From Paranoia to Metanoia

Description

On a morning walk by the water, I watch a woman smile at the sunrise and the storm-tossed waves, trying to capture a beauty her camera can barely hold. I know the feeling. “Behold, I make all things new,” God says, and sometimes that newness begins in the way we see. It is called metanoia: a change of mind that helps us notice beauty in the world, in another person, even in ourselves. When my ego shrinks my world to my own worries, paranoia can take over. I mean the everyday suspicion we can choose to dwell on, and that calls for a change of heart. Swedenborg describes spiritual renewal as a continuing process of repentance and growth. So I invite you to look again at someone you think you know. Trust may sometimes disappoint us; people can also surprise us in wonderful ways. Pause long enough to see one of those moments, and you may find yourself whispering, “Thank you, God.”