What Would Jesus See?
Over the weekend there were several moments when I knew.
I participated in Martha Creek’s “Journey Within” workshop and it was amazing (to put it mildly). Emotional, intense, uplifting, opening, liberating and so much more.
The weekend consisted of one exercise after another that encouraged the other women and I who took part to really hone in on our habitual ways of thinking and being and to explore what it might be like to be free…
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
~Rumi
I imagine this field that Rumi refers to.
I see it as this sunny, peaceful space where flowers are always in bloom, birds sing and everyone lives in harmony.
Fully visible is what lies beneath those heavy layers of judgment, criticism, blaming, superiority, ignorance, fear and hatred that we all are blanketed by from time to time.
We can be our best selves and and can see the best in others.
But, is this field a practical possibility in everyday life?
What does accepting– even loving– your body have to do with what really matters in life? Why is feeling beautiful important anyway?
After all, wars are being waged, people are losing their jobs, people are starving and suffering, the Earth is changing in many worrisome and scary ways…
Aren’t those the really important things?
When I get all caught up in feeling less than lovely, I start to feel embarrassed. It seems somewhat narcissistic and self-obsessed for me to be stressing out and consumed by my negative perceptions of how I think my body looks.
The word “unconditional” is thrown around quite a bit. It is often assumed that parents love their children unconditionally. Lovers are expected to love one another unconditionally. To boost self esteem, a person is encouraged to accept him or herself unconditionally.
I don’t know about you, but truly accepting or even loving unconditionally is not as easy as it sounds.
If any of us are completely honest with ourselves, we’d probably discover that there’s not a whole lot of unconditional loving or accepting going on.
I don’t think I know a single person who is ambivalent about Valentine’s Day.
When I hear people talk (and I’m sure there are exceptions), there is generally aversion or excitement to February 14th. There’s rarely anything in between.
Some look forward to passionate celebrating with the one they love.
Others scowl and rant about how this is yet another Hallmark-created holiday.
Yet others grimace at this reminder of how alone or heart broken they feel.
I tend to be a romantic kind of person and so I fall into the “looking forward to it” category. However, like many people, Valentine’s Day is fraught with traps and turmoil for me too.
Why would anyone want to spend any time or energy returning to those hormone-racing, pimple-filled, angst-ridden teenage years?
Precisely because for just about every one of us there’s a lot that is unresolved about them.
Each of our raging inner teens come barging into our lives from time to time leaving us scratching our heads wondering…
Where did that reaction come from???
When you go inside and help your inner teen to heal, it’s quite likely that you’ll find a greater sense of peace, a boost in confidence and self-esteem and the space to be and do what you keep meaning to be and do.
By Amy Phillips-Gary
A young boy struggles to deal with his parents' divorce, the introduction of a new person-- his mother's boyfriend-- into his life, feeling left out and ignored by his older sister and an overall sense of loneliness.
This not-so-unusual scenario is the stage upon which the movie version of the beloved children's book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is set.
While the book hints at the difficulties the pre-pubescent Max is going through, the movie version (titled the same) expands and brings them to a level that can be downright uncomfortable for viewers.
The wild things that Max encounters after he sails off to another land personify his seemingly out of control emotions.
