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Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Purgatory is not a destination Purgatory is one of those words that stirs our imagination. We have been told of it
since we were children. There are all sorts of legends, myths and stories surrounding this cosmic waiting room. We are told
that it is a place that people go to when they are not quite good enough to get to heaven and not quite bad enough to go to
hell. It is full of lost souls and the promise of redemption and ascension.
We believe that
these words, these threats, apply to the after life, as some form of divine judgment and punishment. What we do not want to
see is that purgatory is in the here and now. Jesus told us that Heaven is here, all around us. In the same way so is hell
and purgatory. They are all available to us at a moment's choice. They are not metaphysical places we travel to in the
afterlife, but rather they are self made creations in our current existence.
Many people will
have difficulty with this concept because it is easier to think that another has control of our fate rather than taking personal
responsibility for our own lives. There is also an unspoken relief in the idea of an afterlife purgatory, as if it is a safety
net. As long as there is that celestial second chance, we don't have to be too concerned with our performance in this
life. We would rather give over the concept of control to another so that the reality of responsibility does not resonate
in us.
How many of us work in jobs we do not want or like? How many of us have no time for friends
or family? How many of us find ourselves in lives we feel trapped in? How many of us can honestly say we enjoy life? We don't
have to wait for purgatory, we are already in it. For the majority of us life is not miserable or terrible, and yet, neither
is it happy or joyous. We put off our joy for the empty promise of security and stability. We do not have to wait for a divine
judgment, we have judged our selves and decreed a life of stagnation and intransigence.
We make
these choices unconsciously, out of fear. We are in a holding pattern, waiting to feel a safety and security that never comes,
and always remains over the horizon. We deny ourselves because we believe that is what we should do. If we dared chase a dream,
or follow a passion we upset the equilibrium of unhappy equanimity. We accept purgatory as the status quo and painfully wait
for the fleeting vision of a heavenly future.
With every wait, there is an end where we are
called. Our name is whispered and we are asked to move on, not in the next life, but in this one. We tend to feel safe and
warm in our self imposed asylum and leaving seems counter intuitive and counterproductive. Even if we are not happy, why leave
when we don't know where we are going or where we will end up? The answer is because spirit will not be denied.
What was once a whispered request becomes a shouted order that can no longer be ignored. At that point our
imagined security disappears and leaving the waiting room is no longer an option, we either run out or we are thrown
out. When it comes to this it is difficult to imagine that it is for our highest good. Purgatory is a temporary rest stop,
it is not a destination.
When you are in your own purgatory, you should rest up and relax.
Enjoy the fleeting comforts of ordered silence, warmth, forced air and air conditioning. But when the time comes, when
your name is whispered you should listen well. Do not tarry. Raise your courage and embrace the unknown. The transition will
be easier and quicker if you go when asked. I know because I didn't.
10:35 am est
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