The Falcon Cannot Hear the Falconer

I read an interesting blog post yesterday. It’s a long post with a lot of really great links to news stories that might be of interest to you political junkies out there. But the start of the post really caught my attention as a metaphor for the Christian walk:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
- Verse 1, The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats

What a useful poem Yeats concocted - so many applications. Today let’s look at some stories that flesh out the idea of the “widening gyre” - think of the falcon, tossed off the leathered glove, ascending ’round and ’round in ever-broader circles. Think of a cyclone. Think how hard it is for us falcons - as we move further away, caught in all the noise of wind and air - to hear the voice of the Falconer who set us free.

What things are distracting you today? Are you letting the world pull you further away from the One who should be your center? What keeps you from listening to His voice?