What are these here for?

This weekend I've been thinking on many things, but I suppose it comes down to flight. However, the two analogies I'm using are not exact parallels, so bare with me. And welcome to the way my brain works:

A Modern Parable* of Kierkegaard’s:
A certain flock of geese lived together in a barnyard with high walls around it. Because the corn was good and the barnyard was secure, these geese would never take a risk. One day a philosopher goose came among them. He was a very good philosopher and every week they listened quietly and attentively to his learned discourses. 'My fellow travellers on the way of life,' he would say, 'can you seriously imagine that this barnyard, with great high walls around it, is all there is to existence?

'I tell you, there is another and a greater world outside, a world of which we are only dimly aware. Our forefathers knew of this outside world. For did they not stretch their wings and fly across the trackless wastes of desert and ocean, of green valley and wooded hill? But alas, here we remain in this barnyard, our wings folded and tucked into our sides, as we are content to puddle in the mud, never lifting our eyes to the heavens which should be our home.

The geese thought this was very fine lecturing. 'How poetical,' they thought. 'How profoundly existential. What a flawless summary of the mystery of existence.' Often the philosopher spoke of the advantages of flight, calling on the geese to be what they were. After all, they had wings, he pointed out. What were wings for, but to fly with? Often he reflected on the beauty and the wonder of life outside the barnyard, and the freedom of the skies.

And every week the geese were uplifted, inspired, moved by the philosopher's message. They hung on his every word. They devoted hours, weeks, months to a thoroughgoing analysis and critical evaluation of his doctrines. They produced learned treatises on the ethical and spiritual implications of flight. All this they did. But one thing they never did. They did not fly! For the corn was good, and the barnyard was secure!"

*An English translation as quoted by Athol Gill, The Fringes Of Freedom: Following Jesus, Living Together, Working For Justice. (Lancer, Homebush West, NSW) pp. 30f.

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I am also reminded of a memory from high school. I came upon a newly emerged imago. As I looked at her wide body and wet wings, I thought of how this butterfly could not fly until her wings unfolded and dried; until that time she would be extremely vulnerable to predators. Some butterflies' wings take up to three hours to dry. I looked at the butterfly wondering if she was going to live. She wasn't moving her wings much and I so desperately wanted to help. I knew that my presence would keep away predators, but what if something was wrong? Of course eventually my attention was taken from the delicate process and when I returned the butterfly was gone. I had no idea if she had spread her wings to taste her first nectar or if she had become food herself.


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I often think about that moment because I feel that way with people, too. I see something new, the potential for great beauty and grace in a person's life. Perhaps they are awake for the time because of new life in Christ. Or maybe they have been healed from something that was crippling them and they felt their freedom for the first time.

But there is so much that can go wrong and I can not change the nature of life.

I pray that I will be a catalyst to encourage those emerging from chrysalises or eggs to spread their wings and fly. Because if we are content to stay on the ground and the patterns of the world of the barn yard we are born in, we will be eaten without ever experiencing what we were created to do.

love that adult butterflies are called imago because it reminds me that Christ is the, "image of the Invisible God," and, "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation . . . that is, in Christ God was reconciling himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He had committed the message of reconciliation to us." (2 Corinthians 5:17,19) When we become a new creation in Christ, we are most our true selves, the image of God. (Genesis 1:27)

The only way I know to encourage flight is to fly myself rather than just talk about it. And for that I need to work on my wings (connection with God with knowledge and intimacy) and become sensitive to the Wind (God's Spirit). Then of course I keep an eye out for predators.

Don't let this world clip our wings - to nod at glorious ideas and never actually live. But vigorously flap our newly created wings, find a sunny spot, and fight for the taste of life.


Here's my question for you. Is it better to be in a barn yard, safe from predators but stifled from your true purpose? Or be in the wild where there are predators as no one to tell you anything at all?

My conclusion: I think you end up lunch either way if you don't get your wings and use them.

Further comtemplation:
Colossians 1:9-29

Mr. Bluesky

[So, clearly, I'm listening to ELO right now. Always reminds me of rockin' out in my brother's VW.]

In the past couple of weeks so much has happened internally and externally. I can't begin to tell all the stories, but enough to say that suddenly I have more to do than I thought possible. It's so incredible.

After almost 6 months of looking for a language partner and just being frustrated in that, I had two leads today!?! There's a Swedish girl in my Deutschkurs who told me that a German friend of her's wants a partner and she immediately thought of me. :-D I gave her my information. Let's hope it works out!

And then when I just checked my mail one of my co-workers found a site that he found a partner with really quickly. - Of course V speaks way better German than me. But, I'm going to try.

And, I as soon as I can get my paperwork finished I'm going swimming! Yippee!

What to Do Until Things Start "Happening":

1: Do all that paperwork you usually hate - check

2: Spend more time with God - This is key, but I've also been sleeping a lot.

3: Start a new blog - check

4: Read all those things you haven't gotten to yet - oh yeah, doing that!

5. Pray for the people you have met - what was that girl's name again? . . Where's that list?

6. Give yourself little projects to get a sense of accomplishment - eeh.

7. Go outside and join the world. - good idea.

8. Shop for supplies for those little projects. - even better idea! I'm off to Libro supply store~

I like Vienna

I do. Some times I hear negative comments about Germanic cultures, and I agree that it has it's weaknesses. But I just want to be on record that you do not have to believe all the hype.

True, they are sticklers for rules some times. Today I watched a lady in a minivan (they are rare, but they do exist here) almost get hit by a car that "failed to yield to traffic". What does she do? She stops in the middle of the intersection, just so that not only is she blocking three lanes of traffic, she also manages to make the cross walk impassable. WHY? Because she want to yell at the car that almost hit her and to get his license plate number to tell on him! She must have an amazing memory because she made a lot of fuss, as the cars piled up trying to find out why they can't go, of getting his plates by actually only looks at the plate for about .8 seconds. NO one seemed shocked or even amused by this. The driver that she was yelling at hardly commented back. Apparently this is how your supposed to handle an almost-wreck.

But there is a much more pleasant side to this. On the way out to visit those friends, I was reading on the U-bahn. At one of the stops my Eis Tee slipped out of being wedged from my knee at the wall and fell on the floor. The guy across from me immediately picked it up and handed it to me. I grinned up and him and said my sweetest, "Danke" to which he looked away as though I shouldn't draw attention to what he did. Or maybe I shouldn't have made eye contact. That's possible. And then almost immediately the young man next to me hopped up because an elderly lady got on the car. Then, when it was her stop she said, "Thank you so, this is my stop you can have your place." I wanted to hug everybody on the train. They lie when they say that people are cold here. They are just very very regimented.

Now if I can just find out the appropriate response to that man who stared at me off and on the whole time I was on the train and in the my train station. I mean, he turned around at the escalator to get a better look - and there was no one behind me. I mean, he was dressed nicely and usually his gaze was more, "Do I know you?" to "I can't believe anyone would wear what you have on." But, super creepy anyway because, you know, 15 minutes of studying me?! I know that staring is much more acceptable in Europe, but this was more than I was comfortable with. If I were in America I probably would have given him my most sarcastic face but that might have been taken as an invitation, so I just ignored it and slipped into the crowd at the top of the station, making sure he was far ahead of me and going a different direction before heading home. Any suggestions on creepy staring people?