I never thought I would ever write these words:

I realized this while listening to Me & Bobby McGee, which he wrote and was a hit for Janis Joplin. This song contains some very deep wisdom. Allow me to explain:

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train
I was feeling near as faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained,
And rode us all the way to New Orleans.

First, our spiritual life--that is, our encounters with the Divine--require us to be "busted flat," that is, poor. Not materially poor, but poor in spirit. (Matthew 5:3) Only then will our life of prayer and service ("waiting for a train") will yield good fruit ("Bobby thumbed a diesel down . . .").

I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
I was playing soft while Bobby sang the blues.
Windshield wipers slapping time, I was holding Bobby's hand in mine,
We sang every song the driver knew.

Our spiritual journey is largely a process of finding joy ("I pulled my harpoon," harpoon being a slang term for a harmonica) in the hardness of life ("my dirty red bandana"). But we can only do this in communion--we rejoice together and suffer together ("I was playing soft while Bobby sang the blues"). Our spiritual journey and not a solitary one; our encounters with the Divine lead us into concrete relationships with others ("I was holding Bobby's hand in mine"). It is only by sharing one another stories do we become part of God's own story. ("We sang every song the driver knew").

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free, now now.
And feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues,
You know feeling good was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.

To make the journey with the Divine, we have to be free of our attachments; we cannot be afraid of losing the things upon which we've built our identity ("Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"); the only identity we have is the person we are in God and the person we are becoming in God ("Nothing don't mean nothing honey if we ain't free"). When we are free, we can respond to suffering with compassion, which is what St. Francis of Assisi would call "true and perfect joy." ("And feeling good was easy, Lord, when we sang the blues").

From the Kentucky coal mines to the California sun,
Hey, Bobby shared the secrets of my soul.
Through all kinds of weather, through everything that we done,
Hey Bobby baby kept me from the cold.

We can find God in all things ("From the Kentucky coal mines to the California sun"). But this requires freedom, and it is not without risks: any authentic experience of God will reveal the secrets of out soul, both the good and the bad ("Hey, Bobby shared the secrets of my soul"). Unfortunately, we want to hide, deny, or somehow conquer the dark sides of our souls. This belies our trust in God and faith in the transformative power of God's love. ("Through all kinds of weather, through everything that we done, / Hey Bobby baby kept me from the cold.")

One day up near Salinas, Lord, I let him slip away,
He's looking for that home and I hope he finds it,
But I'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday
To be holding Bobby's body next to mine.

But the spiritual journey is not without its perils--which we call temptation or sin. That is, we forget that we are journeying with God and toward God ("One day up near Salinas, Lord, I let him slip away"). We let our attachments get the better of us, and instead of searching for God--in whom alone we find our happiness, beauty, and dignity--we chase after other things, such as pleasure, wealth, fame, security, etc. This only adds to our suffering and the suffering in the world. But the good news is that our soul is always searching for union with the Divine ("He's looking for that home and I hope he finds it"); I wonder if that is a good definition for soul: that part of us that seeks God. We will only find true happiness when we rest in God ("But I'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday / To be holding Bobby's body next to mine."

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing, and that's all that Bobby left me, yeah,
And feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues,
Hey, feeling good was good enough for me, hmm hmm,
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.

Freedom, then, is the ability to choose Divine life--that is, compassion, love, and whole-heartedness--over our attachments. And that's good enough for me.