Nativity Catholic Church
|
Pushing the Plate Away
A "FIRESTARTER"
Spiritual Essay by Rev. Dr. Benjamin Berinti, C.Pp.S.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and the coffee shop patio area was abuzz with chatter. As I settled into my seat, awaiting the arrival of my coffee-klatch partner, the robust aroma of my gingerbread java was so intoxicating that I paid no mind to the cinnamon roll goop that was sticking to my fingers. Despite my contentment, as I occasionally looked up to spy the arrival of my guest, I noticed a group of three adults, with a little tow-headed boy nibbling around the edges of their table. The two ladies and man were having a lively conversation about their plans for the day…but the child was as disinterested as a teenager on a forced family vacation. Apparently, he had had his fill of egg sandwiches and smelly coffee, so he quietly, at first, inserted himself into the adult exchange: “Mommy, I’m ready to go.” Mom was too preoccupied with news of the sale at Jacobson’s, so he asserted himself a bit more forcefully: “Mommy, I said I’m ready to go…NOW!” That was enough of a trigger to get mommy’s attention, as she now patiently and gently reassured him, “Mommy wants to finish her breakfast first, then we’ll go.” As mom turned her attention back to her friends, I watched the little boy ever so slyly, but yet definitively, push away his mother’s plate of food toward the center of the table. If she wasn’t going to listen to him; if she was more concerned about eating than tending to his immediate needs—she’d just have to chase her breakfast across the table! In no uncertain terms, when he said “now,” he meant “now”! With my coffee partner now in view, as she rustled up her own luscious latte and nibbler, a thought skipped through my mind: how many times in life would I simply like to “push away the plate” of whatever I didn’t want to attend to at that particular moment. If only it were as easy as this little tow-head who, once having had enough of all this grown-up jibber jabber, demonstrated his readiness to move on—and simply pushed away mom’s “distracting” breakfast. Come to think of it, there are times when I believe I have attempted to do just that—and, not unlike my little blonde-haired metaphor, it hasn’t worked! All sorts of disruptions push their way into our lives; doesn’t it seem only fair that we should be able to push them out of the way when we’ve had enough? Surely, some disruptions and difficulties are the result of choices we have made, the consequences of decisions and even non-decisions. But there is plenty of stuff the just comes—unannounced, uninvited, unwelcome, and undeserved. When family issues, or workplace tensions, or unsuccessful projects, or unrealistic demands, or mounting expectations push us to the edge of despair, we too find ourselves wanting to make them disappear—so we ignore them for as long as we can, or we shift the blame, or we pretend that everything is fine, or we simply keep our real feelings at bay and allow the anger, bitterness, or disappointment to simmer beneath the surface. If only it were that simple…push the “plate” of unwanted business aside and move on to more exciting, interesting and life-giving projects and attentions. Perhaps, we think, no one will notice our gentle gesture, and we can leave the mess behind without any loss or pain. Yet, bosses, friends, spouses, children, parents, colleagues, neighbors, church members, principals, teachers and a host of other folks who populate our lives always seem to be shoving something our way—much of which we can’t ignore so easily. Even our own emotions and persuasions push things our way, bubbling up in our hearts and minds, and expect us to respond—even when we’d rather push them away for now…or forever. On such a beautiful morning, this little boy surely had playtime on his mind—not sitting with grown ups and listening to them babble about cars and sales and house repairs. This simply wasn’t his agenda; and he tried as hard as he could to divert the world back to his own needs and desires. We, too, don’t always welcome the “agenda” the world shifts our way; and even though we do not welcome it, we eventually have to deal with it—no pushing the plate away will do. My little friend was too young to understand why his crafty plan didn’t get him what he wanted. Most of us are old enough now to know exactly why “pushing the plate away” doesn’t get what we want—but I suspect, every now and then, we’ll still give it a try anyway!
|
