The Brown Book Commentaries

“Nothing is unclean in itself; but is only unclean
for anyone who thinks it so.” ~ Paul (Romans 14:14)
On the one hand, Paul is strengthening a common temptation in this verse – telling us all (quite
incorrectly) that it is fully acceptable to accept whatever is offered us, regardless from where it comes and
regardless of whatever such an acceptance might entrench. Indeed, in this chapter of Romans, Paul quite
clearly tells his followers to accept whomever comes their way, and to do so regardless of the particular
morality of their habits or beliefs. Yes, it is indeed a Good Thing to not judge another person for who he
or she is (Jesus agrees in Matthew 7:1-2, where he tells us quite clearly that we are not to condemn or
criticize others for who they are), and yet we are most certainly not called to conveniently cast a blind eye
upon the choices those others make that clearly harm the innocent or themselves (see John 7:24, where
Jesus tells us that we are indeed to ―discern with sound judgment‖ when examining deeds). It is in this
regard that Paul errs greatly in this passage … On the other hand, Paul is (albeit probably unwittingly)
expressing a very deep Truth with this particular verse – namely, the Truth that literally everything is
inherently sacred; and that it is only our flawed perceptions of people, places, things &/or events that says
otherwise. Interestingly enough, the only way to avoid the former temptation is the same way required to
cleanse the latter perception – by purposefully & consciously shifting our actions‘ intentions from
ourselves to the other; by purposefully & consciously choosing to move into each moment and flow with
all that is present therein solely in order to bring even a small measure of additional harmony to the same.
―Care to know less, and know to Care more … Be firm less often, and affirm much more …
Teach no one about the love of power, and everything about the Power of Love.‖ ~ Diana Loomans
I guess the most important thing I can share about this particular quote is that it exposes what I like to
call ―the Myth of Degree‖ – namely, the erroneous belief that life is a slow-moving process of
increasingly choosing one thing more and another less; of slowly but surely choosing a bit more Love and
a bit less fear … In our effective reality, of course, nothing could be further from the Truth. For we live
not in the commonly accepted notion of time – we live not within a string of interconnected moments that
form blocks of days & weeks & months & years. No, not at all … In actuality, we live in an almost
endless string of fully independent instants – moments whose actions do bleed into later moments as
consequences, and moments whose choices do melt into later behaviors as subconscious impulses and
emotional memories – and yet fully independent moments nonetheless. A such, there is no such thing as
―knowing to Care more‖ than we did in some relatively self-centered time in our recent past. No, we
either choose to Care fully for life & others or we don‘t. Similarly, there is no such thing as ―affirming
others much more‖ than we might have affirmed them yesterday or last month or last year. No, we either
fully support them and in-Courage them or we don‘t. Most importantly of all, there is no such thing as
―teaching others about the Power of Love.‖ No, we either boom that Love via deeds of selfless service
&/or radical Kindness, or we don‘t boom that pure Love at all … Yes, my Friends, it is true that each any
every choice we make has commensurate consequences that flow to us in the moments that follow, and
yet this does not mean that we are excused from taking each moment and filling it with maximum
Goodness. The Myth of Degree (otherwise known as the ―Myth of Progress‖) would have you inch along
though the precious few moments you have been given – becoming just an inkling more Kind and Caring
each day than you were the day before; and
therefore ending up on your deathbed essentially
with a collection of Love‘s vacant inklings, and
never having known true LOVE at all.
―Love is the part of us that is Real.‖ ~ Cassie Shoebridge
Some might be tempted to rail at the apparent gall of this statement (―Isn‘t my body real? And aren‘t
my thoughts real? And what about my emotions – aren‘t they real as well?‖) – hence, the capitalization
of the word Real in this particular quotation. For even though there is much about us that is tangible –
and thus ―real‖ – there is truly only one facet of us that resonates with our truest Self; only one part of us
that ever purely harmonizes with our deepest Purpose and our highest State of Being … And that one
portion is a portion that actually encompasses us in full … That one portion is actually a reflection of our
greatest Wholeness … And as you might have guessed by now, that one portion – the one facet of our
Selves that is who we truly Are – is indeed the essence many call Love.
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