Embracing the Dangerous and Sacred (Excerpt)

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I have a favorite tree that I like to sit in. Going there is a form of meditation for me. I like to climb up into the branches and look out over the Bay. It is one of my favorite places to sit sipping a cup of coffee while I watch the sun set. The birds fly around me and my cares just melt away. I feel like I am in a sacred and safe world. I love it.

Sacred and safe. There is nothing wrong about sacred and safe spaces. We need them. We need them to balance out the challenges and realities that we face as we work to create a more just and sustainable world. We need sacred and safe spaces. We all do. And it makes sense that we would want to remain in a safe space.

But what happens when we don’t leave those safe spaces? What happens when we choose the comfort of the sacred and safe over the discomfort that often arises when we actively work to counter oppression to create a just and sustainable world?

Indulge me here for a moment.

Actually, physically s-t-r-e-t-c-h, as far as you can. Feel that? Now, hold it. Take a breath, let it out and stretch a little bit further. Not so much that it hurts. Just so that you feel it. Now, mark that feeling. Really take heed of it. Make sure your body remembers it. Our muscles can become tight and then atrophy with disuse, and so can our spirits. If we don’t stretch ourselves we become disconnected from our humanity. Spirit is about breaking open our hearts and minds and embracing all that life holds not just the safe and sacred, but also the dangerous and sacred.

And by danger, I don’t just mean the danger that comes from risking arrest for a cause you feel is just. I also mean the danger that comes from opening your mind to people, ideas, painful truths, ugly realities and your own prejudices and privilege. Because facing these things is dangerous—and probably one of the most sacred things we can do.

Each time we stretch just a little bit, it helps make it easier for the next time. By stretching we can accomplish things we would not have thought possible. We very well may begin to like that feeling of being stretched, and appreciate learning that we are a lot more flexible than we ever thought. We can begin to experience interconnectedness in ways that we could not have imagined. Our capacity for growth is boundless.

So find your sacred and safe space. Go there. Re-charge. Delight in it. But don’t reside there. Come out of that space. S-T-R-E-T-C-H yourself. Reach out. Remember that feeling of physically stretching? Reach for that feeling. Embrace the dangerous and sacred. And remember to stretch yourselves a little bit each and every day.