In Mathew 4:1-11 the story of Jesus’ 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness is shared. I once did a Sunday talk on this passage, the idea of the ‘devil’ being any lack or fearful thought we have, and standing on our faith in God the good as the teaching. Personally, I feel we can live this truth each day. Now, the idea and concept of ‘wilderness’ in our modern day life is an undercurrent topic for me.
I have been meeting the wilderness in myself. The dark places not yet uncovered or revealed. For me, this is what solitude does, it allows for self transparency. I have always enjoyed solitude, true solitude – no cars, chatter, people, input, distractions – and when I truly meet myself in the quiet of a wilderness experience, my deeper self is revealed. Highly uncomfortable and deeply rewarding.
Think about it, wilderness can be anything to anyone. Not necessarily the unknown land, or forest or jungle, or an untamed area of the earth – BUT also, the unwalked areas of our own lives. The places, emotions, spaces we have never been before, or encountered. ANYTHING that is new to us can be considered wilderness; a newly ventured experience.
People who are not comfortable speaking with strangers; their fears come up, they rise to the surface, anxiety expresses, heart races, perspiration makes it way on the skin…..hands sweat. This is a place of the unknown. This is their wilderness.
Think of all the experiences you feel are your wilderness – have you observed other peoples wilderness?
I am away on retreat right now, my husband and I, ‘getting out of dodge’ as we say. It takes a few days for us to settle in. We have been to this same resort many times, a family home is near by, yet whenever we go away, we quickly feel how we are away from our regular rhythms. I feel discombobulated. We love our home and our lives. We go away to renew, to break the daily rhythms to allow fresh ideas and energies to flow – AND, truth be told, we are not great at it. Three days in, a sense of familiarity finally rises and my heart feels at home. I can write again! Familiarity is a deeply sensed need for many. I guess I am one of them.
I have friends who travel often, one, her way of life. Until recently she was a gypsy, staying with friends constantly, and we loved it, and she was always so at home, comfortable & at peace…living from her car, being welcomed in others homes. Recently, another single friend drove from visiting Massachusetts to home in Florida. She stopped many times, meeting new people and enjoying her self immensely! Each FB post she shared, I admired her more and more. I thought about her life as a wilderness trek. She has been through much – more than the average soul. Recently, she endured health issues, which she was AMAZING through, being her own spokesperson and persisting. Now, fully embodying her radiant divine health. I have serious respect for this woman. She lives a very spiritually focused life, has walked through many unknown places, physically and emotionally and is now a radiant canvas of faith for others to bear witness to, and learn.
As frightening as the wilderness spaces can be for our human mind, there is a definitive something that calls us to know ourselves more, better, deeper – through them. If it is going to a new country, traveling alone, meeting new people, newly divorced, starting a new job, moving, going to yoga class, hearing unexpected news, having your first art show, dating after 35 years of marriage, starting school, learning to walk, beginning to meditate daily – every single one of us has been in the wilderness – a place that is unfamiliar, feels scary to us because it is the unknown. We tell ourselves we do not know how to be here – and when we stop and simply be wherever we are, we find ourselves showing up in ways we never knew we could, or were able to.
Is this not faith? These quiet, unseen fears – stories we tell ourselves, or lies the ego tells us, so we will not follow our hearts, not listen to our instincts, not live a life of faith in God, in this Divine Cosmos of the Universe?
Fearless Faith is a gift that can be applied in ANY form of wilderness, no matter what yours is. This is why I praise daily meditation, in order to gain access to our deeper knowing of God support in every facet of our lives.
Shared with great love,
Deborah