Have you ever felt unsupported by your own family? For being who you are? For walking your talk? Your aim is to live on purpose, to live your truth, to expose and make wrongs, right, but you're deemed irrational, eccentric or radical. What sets that person apart? What makes them so threatening? Because they must appear threatening to get the kind of response and backlash thrown at them. Why else would family and friends respond that way? They become threatening to those who don't understand and can't see beyond their own falseness and denial of truth.
I've thought about how Jesus wasn't accepted in his own home, in his own house. In fact, his family thought he was crazy. Not so much his mother Mary, from my understanding, because she accepted him for who he was...and supported his need to spread the word. And, what is this word? It's truth in a nutshell.
We see the workings of it everywhere. We aim to live our lives but do any of us ever question our motives, our intentions? Or, do we resign ourselves by saying, "This is life. This is the way of the world?"
Jesus fought against the way of the world...because the way of humans is false...and leads away from all that is good and right.
That's why Jesus was not accepted as prophet by his own family or town. Because he brought to light all that had been in the dark...and people were not able to receive this light, this knocking of the truth. It brought into question everything they believed. They wanted to continue to live in denial, in falseness. Seeing the light was too unbearable...and required too much work...soul-work to overcome the lies.
We hear it all the time...how someone is ostracized for believing differently, for behaving differently. A brother will say about his brother, "He's nuts." Or, "What's gotten into him?"
That's why Jesus said to leave your family and friends and follow Him...because a man who made it his mission to not only show the truth but to live by it, as well, would be deemed dangerous by those closest to him. It would be too painful for some family members to move in the same direction. We relish living in denial. Denial can be comfortable and easy. In this place is where we've set our roots. Can you imagine having to dig and pull at these roots, which are buried deep in the ground, and rebuild 'elsewhere'? Where is this place? What does it mean to rebuild anew? We're having to rebuild new temples, synonymous with new bodies, new vessels, from the ground up, that would be strong, resilient, sturdy and authentic enough to hear the truth and not be crushed by it. That is a feat and worth more than anything in this world. And again, it requires an over-haul. Who has the eyes to see and the ears to hear?
Sure, having someone tell you to leave your family sounds radical...But, let's put it in perspective. What's radical is being expected not to live your own truth...and quite tragic, too.
We see these examples of non-acceptance play out in other ways, too. A father takes the advice of his doctor though he has a son who is a doctor and has advised him to do the same thing. He'll listen to the doctor but not the doctor who happens to be his son.
Or, how a parent can't see the talent in his own son and yet, strangers can and do.
Those are most likely examples for another post...I think of Gurdjieff now and something he said along the lines of, "If you want to lose your faith, become friends with a priest." Ha, definitely for another post...but, I'll keep this part here anyway. Why not?
And maybe this is different, too...but it also brings to mind how some family members might not be happy for you should you find success (whatever that means to you). It wreaks of jealousy...or is it something else? I always thought, shouldn't you be able to share good news with those closest to you? Shouldn't being supportive come easy to them? I mean, we're family. No no...even in these instances, there's a need for pause.
There's no point in getting angry or making friends with disappointment. You see, not everyone stays the course. Some abandon ship. Some might not have the courage or resolve to keep on keeping on. I guess it's important to remember that we can't make others feel and see what we want them to feel and see. It's wise not to take it, personally. I think that's what Jesus meant - to continue on the path even if it means you leave family and friends behind. He's already paved the way...
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