Paintings by Hyatt Moore and Rembrandt van Rijn
I am the prodigal who has wondered far from home,
getting lost in the bright lights and temporary highs of society’s game.
Deep within the Parent waits,
longing for me to awaken from my dream of dazzling fulfillment elsewhere and to return home,
to the sacred centre deep within,
to the only place where true fulfillment and belonging is possible
– there to be reunited with the Divine Indwelling.
Like the prodigal, it takes failure, shame and loss
to reveal to me the emptiness of these outer identities.
I am called home by the instinctual longing
for inner nourishment, love, safety and well-being.
This longing draws me, slowly at first,
but with ever increasing urgency.
The Parent recognizes my tentative steps of return and rushes out to meet me
– no blame, no withholding, only warmth and delight,
and generosity with abandon.
I am also met by the judging sibling, (a frequent presence in my mind),
asking “Who are you to return so cheaply?”
– with the myth of unworthiness and the threat of expulsion.
Yet even this judging sibling is invited to the celebration,
reminded of her belonging and the excessive generosity of the Host.
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