Sunday musings – Easter Sunday – April 16, 2017
My friend Bob sent me a message this morning which said, “Happy Easter to you. It’s a new beginning, a new day, a new season. A great day to be reborn and move forward.” Recently Bob, as he begins his fourth decade of having finished law school, took and passed his bar in one state and is preparing to take the bar exam in another state. Yesterday I was with a group of friends which included a physician who several years ago made a decision to enter seminary and is now an Episcopal priest, a man who in his third decade quit his business job and is now a licensed physician, a woman who I think I nearing her fourth decade and has just graduated from FBI school, a woman in her eighth decade who has just started work at a library in addition to being a master gardener and a retired social worker. Tomorrow I will visit with a friend who has in her sixth decade opened a private practice as a therapist/counselor. My son who just turns 46 has started a new job. Daily, my friend Becky seems to open herself to new roles. She has been teacher, administrator, full-time aunty mother, blogger, chief caretaker of many older members of the family and workshop presenter as well as author. My friend John moves from college professor, actor, director, legal editor to spiritual seeker. It seems as if I am surrounded by courageous, creative individuals who keep opening themselves to rebirth. They keep stepping outside of their comfort zones and rebirthing themselves.
In the Christian tradition Easter begins with lent, bears witness to the crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and moves on in the Western tradition to seven weeks of Eastertide. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha lasts for 40 days and ends with the Feast of the Ascension.
Whether it is Easter, the Passover celebration of the Exodus and a new beginning, the invitation by Buddha to let go of one’s attachments or some other ritual, humans seem to have long recognized that either we move forward or backwards. It was Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic philosopher who long ago reminded those who could hear that “One cannot step into the same river twice.” – that all is in a constant state of flux. We move forward or backwards. Sadly, many allow anxiety and other symptoms of fear to prevent them from moving forward. One may numb out with alcohol, other drugs, power, sex, work or other people, places or things until, as we have been reminding ourselves the past three days the suffering is so intense that one is forced to end one’s life or move forward. Tragically some choose to end their life journey.
For some the resurrection is a literal, historic event. For others, it is symbolic of the invitation to be intentional about the dance of rebirth. Although some rituals are celebrated but once a year, we are called to embrace new possibilities daily. Some in the United States have been calling to “Make America Great Again” in terms of manufacturing, such industries as steel and coal mining, and in being less global in our dance of life. The truths are:
· We cannot move backwards. For example, many jobs have been automated. We no longer need humans to do many of the jobs which formerly provided a decent wage.
· We now know that not only is the environmental cost of coal too high, the side effects of mountain top mining and such practices as fracking are too high.
· Like it or not we are a global economy.
· Life for women, African Americans, Native Americans and others was not great in past years.
Easter and spring reminds us of the example of the many who have heeded the call to be reborn. Whether the example of Jesus is accepted as literal or symbolic does not matter. What does matter if whether we too are willing to move forwards or backwards.
The 12-step program of recovery from addiction often reminds individuals of the need to surround themselves with people, places and things which are going to feed their recovery instead of their addictive behavior and thinking. The same is true for all of us. Surrounding ourselves daily with people of vision and courage challenges us and reminds us that every day is the day for rebirth.
Written April 16, 2017
My friend Bob sent me a message this morning which said, “Happy Easter to you. It’s a new beginning, a new day, a new season. A great day to be reborn and move forward.” Recently Bob, as he begins his fourth decade of having finished law school, took and passed his bar in one state and is preparing to take the bar exam in another state. Yesterday I was with a group of friends which included a physician who several years ago made a decision to enter seminary and is now an Episcopal priest, a man who in his third decade quit his business job and is now a licensed physician, a woman who I think I nearing her fourth decade and has just graduated from FBI school, a woman in her eighth decade who has just started work at a library in addition to being a master gardener and a retired social worker. Tomorrow I will visit with a friend who has in her sixth decade opened a private practice as a therapist/counselor. My son who just turns 46 has started a new job. Daily, my friend Becky seems to open herself to new roles. She has been teacher, administrator, full-time aunty mother, blogger, chief caretaker of many older members of the family and workshop presenter as well as author. My friend John moves from college professor, actor, director, legal editor to spiritual seeker. It seems as if I am surrounded by courageous, creative individuals who keep opening themselves to rebirth. They keep stepping outside of their comfort zones and rebirthing themselves.
In the Christian tradition Easter begins with lent, bears witness to the crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and moves on in the Western tradition to seven weeks of Eastertide. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha lasts for 40 days and ends with the Feast of the Ascension.
Whether it is Easter, the Passover celebration of the Exodus and a new beginning, the invitation by Buddha to let go of one’s attachments or some other ritual, humans seem to have long recognized that either we move forward or backwards. It was Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic philosopher who long ago reminded those who could hear that “One cannot step into the same river twice.” – that all is in a constant state of flux. We move forward or backwards. Sadly, many allow anxiety and other symptoms of fear to prevent them from moving forward. One may numb out with alcohol, other drugs, power, sex, work or other people, places or things until, as we have been reminding ourselves the past three days the suffering is so intense that one is forced to end one’s life or move forward. Tragically some choose to end their life journey.
For some the resurrection is a literal, historic event. For others, it is symbolic of the invitation to be intentional about the dance of rebirth. Although some rituals are celebrated but once a year, we are called to embrace new possibilities daily. Some in the United States have been calling to “Make America Great Again” in terms of manufacturing, such industries as steel and coal mining, and in being less global in our dance of life. The truths are:
· We cannot move backwards. For example, many jobs have been automated. We no longer need humans to do many of the jobs which formerly provided a decent wage.
· We now know that not only is the environmental cost of coal too high, the side effects of mountain top mining and such practices as fracking are too high.
· Like it or not we are a global economy.
· Life for women, African Americans, Native Americans and others was not great in past years.
Easter and spring reminds us of the example of the many who have heeded the call to be reborn. Whether the example of Jesus is accepted as literal or symbolic does not matter. What does matter if whether we too are willing to move forwards or backwards.
The 12-step program of recovery from addiction often reminds individuals of the need to surround themselves with people, places and things which are going to feed their recovery instead of their addictive behavior and thinking. The same is true for all of us. Surrounding ourselves daily with people of vision and courage challenges us and reminds us that every day is the day for rebirth.
Written April 16, 2017
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