I have been told often that, when I was christened as a baby, our minister told my parents to point me upward like an arrow, a thought I love. But, lately, I have been considering what it is that gives one’s experience inertia forward at all.

On Momentum

Recently, I listened to an inspirational talk by two women who mentioned the importance of giving up one’s story in order to progress spiritually. I found this concept, which is not new to me, intriguing, both for its obvious correctness in absolute terms, but, also, for the way it does seem to neglect the educational opportunities many individuals’ stories have imparted – and continue to impart – to so many today.

While it is obviously unhelpful to everyone for any of us to hold on to what may be termed grievances, I believe the type of release implied is sometimes different than what may be termed a sort of mindless erasure but may be more akin to a forward-pointing impulse that can at least sometimes be impelled by specific lessons learned during difficulties – even if it is only to show other people it can be done.

There are experiences, of course, that are quickly understood or do feel they should be forgotten right away, in other words, while others may feel more important to work through and to untangle.

On Routes

Yesterday, I happened to listen to a clip of actor Robert Downey Jr. remarking about the surprise one can feel while discovering how far off course a person can seem to get and, yet, still find their way again; and I felt impelled to consider how very far off course I felt, in many ways, in design school but how so many wonderful relationships and needed lessons came across my path anyway. (The sketch above is a proposal for the rehabilitation of a school building meant to help lost-feeling kids find their way again after a natural disaster.)

Growing up, I was taught to cherish the idea of each individual’s trajectory like an orbit around God; and I felt reminded of this when I heard it contrasted with the infamous victim/villain/hero triangle concept with all of its sharp angles and corners. How freeing it can be to smooth these out, even when it does seem to take hard and focused work.

Increasingly, I am appreciating this process of getting a little better at discerning what I am meant to do given what God has already done, and I love the idea that grievances are to be transformed into miracles. (The idea that without forgiveness, one cannot really even see has been particularly helpful given the importance of targeting harmful concepts and systems – not people – in healing, as without reliable vision, it gets harder to aim.) Grievances against harmful traditions are useless, after all, as organizations and sectors that rely on a lack of basic accountability in order to perpetuate themselves tend strongly to promote the least intelligent and most immoral to leadership positions; and, it seems to me at least, this simply needs to be acknowledged in order to be healed.

Regardless of how harmful (or even how ill-intended) an obstacle to progress seems to be, it can feel like a privilege, at least attempting to prove this is possible, especially as the work can help lift other people up. And sometimes even give rise to a new idea.