The Neutral Zone Participle Vision Quest, End of Week I
And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell em a hookah-smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Funny how being attentive opens your eyes in strange ways.
I devoted this week to "attentive inactivity," what Bridges offers when one is in a neutral zone as a path to having eyes wide open to the everyday events that might actually make our lives richer, fuller, but only if we have eyes to see. Seems Jesus said something like that at one time. Only those with eyes to see will understand the eternity of the law.
Funny how being attentive opens your eyes in beautiful ways.
They used to call them "spirit guides." Some people still do. I don't know if I'm ready to call Stephen King and Tim Burton my "guides," but the stories of The Gunslinger and the new Alice in Wonderland have been a couple of broadening paths on this scary journey called "The Neutral Zone."
Both stories have similar meanings, mainly that the journey itself may be more important than the climax when the evil whatever-it-may-be meets its end. Without the middle story, without the journey, all you have is a final battle scene. All well and good. But it's the path where we find meaning. Not the end. Not the "interpretation" of the story, but the story itself. Not the "meaning" of the parable, but the parable itself. It's not heaven we're after, but a walk with God today. As Jesus once said, let tomorrow take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Heaven will be wonderful. But for today, in the neutral zone, an open eye to God is enough.
Funny how being attentive opens your eyes in mysterious ways.
This week I walked through the desert with Roland, and fell down the rabbit hole with Alice. The only difference was that I was not able to stand in a pulpit this week to sort it all out. Today forced me to reconcile what kind of Christian I might be without the opportunity every week to articulate just why/how it is we disciples of Christ do what we do, and be who we be. Today, my pulpit was empty. And for today, and the next few weeks, that's a very good thing. All we have today is the opportunity to be attentive to God deep at work in the world, whether the world is a home, a birthday party, a desert, or a wonderland.
Remember to be attentive. Do you see? God might be right in front of you. He might be at work in ways that seem perfectly ordinary. Just remember what the dormouse said.
Feed your head.
