Here we are one week after the 2024 Super Bowl.

The long lead up to, and the whole day’s events, (especially the halftime show!) is a fast-paced, three-ring-circus extravaganza.  Now I like circuses, and watched most of the event last week, including the commercials.  On one level, and for so many, it is the epitome of excitement and celebration of “winning” in our culture.

But let’s be honest.  While the winners get plenty of fuel to feed their ego, most of the ordeal is not very deep on a soulful level. (Here is one of my favorite distinctions between “Ego Stories” and “Soul Stories” you can find in Parker Palmer’s book The Hidden Wholeness.)

But perhaps on a polar opposite of the Super Bowl hype, we are at the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a season of 40 days of slowing down and letting go of ego.  In a wonderful Ash Wednesday service last week, Rev. Brenda Brooks-Alexander emphasized the importance of slowing down, spending time in silent, prayerful listening, and let our soul’s connection with God to show us the way throughout the season and into Easter. It is very difficult to hear the wisdom in the  soul by rushing around, led by our ego’s agenda. Instead, the soul learns about the depths of God’s love thru a kind of “pedagogy of suffering” that recognizes the power of compassion. (Footnote “Wounded Storyteller”?)

Lent is not just about giving up something. It is a letting go of the ego’s desires in order to open up to the Souls deep desire and the transforming Presence of God working for good through all thing. From this soulful perspective, everyone wins in this power and presence of compassion.

So in honor of the slower way of quiet presence and the deep power of compassion, I leave you with two songs, and an interview.

Dr. Len Delony

A CaringBridge Site was created for Len. It‘s a caring social network to help people stay connected with family and friends during a health event.

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