"May my heart be big enough to hold both dark and light, joy and sorrow, death and resurrection, destruction and creation and stand in the still point of compassion." ~Lisa Lanzetta
An Easter parable by Lisa Lanzetta and the lineage. (no, this is not a rock band) Jesus, the Fool, a Shaman and a Rabbi walk into a Starbucks. Taking a seat at the round table, the storytelling begins. They are sharing their woes. Jesus: I’m so done with the whole crucifixion thing. Shaman: I’m not so sure, I think it’s a pretty great story. It’s got all the human juicy bits in it. Betrayal, sacrifice, judgment, separation. You were totally thrown under the bus and came out the other side a pretty cool dude. Rabbi: What crucifixion? Fool: Oh come on you guys, quit whining. It’s just a human story for a human journey, they even have a name for it 'The Hero’s Journey'. Shaman: Yes, a map for humans to follow, yet still a lot of sleeping still happening. Jesus: Well, if you knew you were going to be crucified just for waking up? Fool: I don’t know, I kinda like the part after the death where you rolled that stone away and emerged a new dude. That was cool. And...it only took you three days. Shaman: Yeah, my humbling (death and resurrection) took two years. And in hindsight, the best direct experience I ever had. So worth it! I feel like the thing that frightens most is the part of ‘not knowing’ if you will resurrect. Yet, Jesus you lived it so well. The story still lives in all of us year after year. Rabbi: Have we really kept it alive? I see more chocolate bunnies. I’m still confused what they have to do with the Easter story. Fool: Ego death is too scary. Chocolate and bunnies are safe. Rabbi: I guess it’s a different kind of ritual? Shaman and Fool: Do you eat the ears first? Everyone: Laughter. Then, in walks Mary: Hey, what are you guys doing? Everyone: Just jabbering while waiting for you so we can get down to the real business of the day. Compassion! Shaman: Aho! Fool: Yippee! Rabbi: Shalom. Jesus: Welcome Home. Mary: Oh you guys, you are so silly. Well, I’ve been pondering where we might have derailed, and what I keep coming up with is we are all human sitting at this table, and we are all teachers and guides, yet somewhere along the way we have been deitized. Fool: Yes! I love where this is heading. Shaman: Aho! Rabbi: I’m listening. Jesus: Yup, the stone is too heavy. Mary: Alrighty then, back to compassion, the relation to deity and the Easter story. We all became teachers and guides for our ‘love of humanity’. (nods all around the table). Yet, if we are deity’s it takes away from the love of self. The teachings are being misinterpreted. We must have compassion for ourselves-our own humanity. Fool: Like Jesus. He rocked compassion for himself and then it spread until it got sidetracked. I’m hearing you Mary! Mary: Well it’s time to untie the bindings of separation, slavery and get jiggy with being kind to ourselves. Rabbi: Sounds a wee bit like Passover. Liberation! Mary: Yes, and ‘good’ Friday. The ‘good’ part is just like Passover. It’s a liberation and a death ritual to free us so we have compassion for ourselves first. Fool: I always wondered why they call it ‘good’ Friday. I mean really dude, our friend here was crucified. Now it’s making more sense. We can’t miss the death part because that gives us the strength to tackle any massive boulder and roll it away. I am so liking this story! Shaman: We love death ceremonies. My favorite is ‘untie the bindings’. (check out the blog) During my two year death, I did this a lot. Fool: I’m all about death being ‘good’ also. I like to practice regularly also, keeps me in presence! Rabbi: I love me a good ceremony and ritual. Jesus: ‘nuff said. Barista makes an appearance: Hey, are you guys going to order something? Everyone: Uh-oh, does anyone have any money? Rabbi: My treat again? I need some friends whose currency is money, not just compassion. Everyone, including barista: Laughter. So ends the round table with lots of laughter and high fives.
Five steps of transformation that govern life in the universe:
birth
death
rebirth
freedom
unity
The takeaway of the story? Find comfort in ALL of the five steps of transformation so that you can fully experience a soul-led life. And, compassion is not so much a mental game. As Mary would say...
It’s a feeling. As Shaman would say... It’s energy. As Fool would say... I’m open to anything as long as I don’t have to take myself too seriously. As Rabbi would say... Shalom. Happy Easter everyone. I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did channeling it. Namaste, Aho, Shabbat Shalom, Aloha! And, many more ways to say ‘the God in me sees the God in you’. Walk in Beauty, Lisa