It is We Who Live
By Marlene Winell ~
On Easter, they say Jesus rose from the dead. Yet, coming out of this religion, many of us feel like we are the ones who are coming to life. Despite all the difficulties – the fear and anger, the grief and pain, we also have the exhilaration of waking up. We emerge from the coma of conformity and stand blinking as we get our bearings. And then we realize “We’re alive!” Here and now, in this world. We pat our own bodies and notice they are real. We pinch ourselves. We look around and see the natural world and we allow ourselves to be moved, perhaps weeping with amazement. With trembling hands we touch the softness of leaves, the liquid of water, the grit of sand, the smooth skin of a child’s face. We see into a friend’s eyes, finding there another being who is also alive and waking up. Together we hear the ocean, we smell jasmine, we see falling stars, we taste sweet ripe mango. We all stand with our feet planted on Earth, our home, and we realize that we have only begun an amazing journey.
On Easter, they say Jesus rose from the dead. Yet, coming out of this religion, many of us feel like we are the ones who are coming to life. Despite all the difficulties – the fear and anger, the grief and pain, we also have the exhilaration of waking up. We emerge from the coma of conformity and stand blinking as we get our bearings. And then we realize “We’re alive!” Here and now, in this world. We pat our own bodies and notice they are real. We pinch ourselves. We look around and see the natural world and we allow ourselves to be moved, perhaps weeping with amazement. With trembling hands we touch the softness of leaves, the liquid of water, the grit of sand, the smooth skin of a child’s face. We see into a friend’s eyes, finding there another being who is also alive and waking up. Together we hear the ocean, we smell jasmine, we see falling stars, we taste sweet ripe mango. We all stand with our feet planted on Earth, our home, and we realize that we have only begun an amazing journey.