Reflection on ‘Aphorism 1’ (Looking Out for the Divine)

“The divine may be found everywhere; one does not look for the divine so much as look out for it”
–Aphorism 1

This one is interesting. The essential statement of the first half is straightforward, on the face of it, and the second half is easily read in two (subtly) different ways. The difference hinges on the different senses people intend when they talk about “looking out” for something.

The straightforward reading of the first half is quite clear. If you believe in a theistic God, it could be seen as an expression of the idea of omnipresence. Whether or not you believe in such a thing, it can be taken as suggesting that, whatever the Divine is, it is in some sense everywhere, or at least reflected everywhere. Actually, that could do with some unpacking and elaborating, but let’s look more closely at the second half of the aphorism first.

The expression, arguably a phrasal verb, “look out” has two closely related but distinct meanings when used in this way. Which one is more natural – and indeed which of them you recognise – is probably dependent on dialect. One is to look out for things that should be avoided, or prevented. It has a distinctly negative meanings. “Look out for pickpockets”, or “look out for potholes”. It is used for things that you need to beware of. The other is to look out for things that you want to be aware of without a negative connotation; “if you’re in the supermarket, look out for my favourite chocolate being on special offer”, or “if you visit the bird reserve, look out for the rare golden throated lark” (not a real bird as far as I’m aware). This is advice to be ‘on the lookout’ for something because you might miss it otherwise, but without any suggestion that it should be avoided. It might not be something you can actively look for, but simply have to be aware to notice it.

Now, the first use is more common in my experience, but that might be a matter of dialects. I tend to feel that both senses existing is relevant in considering this short written ministry. We need to pay attention for the Divine, be aware because its working, promptings, and so on are easy to miss. On the other hand, sometimes if we don’t notice them they will jar us just as much as a pothole – usually to more benefit than a pothole, but also sometimes to more discomfort. So we might miss the promptings of the Divine, and sometimes we don’t see them coming but they hit us full in the face anyway. The promptings of the Divine are not always welcome, nor even always to our own eventual benefit. However, it is my experience that they are that firm and uncomfortable mostly only when we have been neglecting subtler signs and leadings. Thus we may bring ourselves more into line with Divine guidance by being always ready for it, always ready to spot it and let it move us. If we do not, it may – metaphorically speaking – give us a smack around the head to get our attention.

Less hard-hitting, but still important, is the subtlety that might be missed in the first half of the ministry. It “may be found everywhere”. Does this mean that the Divine is everywhere? To me, the Divine is not something that has any sort of location, omnipresent or otherwise, so I cannot read it that way – though you might. What goes for all of us, (almost) whatever we think of the Divine – whether it can act directly in the world, or only through us, or whether you think it is identical with the universe itself or exists outside of it, or any number of other variations – is this: we can see the impact of the Divine, its footprints, or the things that it would have us see that we might learn. Everything we see can aid our insight into the Divine, can develop our spiritual awareness. In that sense, we can see it everywhere, find it everywhere, and it is to our benefit to do so.

The overall message, to me – and once again I must say that I claim no authority on the meaning of these pieces – is that we do not need to go looking for the Divine, we do not need to seek it out. Instead, we must realise that it is always speaking to us, always there to guide and advise, and rather than looking, we must learn to recognise it and listen to it. It is not easy, and I do not know that it can ever be achieved perfectly, but it is most definitely rewarding.

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