Wildly Free in the Wilderness
I have a confession: I want to truly face my naked self.
In a writing I read recently by Richard Rohr he talks about how John the Baptist rejects the status quo without apology. He lives outside his own religion and culture. In an absolutely counter cultural and bold move, he changes the venue of transformation from the Temple to the river. He goes on a vision quest into the desert where he faces his aloneness, boredom, and naked self.(1)
Wow. I love this. I want this. What a strange thing to desire, you might say. Who honestly wants to face being alone? Who wants to face boredom? And, who in their right mind would want to face their naked self? (Particularly a middle aged, mother of four naked self! But, I digress.) Apparently, I am some kind a of glutton for punishment, because I want a vision quest, whatever that looks like. I want to see, really see. See my naked self - my pain, wounds, my beauty, my hang ups, my habits, my gifts, my purpose, my calling, my worth. I want to see, really see. See me. See you. See faith. See spirit. See life. See healing.
I believe that such a plunge into the wilderness is a place of wild freedom.
By moving the venue from transformation from Temple to river, John the Baptist paved the way for newness of life. He paved the way for a way of life that is not imprisoned by rules and regulations and black and white laws. By moving the venue of transformation from Temple to river, a way was made for the miraculous spirit of peace, water that flows and brings life, gray spaces that contain truth; supernatural understanding that enters into mystery beyond what the human mind can quite define or regulate.
My spirit feels this. However, rejection of the status quo isn’t just for the sake of it. It truly is for transformation. And this transformation is not self-seeking. It must not be. It must be also for the other.
Perhaps you have heard the saying that hurt people hurt people. Perhaps this is true. And perhaps another concept is also quite true. Transformed people transform people and open the door for hope and peace.
What does it look like for you to go on a vision quest in the wilderness and become wildly free? Most of us cannot leave the responsibilities of our daily lives to go on such a quest, literally. And yet, perhaps such a quest in the wilderness is available to us, in the midst of where we are. This may require some sacrifice. It certainly will require a level of discomfort. It will require honesty and change and being misunderstood and an ability to welcome new ideas and concepts.
I am not sure what this looks like for me, but I am willing to enter in one moment at a time. This may be two steps forward and one step back.(Knowing myself, it certainly will be!) It may be rocky and barren. It may be dry and lonely. And it may be lovely and beautiful.
I am searching for water in the wilderness and receiving every drop of goodness into my thirsty soul as a gift. Who wants to walk patiently away from the status quo?
Do you have the courage to face your naked self?
Let’s discover wild freedom.
Rohr, Richard. “Knowing from the Edge of the Inside.” Essay. In Yes, and...: A Year of Daily Meditations. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2021, 54.