suitcase and I try and
re-create a temporary small altar in my hotel or guest room. I have found that having a special
place in my home or room for devotion and prayer adds to the peace and tranquility I
experience during the minutes I spend in spiritual reflection. When I sit in the chair adjacent to
my home altar, a sense of calm comes over me. Even before I begin to read from my devotional
book, my body seems to know that that this is a sacred time and a sacred place. Beginning my
day with prayer and devotion sets the tone for the rest of my day and this practice helps me find
a bit of calm in the midst of the storms associated with life and living.
How many of you use, or have used, a clock radio to wake you in the morning? Have you
noticed how often in the day your mind goes back to the song that was playing when you were
stirred from your morning sleep? Often times, without even thinking about it, you will find
yourself recalling the lyrics or the melody of the song. It is as if our minds are more receptive
early in the morning for whatever it is we experience, hear or read. I find the same is true with
early morning devotions and prayer. During the day, my mind will often go back to the devotion I
read in the morning and, like a planted seed, the wisdom of the morning devotional will often
sprout and blossom into a deeper spiritual awareness as the day progresses.
We all need our emotional and spiritual runaway truck ramps. We all need a way to find a little
calm in the midst of the storms of life. If you are not already beginning each day with some
prayer and devotional time, I encourage you to consider trying this daily devotional discipline. I
assure you that the 10 - 15 minutes you take for devotion and prayer in the morning will add so
much more to the quality of the remaining hours of your day.
F. Vernon Chandler is a Unitarian Universalist minister and former editor of the UNIVERSALIST
HERALD. He is the 2006 recipient of The Heart of Universalism Award. Vernon and Nataliya
Chandler reside in Eberstadt, Germany.
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