Tuesday, December 21, 2010

soul massage

What are you supposed to think about when you’re getting a massage? I like massages: I have plenty of aches, probably from internalizing too much stress. And at my age, someone said that if you don’t ache somewhere you’re probably dead. I like how a good massage therapist can tell if I’m tense, and then works on that part of the body, relaxing the muscles so that I’m able to use that part of my body the way it was supposed to be used. It may be a little painful at times (“deep tissue” massage is a euphemism for “painful”). And when s/he’s done the massage therapist always tells me to “drink lots of water” because of all the harmful stuff that’s been released from my body and is now floating around in my blood stream and needs to find a way out.

Not everyone likes massages. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea, even though it might be good for them to loosen up a little. Or they may not want someone else to know their body that well, where they’re tense or where they have a blemish that they themselves can hardly even see except with a tri-fold mirror in a dressing room.

I had a massage recently and here’s what I was thinking about: contemplative prayer is like a full body massage for your soul. It starts with my cooperation: I need to release myself to God’s loving hands. At first it may be merely relaxing. But then He finds the places where I’m tense and don’t want anyone to see and He works out the toxins. He tells me to drink of the living water so that the bad stuff gets purged from my soul. Often it’s painful, but I’m more able to live up to the potential that He’s built into me.

So when was the last time you had a full-soul massage?

compassion prayer

Lord, may I never be seduced by sweet devotion while I have more than I need and others have less. (from Sacred Space for Advent 2010)