When did I first encounter Ste Joan of Arc? I don't know ... although she has had an incredible influence on my 'spiritual journey' since June 2000 ... when I found myself in Rouyn France ... where she was martyred. Her 'story' came to my mind in strange circumstances in Guelph in 1997.
Here are the circumstances surrounding this particular event. I was living in Guelph at the time, it was early in the morning ... between 3:00AM and 4:00AM. Some may say it was the middle of the night!
In any event ... it was one of those nights I felt compelled to get up and go out for one of my 'coffee and cigarette runs'. At the time there was no smoking allowed in any of the local coffee shops ... don't know why but I decided to drive to the Tim Hortons at Highway 6 and the 401 ... about 15 kilometers.
Seems I remembered they still allowed smoking at this particular Tim Hortons ... in the 'fish bowl' ... a small section of the coffee shop cordoned off with glass walls ... usually very smoky...Yuk!
I arrived at the coffee shop ... stopped the car and got out. Just as I stepped out of the car my 'inner voice' instructed me to take a pen and a piece of paper in with me. I stood there for a few seconds ... mulling around in my mind what this unexpected and highly unusual sentiment was all about. I resisted for a bit and finally said to myself ... OK ... what the heck. I'll take it in and see what happens.
I ended up writing a few words about a memory from Medugorje several years earlier ... around the expression ... "Any ‘dead’ fish can float down stream, it takes a ‘live’ fish to swim upstream". Some thoughts about Joan of Arc and her going against the flow and changing the course of history. And the price one has to pay to go against the flow, people are simply not willing to pay the same price she paid … being burned at the stake. No more ... seemed that was all I had to write. So what was this all about? ... Who knows? ... Why did I save this particular 'scribbling' ... who knows? ... Who really cares?
As I write about this unusual experience ... the bizarre nature of it strikes me even more ... something wakes me from my sleep ... gets me out of bed and to a coffee shop 15 kilometers away to scribble a 100 words or so ... hmmm ... the words must convey something important?
Reminds me of the biblical story of Samuel ... he hears a voice calling him in the night ... he gets up and goes to his master and says ... "here I am".
Here is what I wrote that night:
"I was reminded this morning of a cliché I heard in Medugorje (Bosnia Herzegovina) several years ago: “Any ‘dead’ fish can float down stream, it takes a ‘live’ fish to swim upstream”
Harsh words?
Begs the question … how is it that so many people perpetuate a ‘miserable life' … day after day! The ‘misery’ is simply a question of degree … some days are simply ‘more miserable’ than others
We know in our ‘hearts’ that this is not good … yet we persist …
The story of Joan of Arc comes to mind … Joan was one of those people who refused ‘to go with the flow’ … some say she changed the course of history … and her ‘mission’ only lasted a couple of years. Those who know the ‘story’ also know the ‘price’ she paid.
Is it the ‘price’ we know we will have to pay if we choose ‘to swim upstream’ that keeps us ‘floating downstream … despite how ‘rough’ the ride gets.
Today, I don’t think we are worried about being ‘burned at the stake’ … the ‘price’ today (and always has been) … those who go against the flow are treated as ‘lepers’ by mainstream society.
Seems to me, the pain of ‘isolation’ is greater than the pain of participating in a ‘culture’ that we know is not producing good ‘fruit’.
“Any ‘dead’ fish can float downstream; it takes a ‘live’ fish to swim upstream”
PS At the same place (Medugorje) … Father Phillip(from the pulpit) uttered these words … “fighting for peace is like fornicating for chastity”
The phrase ... “Any ‘dead’ fish can float downstream; it takes a 'live' fish to swim upstream" ... would pop back into my consciousness during my Camino St Jacques in June 2004. Here are the thoughts on that particular day:
Just occurred to me, the 'seed' may have been planted in 1995. I quote an expression heard on my first visit to Medugorje ... Yikes!! ... my mind takes a long time to 'incubate' an idea or notion ... more accurately ... my mind had nothing to do with the 'incubation' ... 9 years is still a long time eh!
On with my meditation/reflection. You may recall I prefer the expression "It's time to shit or get off the pot" and it seems to me the two are analogous ..."It's time to fish or cut bait"
Let's break the expression up into 5 components and examine each component separately.
1) "It's time"....
2) "to shit" ...
3) "or" ...
4) "get off" ...
5) "the pot" ....
"It's time ... these two little words seem to convey a sense of urgency ... a sense of 'now' ... the present .... a finite ... specific ... and definite point in time ... (just noticed that the similarity between the words 'finite' and 'definite' ... wonder if it is intentional?
"to shit" ... the word 'shit' has an impolite connotation and for many is considered inappropriate in all human conversation/writing. Let's set aside the 'morality' implications and look at what the word is intended to convey. The process of expelling unwanted ... unnecessary for the maintenance of good health ... well being ... the component of that which was ingested ... orally or otherwise ... that is 'no good' ... sometimes it is simply everything eaten expelled ... our biological system is not in the 'mood' for separating what is good and necessary from what is 'bad and unnecessary' ... a condition known as diarreia!
All living creatures do it! ... expel waste that is!
A very necessary act ... most of us know the feeling when our biological system refuses to 'expel' this stuff ... often referred to as constipation ... uncomfortable and at times painful indeed!
The timing is normally unpredictable ... you don't hear someone saying ..."I will go for a shit tomorrow afternoon ... let's say at 3:00PM!
It happens when it happens ... young newborns provide an interesting perspective ... their facial expressions and vocal expressions during some of their 'acts of expulsion' are memorable ... they have not yet learned any rules of 'politeness' ... they simply do what comes naturally.
All of this suggests the process of expelling the unnecessary and un-wanted is sometimes painful and uncomfortable ... I will return to this point later.
"or" ... simple enough ... infers choice ... alternative ... one or the other ... not both.
"get off" ... infers movement ... exit ... change locations
"the pot" ... a specific location ... a public place ... a communal place. Why say 'get off' in the first place? ... other than to make room for someone else. We all know the feeling when we find ourselves in those uncomfortable circumstances where our biological system tells us it is "time" and someone else is on the 'pot' in the bathroom.
Another reference point that came to mind involved 'toddlers' ... that age where parents are trying to teach their children one of the rules of 'civilization' ... it is not OK to expel waste whenever and where ever you like ... one of 'civilizations' revolts against nature! This 'act of expulsion' is a personal and private act and one must follow the rules. OK so all parents can surely remember a time when their toddler was sitting on the pot and yet nothing is happening ... the toddler is having a good time ... but the parent grows impatient ... eventually ... perhaps without being explicit ... without saying to the toddler ..."shit or get off the pot" ... the parent somehow displaces the toddler.
Suppose for the purpose of meditation the 'pot' symbolizes the earth and the 'shit' symbolizes all that is unnecessary for our well being. Actions of mankind ... aggression ... war ... notion of private property etc.
Perhaps Mother Nature will behave the same way as the impatient parent and 'displace' us ... kick us off the planet!
Let's add to this image my comments earlier about how sometimes the 'act of expulsion' is at times painful and difficult ... especially if the 'waste' has been in our system for a while.
Here are the circumstances surrounding this particular event. I was living in Guelph at the time, it was early in the morning ... between 3:00AM and 4:00AM. Some may say it was the middle of the night!
In any event ... it was one of those nights I felt compelled to get up and go out for one of my 'coffee and cigarette runs'. At the time there was no smoking allowed in any of the local coffee shops ... don't know why but I decided to drive to the Tim Hortons at Highway 6 and the 401 ... about 15 kilometers.
Seems I remembered they still allowed smoking at this particular Tim Hortons ... in the 'fish bowl' ... a small section of the coffee shop cordoned off with glass walls ... usually very smoky...Yuk!
I arrived at the coffee shop ... stopped the car and got out. Just as I stepped out of the car my 'inner voice' instructed me to take a pen and a piece of paper in with me. I stood there for a few seconds ... mulling around in my mind what this unexpected and highly unusual sentiment was all about. I resisted for a bit and finally said to myself ... OK ... what the heck. I'll take it in and see what happens.
I ended up writing a few words about a memory from Medugorje several years earlier ... around the expression ... "Any ‘dead’ fish can float down stream, it takes a ‘live’ fish to swim upstream". Some thoughts about Joan of Arc and her going against the flow and changing the course of history. And the price one has to pay to go against the flow, people are simply not willing to pay the same price she paid … being burned at the stake. No more ... seemed that was all I had to write. So what was this all about? ... Who knows? ... Why did I save this particular 'scribbling' ... who knows? ... Who really cares?
As I write about this unusual experience ... the bizarre nature of it strikes me even more ... something wakes me from my sleep ... gets me out of bed and to a coffee shop 15 kilometers away to scribble a 100 words or so ... hmmm ... the words must convey something important?
Reminds me of the biblical story of Samuel ... he hears a voice calling him in the night ... he gets up and goes to his master and says ... "here I am".
Here is what I wrote that night:
"I was reminded this morning of a cliché I heard in Medugorje (Bosnia Herzegovina) several years ago: “Any ‘dead’ fish can float down stream, it takes a ‘live’ fish to swim upstream”
Harsh words?
Begs the question … how is it that so many people perpetuate a ‘miserable life' … day after day! The ‘misery’ is simply a question of degree … some days are simply ‘more miserable’ than others
We know in our ‘hearts’ that this is not good … yet we persist …
The story of Joan of Arc comes to mind … Joan was one of those people who refused ‘to go with the flow’ … some say she changed the course of history … and her ‘mission’ only lasted a couple of years. Those who know the ‘story’ also know the ‘price’ she paid.
Is it the ‘price’ we know we will have to pay if we choose ‘to swim upstream’ that keeps us ‘floating downstream … despite how ‘rough’ the ride gets.
Today, I don’t think we are worried about being ‘burned at the stake’ … the ‘price’ today (and always has been) … those who go against the flow are treated as ‘lepers’ by mainstream society.
Seems to me, the pain of ‘isolation’ is greater than the pain of participating in a ‘culture’ that we know is not producing good ‘fruit’.
“Any ‘dead’ fish can float downstream; it takes a ‘live’ fish to swim upstream”
PS At the same place (Medugorje) … Father Phillip(from the pulpit) uttered these words … “fighting for peace is like fornicating for chastity”
The phrase ... “Any ‘dead’ fish can float downstream; it takes a 'live' fish to swim upstream" ... would pop back into my consciousness during my Camino St Jacques in June 2004. Here are the thoughts on that particular day:
Just occurred to me, the 'seed' may have been planted in 1995. I quote an expression heard on my first visit to Medugorje ... Yikes!! ... my mind takes a long time to 'incubate' an idea or notion ... more accurately ... my mind had nothing to do with the 'incubation' ... 9 years is still a long time eh!
On with my meditation/reflection. You may recall I prefer the expression "It's time to shit or get off the pot" and it seems to me the two are analogous ..."It's time to fish or cut bait"
Let's break the expression up into 5 components and examine each component separately.
1) "It's time"....
2) "to shit" ...
3) "or" ...
4) "get off" ...
5) "the pot" ....
"It's time ... these two little words seem to convey a sense of urgency ... a sense of 'now' ... the present .... a finite ... specific ... and definite point in time ... (just noticed that the similarity between the words 'finite' and 'definite' ... wonder if it is intentional?
"to shit" ... the word 'shit' has an impolite connotation and for many is considered inappropriate in all human conversation/writing. Let's set aside the 'morality' implications and look at what the word is intended to convey. The process of expelling unwanted ... unnecessary for the maintenance of good health ... well being ... the component of that which was ingested ... orally or otherwise ... that is 'no good' ... sometimes it is simply everything eaten expelled ... our biological system is not in the 'mood' for separating what is good and necessary from what is 'bad and unnecessary' ... a condition known as diarreia!
All living creatures do it! ... expel waste that is!
A very necessary act ... most of us know the feeling when our biological system refuses to 'expel' this stuff ... often referred to as constipation ... uncomfortable and at times painful indeed!
The timing is normally unpredictable ... you don't hear someone saying ..."I will go for a shit tomorrow afternoon ... let's say at 3:00PM!
It happens when it happens ... young newborns provide an interesting perspective ... their facial expressions and vocal expressions during some of their 'acts of expulsion' are memorable ... they have not yet learned any rules of 'politeness' ... they simply do what comes naturally.
All of this suggests the process of expelling the unnecessary and un-wanted is sometimes painful and uncomfortable ... I will return to this point later.
"or" ... simple enough ... infers choice ... alternative ... one or the other ... not both.
"get off" ... infers movement ... exit ... change locations
"the pot" ... a specific location ... a public place ... a communal place. Why say 'get off' in the first place? ... other than to make room for someone else. We all know the feeling when we find ourselves in those uncomfortable circumstances where our biological system tells us it is "time" and someone else is on the 'pot' in the bathroom.
Another reference point that came to mind involved 'toddlers' ... that age where parents are trying to teach their children one of the rules of 'civilization' ... it is not OK to expel waste whenever and where ever you like ... one of 'civilizations' revolts against nature! This 'act of expulsion' is a personal and private act and one must follow the rules. OK so all parents can surely remember a time when their toddler was sitting on the pot and yet nothing is happening ... the toddler is having a good time ... but the parent grows impatient ... eventually ... perhaps without being explicit ... without saying to the toddler ..."shit or get off the pot" ... the parent somehow displaces the toddler.
Suppose for the purpose of meditation the 'pot' symbolizes the earth and the 'shit' symbolizes all that is unnecessary for our well being. Actions of mankind ... aggression ... war ... notion of private property etc.
Perhaps Mother Nature will behave the same way as the impatient parent and 'displace' us ... kick us off the planet!
Let's add to this image my comments earlier about how sometimes the 'act of expulsion' is at times painful and difficult ... especially if the 'waste' has been in our system for a while.