Life is a “We” Program

One of the great talents of PBS documentarian Ken Burns is that he can put the viewer in the place of the viewed. His stark depictions and spot-on voiceovers put us in the moment with those whose lives are being chronicled. In the WWII series The War, there’s an instance of this where, after descriptions of the hardships of US infantry GI’s make it seem totally unbearable, a voiceover of a veteran explains that it was seeing his comrades endure life in cold, muddy foxholes while being shelled by the enemy incessantly day after day that made it endurable.

While practicing the contemplative prayer techniques suggested in the ancient anonymous classic The Cloud of Unknowing a while ago, I reached a level where it appeared to me that I was finally all alone with God. I had been able to let all my thoughts go, resisting their allure, no matter how holy or instructive they seemed. However, there was the sense of a negative impulse coming from beyond the “cloud,” behind which was the presence of the Divine One.

“No,” is what I heard, softly yet authoritatively spoken.

And then I felt the presence of “others.” In my meditative state I became aware of others also silently, prayerfully communing with God in the meditative “room” I had found myself in.

And then it came — a moment of clarity. I was thinking that finally it was just me and God. But there is no “just me and God.” God is aware of all, intimately involved with all, all the time. Even in the inner circles it’s never a “just me and God.” It is “God and us.”

Lately I have been putting this into practice when I’m feeling desperately alone with my troubles. I am letting myself realize at these moments something that I do know when I’m confident of God’s care and concern. Whatever my problems are, there are others experiencing the same kinds of things.

So, instead of praying “God help me,” I am asking God to help us. And that alone helps.