The Gift Of Paradox

To be human is a gift. To be on earth is a gift, especially now, the worst of times, the best of times. The greatest gift you can receive is the gift of paradox.

To spread your arms and open your heart in the cruciform gesture of early Christian prayer, the "orant posture," is precisely how a Lakota warrior stands in the Hanbleceya, crying for a vision, facing the dawn; and exactly how a Taoist warrior of peace, in Qigong meditation, stands tall, spreads her arms, and embraces the rushing winds of time.

The gift of paradox is your flesh. Stumble akimbo, wildly widely hugging. Let East and West kiss in the chuppah of your heart. From your crown to your feet, let the lightning in your spine unite the North and South. Let shadows and suns from every end of the cosmos merge in your chest. Be the antipodes.

When you cling to the light, you are lost. When you cling to the dark, you are lost. Don't be a fist, be an open palm. Heavenly beings envy your human birth. They marvel at your courage. For only on earth, in this cauldron of opposites, can a soul become human, and ripen, and get cooked.

You have made a covenant with wandering. Now it is time to dwell right where you are. Here, at the center of the cross, which is your sacred body.

Rest in the place where outbreath and inbreath caress one another, the infinitesimal bridal chamber of silence, containing the stars, the ancestors, the unborn, and all the miracles of grace, this rosary of moments, your coming day.

Here is your path of gratitude, from morning until evening. Look, the darkness sparkles. The golden thread is broken, rubies and emeralds scattered for you to walk on, from jewel to jewel.

Go slow, this labyrinth leads to yourself. Dwell here, at every step. This is where you ought to Be. And this is where I Am. Meet the Friend reposing in your aloneness. Embrace the gift of paradox. Become whole.

 

Image: Orant Posture, from the catacomb of St. Priscilla, earliest Christian gesture of prayer.