SHOWING ITS STUFF

“Do you have an arm like me? Can you shout in thunder the way I can? Go ahead, show your stuff.”

   -- God speaking, in Job 40:9 (in The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, by Eugene Peterson)

     This quote is of some significance to me, mostly because I have spent countless hours and days trying to “show my stuff”. I almost always seem to be attempting to prove something about my “self” – that I can "make it", that I have noteworthy talents, that I can do whatever it takes to bring satisfaction to my life Just this morning, I’ve been trying to demonstrate how organized and earnest I am: making my plans for the day, setting up my schedule of activities, choosing my clothes. (Notice all the “my’s”.) In the above passage, God --  the infinite Universe -- is poking a little fun at this kind of “me first and last” attitude – the attitude that says “I” am front and center in the entire Universe, and nothing will get done unless I do it. I can imagine that the Universe, after saying, "Go ahead, show your stuff", continues with these questions: “Can you organize the way I can? Can you teach the way I can? Can you keep your heart beating the way I can? Can you create happiness and magnificence the way I can? The answers are so obvious as to make the questions seem frivolous. The never-ending Universe (sometimes referred to as God, Allah, or the Tao) is constantly “showing its stuff”. All little me has to do today is relax, let go, accept, be patient, and take pleasure in the Universe's astonishing show.