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 11 Jan 2003 @ 11:09, by Julie Solheim-Roe
Another nice tidbit sent from my beloved Glastonbury neighbour/ comrade Palden Jenkins. I've heard this one below, but with a slightly different bent about what is 'hell' and what is 'heaven'... God put the angels and the devils to a test. He set up a huge banquet hall with a wonderful feast. First He invited the devils to the feast. They were delighted until they found out that they couldn't bend their arms at the elbows! How were they to eat all the delicious food when their hands wouldn't go to their mouths? They tried eating off the plate, which was messy and undignified. They tried throwing the food in the air and catching it in their mouths. Nothing worked very well. After 15 minutes of this mayhem, God told them that time was up. They trooped out cursing Him.
Next, He invited the angels into the hall. A fresh feast was laid out,and the same thing happened - they couldn't bend their arms at the elbows. The angels all looked at each other and burst out laughing. "What a great game!" they said as they fed each other. ... Hmmm... Sometimes in our journey is about how we approach the situation we find ourselves in. I remember a quote I learnt in junior high, 'When Life hands you lemons.... make lemonade!" The motif of the lemonade stand is probably a favourite amoungst my generation --- the charm of creating an event out of what you find in your own backyard, your own Kansas... and harvesting it's fruits.
Right now my family is living on some friends' land up in the High Mohave Desert, near Joshua Tree. We're in a trailer out in the middle of a picturesque canyon with no visible neighbours in sight.... and, learning about solar power and living a simpler life for six temporary months. A strange sabbatical from the English countryside! On some days, because of the learning curve and the many demands of our worldly life... if the main power zaps out after one light being on for a half an hour, we can decide we're inadequate for not understanding our electrical systems by ourselves and without having to call upon the help of our friends. We are the devils in despair. Yet, the next night, we can be resourceful, and play a game of cards by candlelight. With this simple idea, at that moment we have 'lightened up' and just enjoyed the Now....
Yet yet yet, still yet... how can we celebrate the lightness without the journey through the many tunnels of psyche? How can we 'be there' without going somewhere else first, to get there? This has been a constant source of musing for me... if we were only angels in heaven... how could we know it? The Gnostic Jung mapped the idea that from the realm of the undifferentiated, we must distinguish ourselves. On the road map through time and space, there must be points to define where one has been and where one is going. A concept of goodness can only be experienced not as an idea but as a coming into beingness... an alignment or emergence from mind, heart and spirit... and of course, our physiology. I call these 'pops'... I pop out and remember... only, again to continue this mad hatter party and forget again tomorrow.
All, for this continuous dream of the awakening...
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Category: Ideas, Creativity
1 comment
12 Jan 2003 @ 02:01 by : An Excellent Message
Thank you, Julie, for the inspiration this day. I have a friend for whom the fog hopefully is just lifting a little; this story will help immeasurably.
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