The Perfect Storm, Love God
Sometimes the most ultimate conspiracy arriving to the most perfect storm could destroy your life (as you know it) ... and there will undoubtedly be a point - the eye of the storm, if you will - where you will look up and say 'Thank you'.
Metanoia was a term coined by Carl Jung describing a psychotic state where the mind fully breaks down only to be reformed in a much stronger, healthier way.
It's easy to believe that life is a gift. Especially when things are going easily and peacefully. When transition is smooth and everyone in your life is supporting you. When the heavens open up and the choir of angels sing. When the hand of God picks up the blockades in your path and lifts you up to the mountain so you can observe the path without tiring your feet by walking it. You know, when life is perfect.
I think we can all agree that this view of life is boring. I think we can all agree that it's full of shit. We are here to live. We are here to get sad, get mad, fall in love, make our own peace and find a place in the world -somewhere between crazy and grounded- where we can fit. The process of this leads to a wholeness greater than the sum of its parts. The 'parts' in this sense are the experiences that culminate to yield an individual understanding of the presence of the universe within our lives. Now I know what you are thinking: "Wait! Hold up! 'The presence of the universe within my life!?' I'm pretty sure it's the opposite. The universe is bigger than me and I am a micro unit within it!" Okay, I realize that you probably didn't throw your computer out the window when you read that statement but for the purposes of an Ah-ha moment I decided to throw that in there. There is however truth in it.
'Everything here is for you' a wise friend had mentioned to me casually one day. I am not sure if this is a quote from them although I truly couldn't get it out of my head when I heard it. It reminded me of 'Everything in life is a gift'. Now, I am not always a fan of New Age anecdotes because I personally feel that some of them bypass personal responsibility but these two hit me over the head. When we begin to see that everything is here for us and that all of our experiences are a gift to us it shows us that the concept of the universe isn't something that we are a small part of it is something that we are. Something that we are worthy of. Something that we not only receive 'life stuff' from but give 'life stuff' to. And within that philosophy is a small, simple, bright spark. We are here to be changed, to bring change and to grow.
There are times in all of our lives where things fall apart. Wait, sorry: They utterly fall apart and drive us to that uncomfortable place. But as I have always said based on my own experience and my experience in the healing arts: Healing is never comfy. I was thinking about this great scene from a movie which showed a bunch of Italian women grieving death. They were throwing themselves on top of the casket, crying this loud whaling cry, swearing at their loved one as if they had died purposely to hurt them and through all of this they found acceptance of the death of their beloved. 'Losing it' is a scary thought especially for those of us who already have a bit of crazy running through our veins but I think the most important point in all of this is to not hold back. Whether its laughing at something funny, tears of happiness or sadness or getting angry or even telling someone that we love them - we need to be authentic in our experience and live all of what we are. In society so many rules and expectations have been placed upon us. From the way we are supposed to feel to the way we are supposed to interact with the world around us there is a muffle placed over the extent to which we can experience.
Sometimes in life we have experiences that we cannot accept. We have thoughts that cross our mind that are uncomfortable - maybe about the future or the past or even the present. There are times when we will fall to our knees in despair and rise from the ground in hope but remember: the greatest of trees will grow from rock bottom. There are times when life will fall apart and we will feel that we do not have the strength to rebuild it, although of course we will rebuild it, and it will never be the same (in a good, better way).
Regardless of what happens in life there is an important lesson: Live authentically. Be exactly who you are and at the extremes that God blessed you with because perhaps if there were no extremes there would be nothing worth having. I say this because when we hurt - extremely - it shows us that we can also love extremely. That we can radically change our lives and the lives of others and in the midst of the storm we find ourselves and what we are made of. Be who you are and be the universe. Own who you are and know that we do not necessarily control what happens to us but when we can view the changes that come as pertinent to the unfolding of ourselves. We will not only weather the storm but we will be that change that we have been asking for.
By: Matthew Stapley
Sometimes the most ultimate conspiracy arriving to the most perfect storm could destroy your life (as you know it) ... and there will undoubtedly be a point - the eye of the storm, if you will - where you will look up and say 'Thank you'.
Metanoia was a term coined by Carl Jung describing a psychotic state where the mind fully breaks down only to be reformed in a much stronger, healthier way.
It's easy to believe that life is a gift. Especially when things are going easily and peacefully. When transition is smooth and everyone in your life is supporting you. When the heavens open up and the choir of angels sing. When the hand of God picks up the blockades in your path and lifts you up to the mountain so you can observe the path without tiring your feet by walking it. You know, when life is perfect.
I think we can all agree that this view of life is boring. I think we can all agree that it's full of shit. We are here to live. We are here to get sad, get mad, fall in love, make our own peace and find a place in the world -somewhere between crazy and grounded- where we can fit. The process of this leads to a wholeness greater than the sum of its parts. The 'parts' in this sense are the experiences that culminate to yield an individual understanding of the presence of the universe within our lives. Now I know what you are thinking: "Wait! Hold up! 'The presence of the universe within my life!?' I'm pretty sure it's the opposite. The universe is bigger than me and I am a micro unit within it!" Okay, I realize that you probably didn't throw your computer out the window when you read that statement but for the purposes of an Ah-ha moment I decided to throw that in there. There is however truth in it.
'Everything here is for you' a wise friend had mentioned to me casually one day. I am not sure if this is a quote from them although I truly couldn't get it out of my head when I heard it. It reminded me of 'Everything in life is a gift'. Now, I am not always a fan of New Age anecdotes because I personally feel that some of them bypass personal responsibility but these two hit me over the head. When we begin to see that everything is here for us and that all of our experiences are a gift to us it shows us that the concept of the universe isn't something that we are a small part of it is something that we are. Something that we are worthy of. Something that we not only receive 'life stuff' from but give 'life stuff' to. And within that philosophy is a small, simple, bright spark. We are here to be changed, to bring change and to grow.
There are times in all of our lives where things fall apart. Wait, sorry: They utterly fall apart and drive us to that uncomfortable place. But as I have always said based on my own experience and my experience in the healing arts: Healing is never comfy. I was thinking about this great scene from a movie which showed a bunch of Italian women grieving death. They were throwing themselves on top of the casket, crying this loud whaling cry, swearing at their loved one as if they had died purposely to hurt them and through all of this they found acceptance of the death of their beloved. 'Losing it' is a scary thought especially for those of us who already have a bit of crazy running through our veins but I think the most important point in all of this is to not hold back. Whether its laughing at something funny, tears of happiness or sadness or getting angry or even telling someone that we love them - we need to be authentic in our experience and live all of what we are. In society so many rules and expectations have been placed upon us. From the way we are supposed to feel to the way we are supposed to interact with the world around us there is a muffle placed over the extent to which we can experience.
Sometimes in life we have experiences that we cannot accept. We have thoughts that cross our mind that are uncomfortable - maybe about the future or the past or even the present. There are times when we will fall to our knees in despair and rise from the ground in hope but remember: the greatest of trees will grow from rock bottom. There are times when life will fall apart and we will feel that we do not have the strength to rebuild it, although of course we will rebuild it, and it will never be the same (in a good, better way).
Regardless of what happens in life there is an important lesson: Live authentically. Be exactly who you are and at the extremes that God blessed you with because perhaps if there were no extremes there would be nothing worth having. I say this because when we hurt - extremely - it shows us that we can also love extremely. That we can radically change our lives and the lives of others and in the midst of the storm we find ourselves and what we are made of. Be who you are and be the universe. Own who you are and know that we do not necessarily control what happens to us but when we can view the changes that come as pertinent to the unfolding of ourselves. We will not only weather the storm but we will be that change that we have been asking for.
By: Matthew Stapley