So,.. if the Japan earthquake and consequent tsunami happened just around the corner, just how connected are we? I've been reading about geologic matters recently,... you know, plate tectonics, subduction, convergence, divergence, continental and oceanic drift and all of that. Turns out that our globe is constantly on the move. We are in fact, in very rudimentary terms (because I don't pretend to understand it all) floating on a mantle that carries us from one place on this globe called earth, and delivers us, over time, to another place. And guess what, we have no control. Zero. Its almost as if we're in an eternal game of continental bumper cars, over say... 4.5 billion years? And what's amazing about all of this. is that the underlying processes literally do mean that although our continents reside on different "plates", our worlds constantly collide with each other, in ways that are sometimes unexpected (remember the movie Crash). Earthquakes are but one example, but we are connected,.. not only in human terms, but in eternal, geologic ways. Connections that are inextricable, about which we speculate but cannot eradicate. Yes, we are joined at the hip or at the geologic trench, rift or plate, if you will. The late famous astronomer Carl Sagan has said that we are " star-stuff". That's actually not an abstraction, but it can be difficult to place into the context of the here and now. We could also say just as emphatically that we are "earth stuff". Connected undeniably and irrefutably... on this planet,.. here and now.
The Japan disaster reminds us of our vulnerability and fragility, but should also remind us that we rent this planet. For 2 to 4 million years (depending on your reference source), we have developed as a human species, created civilizations, empires, cites, etc. We've constructed, destructed, multiplied, gained possessions, recycled, gained more possessions and arrived at our present state. All of this, on a planet that we rent, but that lives, literally, beneath us, and that controls our daily existence (If you don't believe this, then checkout tomorrow's weather forecast). So if the owner decides to remind us that we are tenants, by rearranging the furniture, should we be shocked?
We are surprised because of the toll in human suffering. Because of the calamitous nature of the scope of destruction that has occurred, we are horrified. Indeed, human suffering is cause for concern and sadness about the plight of our neighbor. But are we also horrified because of the movement of the furniture that we think is ours? We've furnished the apartment perhaps, but maybe the owner doesn't like the arrangement. Perhaps, there's a reminder in this that thinking and priorities need to be re-examined, if not re-aligned.
Just food for thought, but for the 4.5 billion years this planet has existed, earthquakes and worse have occurred. Natural tragedies will occur for however long this planet exists. But we're horrified because while we're here, the furniture has been rearranged, and our daily routine has been altered so that now, we have to rebuild our lives. We have to establish a new and perhaps different "floor plan". But because human suffering has emerged, as it always does, maybe that floor plan will involve caring for our neighbor in ways that have lasting impact and are eternal. ... Maybe,... just like the earthquakes and tsunamis.
Welcome
Welcome to All. This blog is a discussion site, looking at our lives through our experiences, our spiritual, and, not so spiritual lens, ....what our lives look like at The Front. We are and some would argue, always have been, in interesting times. Servants, past and present have been at constant struggle with whatever the issues of the day have been. Where do we even begin to name them: poverty, hunger, education, shelter, .... and did I mention poverty? Fifty-one years ago, President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty, a war by the way, we're still fighting. Then again, we've always been at war with poverty, and yet poverty has remained steadfast. Jesus apparently got it right: "The poor will always be with you." But Jesus was a smart man. Did he mean what we think? Does poverty always have to be with us. Let's talk about this, and whatever else, in real and truthful ways. Let's view our lives from The Front.
If you have come to help me, then you are wasting your time. If you have come because your liberation is linked to mine, then we will work together.
----(Anonymous) Australian Aborigine Activist
--mailto:--neilpitts@aol.com
----(Anonymous) Australian Aborigine Activist
--mailto:--neilpitts@aol.com
Contemplative Action
The Rite of Initiation: You are going to die
A shocking statement. Perhaps. But the Franciscan Priest, Richard Rohr,,who has studied the Rite of Initiation has said the following::
"Every initiation rite I've studied had some ritual, dramatic, or theatrical way to experience crossing the threshold from life to death in symbolic form. Some ritual of death and resurrection was the centerpiece of all male initiation. It is probably why Jesus sought out and submitted to John the Baptist's offbeat death and rebirth ritual down by the riverside, when his own temple had become more concerned with purity codes than with transformation. It is probably why Jesus kept talking to his disciples, three times in Mark's Gospel, about the necessity of this death journey, and why three times they changed the subject (8:31-10:45). It is undoubtedly why Jesus finally stopped talking about it, and just did it, not ritually but actually. Death and resurrection, the paschal mystery, is the theme of every single Eucharist no matter what the feast or season. It takes us many seasons and even years to overcome our resistance to death.
"The transformational journey of death and resurrection is the only real message. It makes you indestructible. The real life, God's life, is running through you and in you already. But allowing it to flow freely doesn't come easily. When you do, the spiritual journey really begins. Up to that moment it is just religion. Everything up to then is creating the container, but you have not yet found the contents; you are creating the wineskins, as Jesus says, but you are not yet drinking the intoxicating wine."
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