One summer day when I was 4 or 5 my two big
brothers told our mother they were taking me to the Furman pool to teach me how
to swim.
"You boys be really careful,"
Mom said.
"Don't worry," they promised.
"We'll take good care of the little tadpole."
It was an indoor pool. The sliding doors were
open, but many other windows were fogged up. A lifeguard kept watch perched on
his tall chair at the edge of the pool.
One brother took me by the hands, the other by the
feet, swinging me back and forth, "one and two and three...."
Then, without further ceremony or advice, they
flung me into the deep end.
As I posted last week, D. H. Lawrence wrote,
"Men are not free when they are doing just what they like. Men are only
free when they are doing what the deepest self likes. And there is getting down
to the deepest self! It takes some diving."
Religions are in deep trouble when their people
stay in the shallows.
How is it possible to know, to go with God, if we
don't get out of our depth?
Becoming free and fully alive takes getting to the
deep end of the pool--but the way I got there is not the best way.
I only really know one religion, Christianity.
Christianity certainly recommends getting to the deep end, but for centuries we
have effectively failed at training people how to swim in the deep end.
Perhaps it's because we have such a high regard
for grace--and such a low regard for works--a high regard for God--and a low
regard of our own capacity to meet God, even to incarnate God in the depths of
our own lives and in the deep places of life.
To swim takes training and practice. I flailed my
way to the side of the pool after my brothers threw me in. The most I could do
the rest of that summer was dog-paddle. The next summer, by watching other
swimmers, I developed a passable stroke. It wasn't till I was in my 30s that I
actually got lessons, practiced, and actually experienced the
joy of smooth, efficient movement through water.
Love the deep places.
When we don't love the deep places it's almost
always because we haven't been there or haven't been lovingly, skillfully,
practically prepared to be there.
I hope to follow this thread over the next few
days. In the meantime, I'd like for as many of you as possible to post here or
on my Facebook page the names of people, books, and practices that have helped
you come into, to trust, and to navigate the deep end or your religion, soul,
spiritual tradition or practice.
I ask you to do this because it can be so
wonderfully helpful for us to check out what inspires, trains and sustains
others. If somebody names a person or book--Google the name, go to Amazon and
read the book reviews, explore similar books that Amazon's algorithm
suggests--then order what looks good from your local book store!
Follow the threads that seem hopeful and
helpful.
Cultivate and share what works.
