Reading “Falling Upward” today…mostly focused on the second half of life! A quick first take review:
Richard Rohr’s book—nice. He is foxy and cagey, and pokes at religious preconceptions, but when he gets mellow, and speaks from his own knowing, wow. When he just speaks from who he is, so powerful.
He starts speaking from eldership instead of about it. And when he does, something truly transformational starts to happen!
In his, “a bright sadness” section of his book for instance, you start to feel not the need to feel that this is valuable information, you start to feel moved.
Moved to transform, moved to grow up spiritually, a sense that there is something to look forward to in the later half of life, that it’s not a wasteland of regret!
Not the western version of being stuck in needing to compete and contend for being, but the resting in the contradictions of becoming. And still caring for humanity and those around you without being in competition with them. Rather, in true care.
The section on living in a bright sadness is brilliant, i think. As we age spiritually, we continue to sense all the grief but there is also this growing hope, which is resilient and obvious to those around us. There is no need to be loud about it, it just has been formed there in our hearts, and radiates outwards. Feels true to me, as I begin to experience this depth of knowing in my own journey.
The beginning of the book is really trying to convince Christians that this is valuable spiritual information to consider, but then it shifts into the content of what is truly valuable-how do we head towards spiritual maturity and the later half of life well.
 Nice to encounter teachers who like to share it freely and are open about their own blind spots. The older the teacher, the more they begin with confession!
Very self critiquing, which i also trust in teachers. And in this teacher’s case, from a catholic standpoint. It’s another angle on spiritual formation.
 Dallas Willard carried a similar content, but coming from the Protestant position and addressed that part of the Body’s needs for a more complete formation of the life of Christ. And the spiritual mechanics of sanctification, which both teachers hallmark.
 I like looking at how different teachers have downloaded spiritual information about growth from different streams. Renovators really. But in their own authentic and needed roles in the Body. Refreshing when people get to the point of King David dancing before the Ark of the Lord, and just don’t care!
All great teachers, self critique, firstly. Then they move out into what they have learned. Confession always precedes useful information! When someone has been humbled, they begin to be useful. I think this book is useful.