For a long time I've been fascinated by the concept of life being a journey, with stops along the way. Twenty years ago I loved reading Scott Peck's concept in his book "Further Along the Road Less Traveled." He talked about four stages along the journey -
1. Chaotic - Wild, Lawless, Self Serving, Absence of Spirituality - This describes all babies and the entire lives of some human beings.
2. Institutional - Place we go to get rid of the chaos and learn the rules- Family, school, military, church, AA, cult, prison, etc.
3. Individual - Responsible person seeking truth
4. God Centered - Advanced spiritual truth seekers
Now I'm reading Richard Rohr's book, "Falling Upward." He talks about "The Loyal Soldier." So we know he's talking about #2. Being part of the institution - Following the rules - Keeping things safe. Rohr gives us the example of the older brother in the story of the prodigal son as "The Loyal Soldier."
We love and appreciate the Loyal Soldier because without him we would be aimless. We need discipline to get off to a good start. We need tradition.
But the time comes for us to move on up.
Rohr gives a good concrete example in telling us about Japanese communities that, after the war, created a ritual that thanked and praised the soldier for his service to the people. But "the war is over...you need to be something beyond a soldier."
I know all this is pretty cerebral - but I moved a long time ago from the rules to the mysterious relationship where the rules are sometimes kind of murky but the stakes are even higher
.
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2. Institutional - Place we go to get rid of the chaos and learn the rules- Family, school, military, church, AA, cult, prison, etc.
3. Individual - Responsible person seeking truth
4. God Centered - Advanced spiritual truth seekers
Now I'm reading Richard Rohr's book, "Falling Upward." He talks about "The Loyal Soldier." So we know he's talking about #2. Being part of the institution - Following the rules - Keeping things safe. Rohr gives us the example of the older brother in the story of the prodigal son as "The Loyal Soldier."
We love and appreciate the Loyal Soldier because without him we would be aimless. We need discipline to get off to a good start. We need tradition.
But the time comes for us to move on up.
Rohr gives a good concrete example in telling us about Japanese communities that, after the war, created a ritual that thanked and praised the soldier for his service to the people. But "the war is over...you need to be something beyond a soldier."
I know all this is pretty cerebral - but I moved a long time ago from the rules to the mysterious relationship where the rules are sometimes kind of murky but the stakes are even higher
.
***
