Back in December a shortened version of my story "Baptism" was published in a literary journal called RELIEF: A Quarterly Christian Expression. The Christian Right has rubbed me so far the wrong way (I mean, really far) that I had felt real misgivings about submitting the story to this journal. On the other hand, they seemed relatively open-minded ("Christian writing unbound" is their slogan), and I felt my story about a Mormon boy and his adopted Navajo brother had some truth to speak to such an audience, so I sent it anyway.It felt good to see the story in print (besides in my book), and the editor subsequently invited me to write a guest post for their blog. Again I felt reticent at first (my ego: I don't want people thinking I'm Christian!), but I enjoyed recapping how my journey toward publication of my book coincided with my entry into nonduality philosophy. And now I see how the blog's title, A Writer Wrestling with Unity, has another meaning as well: I'm confronting my own resistance to inclusivity, to embracing the "other," even as I learn the truth of our oneness.
The guest blog appeared in February. I hope you'll read it:
http://www.reliefjournal.com/2010/02/27/a-writer-wrestling-with-unity/
Very well said, Brent.
ReplyDeleteOften I think we all struggle with definitions and gray areas, certainly the lines between unity, duality, spirituality, religions, atheism and agnosticism are, in my mind, at the forefront of those types of philosophical meanderings of the mind.
There are no simple answers (there are no definitive answers), and yet when we reach an "aha!" moment, the answers we arrive at seem so universal and simple.
It's also interesting to read the narrative for how this writing came to you so naturally and organically. Nothing forced, but arrived at thoughtfully, following your instincts, intellect and heart.
Thanks for sharing :)