I remember pulling Animal Farm, from the bookshelf. I was a child, still singing Old MacDonald’s ee i ee i oh, too young to interpret allegory or comprehend satire. No doubt, I chose that book, thinking it was a story about farm animals.
Back then, life was full of unlikely relationships and mystery. I talked to trees and enjoyed vivid dreams. It was not long before I learned that in most circles, fantasy was better left in childhood.
I grew up in America’s south. My childhood pastor read from Greek and Hebrew texts, translating in English as he preached. It was his way of being true to the original words.
As far back as I can remember, the church of my youth was inclusive. Through the years Chinese, deaf and later, Laotian refugees made a home there.
When I was a teenager, my all white church was one of the first, in our denomination of Christianity, to welcome African Americans. Years later, that same church openly invited the gay community. Though far from perfect, in the end, deciding adults defined God as Love.
Whatever our backgrounds, knowledge and action serve us well. Then we come to an open gate, an invitation to intimacy.
Accepting invitations to threshold places, deepens our relationship with Sacred. There we realize our connection to everything and everyone.
Moses provided both universal guidance and necessary structure (Ten Commandments) for the Israelites. He also saw the backside of God.
Likewise, when we humble ourselves, in the proverbial wilderness, we position ourselves for stunning encounters with Love. Rather than setting the first part of our journeys in stone, we open to personal evolution. Considering that John wrote both, notice the shift from his gospel to Revelation.
There are times when we need clarity (fences). Even so, choosing to remain in power struggles, when a gate to transformation is open, steers us toward oppressive stories best told through allegory.
Balancing knowing and doing with our ongoing conversion experiences; however, frees our inner farm animals to be who they are at their essence, generous givers.
Sacred Ruminations*
There comes a time when each of us is invited to an intimate relationship with Love. Invitations to transformation always require a death of some kind. Rejecting these deepening opportunities, eventually leads to a scarcity mentality, a need to control, envy, giving up, etc.
What are some of your transforming experiences?