Having It Both Ways
Some days we scratch with the chickens and other days we soar with the eagles. Granted it’s more impressive to grandly ascend the heights but even eagles have to come down to earth at some point. I haven’t interviewed any landing eagles lately, but I’m willing to guess that they’re not worried they may never be able to take to the air again. They know who they are. The freedom and strength to fly are simply part of their identity. We human beings are different. We tend to forget our true nature. When we are scratching in the very gritty details of our problems we think we are doomed. Majestic vistas and the power that lifted us up to see them have evaporated from our recollection. There’s nothing wrong with examining the dirt to see what it may hold for us–in fact it’s a necessary part of life. We do find food for growth in hard situations. We discover what we fear and have wanted to push away. Grubbing stunts us only to the degree we don’t also open out attention to spacious possibilities. We have the power to do both. That’s what we are built for. That’s human beings’ true identity. We are meant to bring heaven into earth. We must inhabit both realms, facing life’s vicissitudes with the determined earthiness of the chicken and the broad-seeing dominion of the eagle. Having it both ways–that’s how God means it to be.
In the Love and Light of the Christ,
Rev. Anna
