Saturday, June 14, 2008

Static Shocks

I'm headed back to Springfield today, this time to celebrate Father's Day with my dad and the rest of the family. I'm going to try to get time to wander by myself a bit, but that may or may not be possible.

In the wake of Tim Russert's death, I've been thinking about what allows the son of a garbage man to become one of the most respected members of his profession, one of the best known, most trusted people in the country. I'm pretty sure part of it is being in touch with who you truly are. Not simply a sense of your own family or the place you came from, although Tim certainly seemed to have those. Not simply intelligence or the willingness to work hard, because many people have that.

This morning I think it's a sense of the divine that allows us to become the best versions of ourselves. Not exactly of God, or certainly not in the traditional sense. More like a sense of what connects us all, of what lies beyond our day-to-day existence and personalities, of who we are at the core.

I'm pretty sure it's that sense of who we are that allows a person to step beyond the ordinary, to dare to do what's in his or her heart without worrying about failure. Or, at least to not be paralyzed by fear of it. Stretching beyond your boundaries requires believing you have the right to take up that much space.

I've had a few brief brushes with the Divine. They feel to me like static shocks, tiny currents of electricity. Remaining static provides a different kind of shock, the kind where you bump up against your own reflection somehow and see all that you haven't been brave enough to dare.

That kind of shock can either wake you up or knock you down. I'm going to try to wake the hell up.

How about you?

6 comments:

The Geezers said...

I'm all for awakening.

Sometimes I think, though, that we make a mistake by imagining there's great drama to awakening.

Perhaps it's not an accomplishment at all, but just a recognition.

mamatulip said...

My mom called them God Moments. I've had a few. It helps to connect me with the universe.

Carrie Wilson Link said...

I agree with Mercurious, sometimes awakening is slow and gradual, and it is only in retrospect we see how far we've actually come.

Deb Shucka said...

Wakening is moment by moment. The minute you see yourself asleep, your become awake.

I think the key is to begin to understand that the boundaries are illusion. It's not about having the right - it's recognizing that we're all a part of the big energy field that conducts much more than just static zings.

Great writing as always. Love to you.

Go Mama said...

Jerri,
You have the right to take up as much space as you want to, to be as bold as you dare to be, and to go forth and do what it is at your very core you came here to do.

Go for it! Why the hell not?!

Amber said...

"Stretching beyond your boundaries requires believing you have the right to take up that much space."

...Holy crap. That is awesome. I am writing this down in my collection book of wise words.

:)