Matter matters

Often I Imagine the Earth by Dan Gerber in Poetry  (March 2010)

Often I imagine the earth

through the eyes of the atoms we’re made of—
atoms, peculiar
atoms everywhere—
no me, no you, no opinions,
no beginning, no middle, no end,
soaring together like those
ancient Chinese birds
hatched miraculously with only one wing,
helping each other fly home.

I've always been a pretty good student.  In high school  I never really studied and was able to earn mostly As and a smattering of Bs in my honors classes.  I cruised along, expending little effort and energy-- until I encountered physics. 

Physics always seemed like a fun.  Sitting in the chemistry classroom slaving over stoichiometry equations, I'd hear the physics students in the hallway playing with Slinkys and think, "Now there's a science class for me."  Unfortunately the fun physics teacher left by the time I got around to taking physics.  The Slinky's were back in their boxes and instead we got a teacher brought out of retirement who stumbled through lesson plans, trying to teach us the laws of physics without delving into their relevance. 

A few weeks into the term,, I realized that physics and I just didn't get along.  Sure, we could co-exist.  I wouldn't challenge the law of gravity if it wouldn't suddenly change the space/time continuum but physics was relegated to the filing cabinet of things I would never "get" like probability and the appeal of Tom Cruise. 

Lately, however, I'm finding myself more and more interested in physics.  The beginnings of my change of heart happened several years ago when I became friends with a theoretical physicist working on his PhD.  I had just gotten my graduate degree in theology and as we talked about our studies, I realized there was a certain simpatico between the two disciplines.  Recently I'm starting to learn more about energy medicine.  In doing so, I've become interested in the atoms and energy that come together to form our physical bodies, and how that combination of mass and energy impacts our mental and spiritual well being.

Last night's  program at Cathedral Crossroads was on the spirituality of the universe.  One thing that really struck me in the Q&A time was a remark the presenter made about how atoms are all about relationship.  Depending upon how molecules come together, different elements emerge. It reminded me of the discussion we'd just had in Centering Prayer about how, for many of us, our practice of the prayer has changed our relationships.

Maybe we're like water molecules and meditation is like the heat that determines our  phase of
matter.  Without the thermal energy generated by the warmth of meditation, we become immobile and rigid like ice.  With it, we more easily adapt to and accommodate changes in the containers of our lives, as water does when it becomes steam. 

And afterall, who doesn't want to be a bit steamy at times?