On the Edge . . .
Psalm 119 verse 105 says –
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
In ancient times in the middle-east people used to travel, on foot, by night, as it was too hot and exhausting to travel far by day.
In the wilderness, the moon and stars were not always available and even when they were the shadows cast did not always give the detail on the ground needed for safe walking.
So people would attach small oil lamps to their feet.
They travelled slowly, carefully, heading forwards into the small patch of ground their foot-lamps illuminated.
In addition to this detailed, short-term view of where to go next they had two things to guide them.
The stars, and their intuition – or faith in the ‘Word’ – that they were going in the right direction.
In that way, a tide of people would slowly move forward, step by step, to discover new ground when the sun came up the next day.
When they started the evening before, they will have had little idea what it would really look like.
But they did have a vision, or a ‘dream’ of what it would be.
“A land flowing with milk and honey” perhaps (but explaining that is another story).
You and I also have our visions of the future, or our ‘dreams’.
You and I also have our own faith that we will achieve those visions and ‘build’ those dreams.
In the 16th Century Hildegard of Bingen spoke of “the green growing edge of our becoming”.
Polonius in Hamlet Act 1 Scene 3 says “To thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day”
In other words – ‘keep the faith’ – or more importantly keep your own faith, and what you and I most desire, envision and ‘dream’ will, without exception, ‘come to pass’.
Most people do have ‘dreams’, but unlike you and I, those dreams and visions are not fully formed, and again, unlike you and I, their belief is more often than not that those desires are unattainable – ‘never going to happen’.
There’s a very good reason for this.
Most people are in the middle of the field.
In their ‘comfort zone’
Like most people in the 15th Century who believed completely that if you sailed too close to the ‘edge’ you’d fall off into oblivion.
Columbus proved them wrong.
There was no ‘edge’, no ‘end of the world’, no ‘black hole’ beyond the horizon from which one could never return.
Like you and I, Columbus went to the ‘edge’ and beyond, and returned, and got paid!
Hildegard’s ‘green growing edge’ is where you and I need to be.
With our foot-lamps, taking one small step at a time in the direction our intuition and faith leads us.
That way you and I will achieve our ‘giant leap’.
From where we are no to where we want to be – one small step at a time on the green growing edge of our vision.
Go ahead
Join me, take your next step.
We won’t ‘fall of the edge’, it will come with us.
