Please accept my sincerest apology for not posting in the past few months. I have just climbed out from under holiday joy, teenage angst and chaos, and personal growth. Whew!!! It really has been more subtle than that sentence implies, but was experienced as a ton of bricks! Oh, and I also started sculpting again. I am happy to be back with you and I have a lot to share.
Today I want to share an epiphany which I had recently. Actually, it's one that has hit me on differently levels several times in my life. Believe it or not, it started when I was four. Not the epiphany, but the lesson. I was in a Catholic church with my grandmother (yes, I was raised Catholic). I was four and she was explaining the stations of the cross to me and telling me that God sent his only, beloved son to die on the cross for us. I was horrified and outraged, as only a four-year-old can be. I didn't ask for Jesus to die on the cross for me. And how could a father who loved him send him to die? I struggled with this for most of my life. It was only over the past 2 years that I was able to make peace with such complicated ideas.
Most recently, it hit me that, for me at least, Jesus' suffering and dying on the cross was a clear and loud example of how we are to act if we wish to bring healing and wholeness to ourselves and others. I had finally broken down and watched Mel Gibson's movie The Passion. I had thought about watching it several times since it was released, but wasn't sure I could handle it emotionally. I'm glad I finally put on my big girl panties and watched it! Let me be clear, when I say we should act like Christ, I don't mean we have to be flogged and nailed to a cross. Yet what we are called to do and also told that we are quite capable of doing, is to remain open and loving no matter what is happening to us or around us. That is why you hear of Buddists who forgive as they are being murdered. Yes, I suppose staying open and loving in the face of hatred and pain can feel as painful as being flogged and nailed to a cross. But, we are told we are capable. "This and more shall you do."
The interesting thing is that being open and loving isn't just for the other person or even for the world at large. It is also for us. Being open allows energy to flow into our field and keeps us vital and thriving. Being loving keeps us in alignment with our truest self. We just have to breathe and remember that we are far more powerful than we ever give ourselves credit for being.
So, my challenge to myself and to whoever reads my blog is to stay open and loving the next time you or I are met with hatred or pain. If we can do that, we just might change the world:)
