In Hawaii, when friends meet up, they will talk story. Last night, the W2W Ministry met up to share what were the favourite fairy-tales and stories of their childhood bringing new depth to the meaning of talk story.
In chapter seven of Margaret Silf's Landmarks, we are encouraged to reflect on these stories of the past in order that we get to the heart of our desiring, connecting "these deep and universal desires (and fears) to the feelings we are experiencing ourselves, in our particular circumstances."
Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Xiao Tian Tian and the Rainbow-Coloured Flower, The Little Matchgirl, The Happy Prince, the Nativity Story, Swan Lake, the story of Creation and The Fall, The Six Swans, The Ugly Duckling and stories of real life heroes... these were some of the stories that spoke to our collective hearts.
Behind each story is a desire: to be attractive, to be accepted, to be loved, to have a community of friends, to be free, to be transformed and become who I truly am, to go beyond death to life, to overcome evil, to be good and pure, to take up the cause of justice in the world, to claim a place within the story of Creation, to be pregnant with the hope of new life, to perform miracles, to be heroines, to be family, and to be seekers of what is true, good and beautiful.
These are some of the aspirations of the women in the group, ordinary women with a desire to live extraordinary lives of love and glory. Each one of us is already on the road in pursuit of our individual, unique dream, living out our deepest desires in part. And yet, how each of our stories continues is unclear.
Recognizing the patterns of our own desires and the deeper underlying roots -what we wish we were, what we wished we possessed, what we dream of doing or becoming - is good but we need to confront what Margaret Silf calls the But-Bird, the fears that prevent us from fulfilling our desires.
The negative energies of our fears can drain the positive energies of our desires, clipping our wings and keeping the birds in our hearts earthbound. These negative inner movements or false spirits can be seen to wage "a deliberate, lifelong campaign against the fulfilment of the God-dream (our deepest desires) in us. Thus we must learn not to fall prey to these false spirits but to allow the positive movements, the good spirits, to grow in strength and purpose.
Prayer is the first step to take in discerning between the two and making the choice to follow the positive movements. To educate our desires and integrate our thinking, feeling and willing so that we will be able to moderate our decisions and move toward leading cheerful, fulfilling lives.
Frederick Buechner said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
Whether we take a step towards or away from that place is up to us. But that's another story, best reserved for another time.
In chapter seven of Margaret Silf's Landmarks, we are encouraged to reflect on these stories of the past in order that we get to the heart of our desiring, connecting "these deep and universal desires (and fears) to the feelings we are experiencing ourselves, in our particular circumstances."
Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Xiao Tian Tian and the Rainbow-Coloured Flower, The Little Matchgirl, The Happy Prince, the Nativity Story, Swan Lake, the story of Creation and The Fall, The Six Swans, The Ugly Duckling and stories of real life heroes... these were some of the stories that spoke to our collective hearts.
Behind each story is a desire: to be attractive, to be accepted, to be loved, to have a community of friends, to be free, to be transformed and become who I truly am, to go beyond death to life, to overcome evil, to be good and pure, to take up the cause of justice in the world, to claim a place within the story of Creation, to be pregnant with the hope of new life, to perform miracles, to be heroines, to be family, and to be seekers of what is true, good and beautiful.
These are some of the aspirations of the women in the group, ordinary women with a desire to live extraordinary lives of love and glory. Each one of us is already on the road in pursuit of our individual, unique dream, living out our deepest desires in part. And yet, how each of our stories continues is unclear.
Recognizing the patterns of our own desires and the deeper underlying roots -what we wish we were, what we wished we possessed, what we dream of doing or becoming - is good but we need to confront what Margaret Silf calls the But-Bird, the fears that prevent us from fulfilling our desires.
The negative energies of our fears can drain the positive energies of our desires, clipping our wings and keeping the birds in our hearts earthbound. These negative inner movements or false spirits can be seen to wage "a deliberate, lifelong campaign against the fulfilment of the God-dream (our deepest desires) in us. Thus we must learn not to fall prey to these false spirits but to allow the positive movements, the good spirits, to grow in strength and purpose.
Prayer is the first step to take in discerning between the two and making the choice to follow the positive movements. To educate our desires and integrate our thinking, feeling and willing so that we will be able to moderate our decisions and move toward leading cheerful, fulfilling lives.
Frederick Buechner said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
Whether we take a step towards or away from that place is up to us. But that's another story, best reserved for another time.
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