Some grapes from campsite of mine in Italy. Healthy and full of vitality– well nourished by their roots.
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Today something special happened. The Church where I grew up here in Ottawa, invited me for a special healing and annointing ceremony. There were only three people there, but special people. The minister was joined by two men from the congregation that I had known since I was a little boy. One had been my Sunday school teacher.
I said some pretty critical things about my upbringing in my last post. I had meant to qualify them by making clear I wasn’t blaming, or judging my upbringing. I hope that came across. There’s a distinction between blaming and becoming conscious of. You just can’t blame these things. Butyou can become conscious of them– and thus become free of their hold. We are all a product of where we came from– our roots. I happen to have had a Sunday school Christian upbringing. This is just part of who I am.
The three of them said some special prayers for me and annointed me with oil– oil that had been blessed by the bishop and all the Church community.
Community is important. Despite having lots of support and even community behind me on my journey through Europe, I didn’t have my root community behind me– this community of all these families and neighbours and people that I grew up with. I kinda just took off with my head down.
I feel like I am being called to do some big things. It feels really daunting right now because of my energy level and my health. Linda, the minister, commented that leadership doesn’t happen alone. Its happens with people. Truly, the more intertwined with others the leadership the more potent it is.
The blessing was an important and very big step for me in this way. Acknowledging one’s roots, and being nourished by those roots is… well… trees make it pretty obvious don’t they?
