I don’t know a great deal about Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Shwee), but it is, as I understand it, a Chinese concept of aesthetics that used the laws of heaven and earth to order one’s life in a way that maximized the use of life’s energy in a fashion that harmonized with the world around us.
Today it is used in a rather more trivialized and commercial fashion by interior decorators who probably don’t know a lot about ancient Chinese philosophy. But they do know an exotic way to sell their services when they see one.
In the middle of a rather lengthy business meeting last week, those of us around the table found a way to kill a few free moments by joking about the rather strange table arrangement we had been given for our meeting. The worst of it was that there were people left at tables behind us. They were forced to face the backs of our heads and we were forced to turn our backs on them.
Thus, one of the funnier “you had to be there to understand” moments was one in which we critiqued the arrangement as a product of “dys-feng shui.”
Whether you find that funny or not, I think it is true that the more we live into the spiritual life, the more we take responsibility for the world around us. We notice feng shui and dys-feng shui — or to turn the vocabulary in a direction that is a bit more familiar to me, you notice where the Spirit of God is at work and where the Spirit of God is marginalized.
I am not talking about some kind of soft social consciousness, never mind a body of political beliefs. I am talking about the capacity to look at the world around us through the eyes of God.
Not everyone who considers themselves spiritual necessarily takes that larger responsibility into consideration. In fact, most of us are taught that spirituality is about getting God involved in our lives, fixing our problems, comforting us when we are down, showing us the way. Our culture has taught us to think that way; and some spiritualities are devoted to that understanding of the spiritual life.
Now, at one level, I’m all for God being involved in my life. I don’t relish having problems. When God seems particularly close I enjoy the palpable sense of peace that goes along with such moments and I never mind knowing what to do next. But, at the same time, I don’t think that is the purpose of the spiritual life.
We have a larger responsibility. Feng shui doesn’t quite capture that responsibility, but it hints at a concept found in the Torah, in the prophets, and the teaching of Jesus — pretty much the entire Bible, in fact. It’s called the righteousness of God — the order God intended, to put it in more accessible terms. Put another way, we are called into partnership with Jesus to care about the way in which the world around us does or does not conform to God’s design.
Contributing to the righteousness of God won’t be as easy as rearranging the furniture in a room. Doing that in our world is a much bigger job. Not everyone will think that God’s opinion on where the furniture should go will agree with us. We won’t even agree among ourselves on where it should be all the time. And this side of eternity the furniture will never be where all of it should be.
But we can witness to making God’s righteousness a reality. We can make personal choices and relate to one another in ways that reflect the presence of God in our lives. Those may not be large pieces of furniture, but it’s a good place to start.
Dys-feng shui – I love it! Now when $*&% happens, I can blame my ugly couch!
M+
Today walking with my wonderful dog, Maple, I noticed a balcony that had been added onto one of the houses in the neighborhood. It caught my attention because for about two years I have been thinking of having one added onto my home. So I went around the corner hoping to see the back side of the house from the front view but I could not. I was bold enough to knock on the door to inquire about it. Both husband and wife were home and invited me inside to go out in the back and view it. The man is a contractor. They took my name and telephone number, plan to get in touch with me, and perhaps we can arrange for him to build one at my home.
What I really want to write about is their manner. They were very pleasant and sweet natured. They have a 5 year old daughter who attends a nearby Catholic school. She was pretty but very shy. They had once owned an Alaskan Malamute, which Maple is, and so we talk affectionately about her and the Northern Breed Dogs.
Most of all I was impressed with their kindness and gentle spirit. The Lord was not mentioned between us but I am almost 100% sure they are Christians! Why? doesn’t the Scripture mention that others will know us by our love and that the Spirit bears witness with one another that we are children of God?
I wish all people I meet were such warm-hearted souls. I’m also thankful that the Lord gave me boldness to knock on their door. We may have more contact together and he may become very essential in my life by his skill as a builder. When we consider how Jesus directs our steps and puts people, places, and things in our lives – how can we ever doubt? Alas, but we do! The question then is: “Why?”
Thank You, Jesus, for these sweet, loving folks and may Your blessings abound upon them.
I love the play on words–dys-feng-shui. Very clever.
Literally, feng shui (pronounced foong shoo-ee in the Cantonese dialect) is wind and water. It is an awareness of the flow of chi/qi or life energy.
When we feel stuck or in pain within ourselves, the qi may be blocked up in our bodies. This occurs because we have shut down/off parts of ourselves in a misguided attempt to defend us from being hurt. Ultimately, the cure is to unblock/unclench and let the qi energy flow to bring healing. Easier said than done.
With the disruptive and discouraging things going on in my life right now, I need to remember that Christ is the ground of my being and let the light of Christ shine through me like qi. Like a laser beam coursing through me from my head down to my toes.