Saturday, March 06, 2010

the hole in the fence......




There is a story about a sheep who lived within a flock.  All day long, all he could hear was bleat, bleat, bleat as they all went about doing the same things over and over again.  Restless to break out of this fenced in existence of predictability, one that was strife with rules and known expectations, he longed to runaway.  No longer did he see the other sheep as individuals with unique personalities.  They all blended in together, faceless and wholly.  It was like he became blind to their gifts.  

He was also numb to their desire to connect with him through love.  Their bleats began to mean nothing.  Bit by bit, the lens he was looking through painted a distant picture of all of them grazing together on the other side of the field.  In his tiny brain, he interpreted this view as rejection.  They had rejected him, rather than the reality of the situation.  He had rejected them. But, it was too late.  He began to believe that he was a misfit.  He didn't fit within the flock.  His fenced in area did not feel like Home.  In turn, as a way to protect himself, he started to question everything he had been taught, and dismissed it all as mere fluff. 

One day, as he wandered around the perimeter feeling sorry for himself, he found a hole in the fence.  He climbed through it and found himself surrounded by new fields to explore.  For the first time in his life, he was able to experience open spaces independent of the flock and he made the best of his newly found freedom.  For a while the sheep felt such exhilaration while he took advantage of living outside of the fence.  He romped when he wanted to, slept when he wanted to, ate when he wanted to.  Never again, he thought, will I have to justify my actions, nor my thoughts.  I can believe what I want to, live how I want to and not be questioned by a bunch of bleating idiots.

Day turned into night...... night turned into day........ time passed, and he continued to enjoy himself.   However, he realized that he had no one to share it with.  He had no one to talk to about it.  This began to weigh heavily on him.  For as much as he loved his independence, he also felt the unease of not being connected to his flock.  His sense of belonging dried up along with the sense of being loved.  Loneliness crept in especially at night, when he realized that his total freedom did not include any sense of home.  Home, where he was loved and cared for.  Home, where he was a member. 

Though he felt like he needed all of those things.......... freedom, love, belonging, fun his new life was not conducive to this.  It made him cry.... big sheepy tears.  

It also took his appetite away.  He didn't have the energy to eat or to take care of himself.  Lethargy coursed through his body and soon he felt too weak to enjoy his freedom.  Given this was all that he had been focused on for so long....... given that this was his dream, the reality of his situation and of his unrelenting need to share his new experiences with others made him feel like such a failure.  He turned his back on his flock, dismissed them as useless bleaters and now he was alone and slowly dying. What he wanted for himself for so long dried up in a mushroom cloud full of doubt and despair.  With shame from failure in his heart, he lay down under a large maple tree and gave up.

Little did the sheep know, but his flock had not stopped caring.  Even though he made it perfectly clear how he felt, they worried about him, and prayed for his return.  The Shepherd too hadn't forgotten about him either and whenever he could, he went searching for his lost little one.  On the day the sheep lay down in surrender, the Shepherd caught sight of him just in time.  

Shocked by how thin and scruffy his little one looked, the Shephard's heart felt such pain and relief at the same time.  Quietly, he approached the sleeping sheep and slipped his strong arms under his shaggy coat.  He lifted the sheep up into his arms, all the while whispering to him how much he had been missed and how much he was loved.  From the distance of deep slumber, the little sheep opened his eyes and looked into the eyes of the man who had for so long looked after him.  A full smile melted the sheep's worn out body as he slipped into the most relaxing sleep he had ever known.

When they returned to the fenced in area, the flock rushed over with relief to tend to their lost one.  For days, they looked after him....... made sure he had food and water, but more importantly made sure to let him know how much he was missed.... how much he was loved.  In no time the adventurous sheep gained his strength back.  He was able to reflect on his travels and on what he had learned.  His appreciation for his fellow sheep grew and grew as he realized how deeply he had missed them......  how he had missed being a member of a flock.  

What amazed the once restless Sheep was the fact that they had always accepted him for who he was, even when he had dismissed them as unknowing and stupid.   They knew he needed to travel beyond the fence to learn for himself some of life's biggest lessons.  So did the Shepherd.  For he was the one who cut the hole in the fence in the first place.  And he is the one who ensures the hole remains to this day. 



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There is a stubbornness inherent in our desire for independence.  It provides nourishment to push through the burdensome trappings of all those rules which we are taught to obey..... to abide by.  It blinds us too and gives us false approval and security to negate what is proper behaviour.  Our determination to step outside of the lessons we are taught, the values and beliefs we are fed, the "life" we are supposed to lead, moves us to a place where we become irresponsible in the eyes of the ones who love us unconditionally.  Do we all experience this in our life journey?  Can it be any other way?  

Its not that we want to hurt others.  Its just that we need to figure it out for ourselves.  So, we drift. We wander both internally and externally.  We question everything.  We attempt to fulfill our fantasies.  We take risks while trying not to see the consequences.  We act like children........ emotionally heightened by our stubborn desire to learn about life and faith and right and wrong in our own way.  We become selfishly distant, obsessed by our own ego driven needs as we taste as much elixir as we can consume.  

It can last a long, long time.  Running away can even last a lifetime if we continue to avoid rest, and reflection.  If we become addicted to the dark side of freedom, we never lift our heads up to open our eyes to see the destruction, or to recognize the lessons we had originally forged out to learn.  On our own.  In a blaze of stubborn determination.  Lost and never found. Illusions are enticing bedfellows.

And when life doesn't go as we had expected it to, or we bang up against nasty stormfronts and personal failure what do we do?  We feel pain.  Automatically we blame God.  We act out in anger and turn our energy outward with fists in the air.  We stomp our feet and shout out loud..... Unfair!  How can I believe in You who would let me down, make me suffer, let me runaway?  

Amazing how quickly we forget the greatest gift God gave us..... free will.... the autonomy to choose how we live within freedom.   God cut the hole in the fence to begin with, and it remains to this day. 

So, what does all this mean?  I'm still chewing on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  And I may continue until all the sheep come home.  :)


14 comments:

Sherry said...

Excellent post. It's somewhat like parenting and children. We let them go bit by bit until the point that they are gone but know they can come back to touch base, to refresh, to lick wounds, to be healed with love. It explains children who flee home for real or perceived wrongs and wander lost and confused. Some of them can be found and returned, some of them sadly, are lost before they even started their own journey.

Perceived wrongs vs. true wrongs...both deserve love and attention, time and space to heal.

Anonymous said...

I hate that we are blinded to the love around us in our desperate need for comfort. It IS that dark side that seeks nourishment! I truly believe we...I have to start dialogueing with that shadow side instead of ignoring her, shoving her down. If I talk to her, acknowledge her, and do something constructive, instead of DEstructive, she'll be integrated.

Gosh, that sounds kind of hokey, but I'm so tired of hating certain parts of myself.

It's my shadow that gives me creativity, energy, spunk, and determination, the need for independence. She can also lead me into some VERY, very dangerous places...

JP/deb said...

Wonderful ruminations, Dana. We have the free will to decide how we respond to the hard events of life as well as the joyous ones.

peace,
JP/deb

S. Susan Deborah said...

"There is a stubbornness inherent in our desire for independence"

Lovely reflections dear one.

Life seems to take on a new meaning when i read your posts.

Love and sunshine,
Susan

awareness said...

Sherry. I was thinking the same thing, but then realized that middle age has strong ties to adolescence. Both developmental moments in our lives have a strong need for freedom. Maybe for different reasons, but the pull is the same. One is looking forward with a need for independence and the other is reflective first but they are at a point when roles and responsibilities have pushed hard on them and the need to strive for a sense of independence grows strong.
I like what you have to say about perceived and true wrongs. both do deserve love and attention.... and respect from others to understand that someone else's perception of wrongdoing may be very different from the angle with which we look at it.

awareness said...

Jen....good thing we're just human and can fuck up every now and then when that little Id of ours pushes us into danger zones.

I find it very interesting how the mysterious part of us.... the darker shadow side is so connected to our creative endeavours. Given that our imagination is our most wild frontier, its no wonder. Its just getting over the fear of the unknown that so difficult. What helps me the most is acknowledging there is a sense of unconditional love that filters through every now and then from God and that if I really fuck it up, He'll shake his head and encourage me to get up and try again with a smile on His face.

Deb.... I think we tend to realize this when we are confronted with the more difficult time decisions..... which ironically are the times when we feel the most indecisive!

awareness said...

Susan...thank you. what a beautiful compliment. It is so inspiring to know that sometimes if i just write out my thoughts from new personal learning that it may resonate with another human being out there. thank you, thank you.........

ps. we learn best from sharing stories don't we? :)

Gilly said...

Having to make our own choices can be hard.

But making the choice to let others make our choices for us can lead to despair, a sort of not living, and ultimately, a spiteful anger against those who made our choices for us.

If you get what I mean......

awareness said...

Gilly...i know what you mean. Staying with the parable of the Prodigal Son (I'm reading a book right now by Henri Nouwen on it's interpretation) this is how I see the feelings of the Son who stayed home and then was angry that his Father was having a party for the his brother. This is how I relate to that particular brother.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

As always Dana, a privocative and interesting post.....The need to balance these two things is in all of us, I think. Finding the balanc---that is the challabge, isn't it?
Beautifully written, my dear...Again, As Always!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Oh Lord...so many mistakes because of my one finger typing...Well, I hope it still makes sense! (lol)

Walker said...

The fence is not there to keep you in but danger out.
How much freedom comes with how big the area within the fence is.
If it is biog enough you could create a littler world within the fenced off area to find your freedom

Great story

Mark said...

This is an excellent parable. The freedom to choose comes with responsibility and understanding that we are part of the whole and not islands and that each decision we make impacts our self and all others of creation. We are always loved and we can never separate from source even though we may believe we have done so. This is a lesson that we all must learn and embrace for it is within our oneness that rests what we chase after.

Savannah said...

I loved this story Dana and could feel the words nudging something inside me.


I have often wondered if the saying "be careful what you wish for" applies to me and this story, and your own words reconfirmed to me that maybe solitude might not be all it's cracked up to be in my own head.


Thanks for the reminder that no matter how much we think we don't, we all need someone to love us and share our joys and sorrows with.