Eric’s Sunday Sermon; Circle of Love

Circle of Love is a classic concept somehow present in all of theology and philosophy. It is in all life. The circle of love is the circle of life. For a circle of life cannot truly begin or end if it is in the circle of love. Some believe in a heaven and others in reincarnation. This humble home believes we are in a circle of love that is heaven, right here and now.

Believe what you choose. I have never been called to evangelize. I would like to be. I think it would be very rewarding. I am often in love and awe of those who can really do that. We all know that it is not odd that the circle of love often requires periods of stress and failure. How can one rise unless one is down? Everyone’s down is relative to the lofty goals they aspire to. We hope you are not far down. And that your goals include loving more truly.

The Alcoholics have a notion/concept that you cannot rebound until you have hit your bottom. Please schedule time to read Alcoholics Anonymous. It explores amazing areas of love being a healer. No you do not need to be a drunk to read it. In fact I suggest you read it before you become one ;-) But it is the prevailing understanding that until we suffer enough we will not change our behavior. But that is for the people who are sick one way or another. For you “normal” people out there we hope your bottom may just be as simple as a lost job and not a life threatening illness like depression and addiction are.

How should we look at this notion of a circle? Are we so boastful that we declare our circle of love has not been broken and in need of love? Wow, do weed need a spoke to be broken before we call out for much needed repairs? Does our heart heal itself, or does it need the circle of love?

Perhaps right here and now we check our wheels to make sure they have enough air and there are no thorns. Perhaps we spend more time on the thorn than on making the pressure right. A wheel needs to be even all the way around in order to spin correctly. Or should we say it must be balanced to get us down the road to our lofty goals? Yet if we over inflate we are bound for a blowout.

A roundhouse punch. No that is not a house that is round and serving punch for drinks. Although I have had punch that brought me around to falling asleep. Nope. A roundhouse punch is a boxing idea. The punching arm of the boxer is taken in a full swinging circle to increase velocity and power. Funny but it is the most deadly but also the easiest to avoid as it takes time (talking milliseconds here). And if it misses it exposes the thrower of that punch to an easy punch by the opponent as the arm continues around leaving the head unguarded. What in the heck does this have to do with a circle of love?

When we throw punches of such enormity we actually break our circle of love. Sure the swinging arm makes a circle but at what cost to both boxers. Our circle of love should only very carefully be used as an offensive weapon.

There is this really cool, way out there scientific deal called a centrifugal force. Yes it can split atoms and we don’t even know what else yet. Atomic energy. It is rotational. Something goes around and around at such velocity that it pulls things apart all the way to a subatomic level. It is a circle in life. Merry-go-rounds are our closest understanding I think. But of course the child’s top or amusement rides help us to comprehend such conditions. They are linked to gravitational pull. The faster the more pull to the outer leaving some to gravitate (in a way) to the middle.

So we get “gravity”, pull to the center, and the splitting of something. Is not such factor present in the circle of love? We are pulled and gravitated to the middle yet this splits us from that of us which is more attached to the outer side. We are just naturally pulled in both directions as the outer of our circle and the inner. Hopefully that will make your head spin – get it?

Let us return to the theoretical and theological and philosophical. So that we may come full circle back to our beginning. This above craziness is just the route to compare to. I need a break.

And what a great break it was. A bike ride, some catch out back, Vietnamese Pho’ and a short nap. Sorry but that was my life prior to quarantine although a country hike and soccer and a perfect spring roll maybe be substituted. This is the circle. If we stay in one place and do the same over and over again we are not rotating. We have a rodent. Something like a Rovoski Hamster. And he just loves is little baby spinning wheel but the poor little guy never goes anywhere. He stays in the same place while his wheel just keeps spinning around. Maybe something like a “rat race”. Sometimes I catch myself there.

If we inject love into our wheel of fortune the outcome is guaranteed. Our circle of life just must come back around to the love. I know some folks with about 80% of their circle filled with love. I think the other 20% is there so their body can survive this often brutal world. Perhaps the self would just spin of the circle through centrifuge.

Of perhaps we should just stay in place like our little Yetti and let the circle of the world swirl around us and keep our own little cycle steady and stable. I like the phrase about running from our problems; “Wherever you go, there you are.”

“What goes around comes around”. Such is the circle of love and life, your choice. Sorry that I am not all altruistic but 1+1=2. I love ‘outwardly’ and I receive love inwardly. A fun thing to think of is levels of circles. How fast does it come back around. Micro? Within mere minutes. Or yearly? Probably adjustable by God’s time, which is loves time. Hey I still look over my shoulder about things I did in 1977. Yet I hug my son and he hugged back – just morning ritual. But a circle that is simultaneous.

Food is fun. You got your food for the soul but also for the body. I eat bad and it may take a month of doing so before I am out of shape. I eat right and it may take a while to start feeling better. I need to lose some “Quarantine fat” but at best that is a pound every two days. Which is doable when you are quite large to begin with. So I am stuck? Yes I could be in a circle of weight gain and weight loss. Can the corresponding opposite occur with food for the soul – Love. Can we overeat and then in a fast live off the love stored up to make room for new healthier love in our cycle. I suppose so.

Please count me in, in the circle of love.