"How, then, do you become pure? By letting someone see and love the truth in you, by letting them see all of you. It's those who know you only partially who don't like you. I've never known anyone who really shared all of their story with me whom I could not love. When you know only the partial truth, you can see them as despicable. When you know the whole picture, people are always lovable, somehow, and purity is regained. One sees with thep pure eyes of god, where all is tranparent, understood and forgive."(R.Rohr "Radical Grace" p.366)
One of my favorite movies is "Shrek." In that movie my favorite scene is when he and donkey are walking and this conversation occurs. "Shrek: For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think.
Donkey: Example?
Shrek: Example... uh... ogres are like onions!
[holds up an onion, which Donkey sniffs]
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes... No!
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry?
Shrek: No!
Donkey: Oh, you leave 'em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little white hairs...
Shrek: [peels an onion] NO! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
[walks off]
Donkey: Oh, you both have LAYERS. Oh. You know, not everybody like onions. What about cake? Everybody loves cake!
Shrek: I don't care what everyone else likes! Ogres are not like cakes.
Donkey: You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious!
Shrek: NO! You dense, irritating, miniature beast of burden! Ogres are like onions! End of story! Bye-bye! See ya later.
Donkey: Parfait's gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet!"
Most of us are like onions or parfaits if you prefer. When people can get past me being a priest, or at least their stereotype of what that may be, there's a lot more to me personally than that. I'll admit it is an important part, but it is not the end of the description. I also like sports, loud music and camping. I can laugh at most jokes and I have problems like any normal human being.
I don't personally enjoy being dismissed because of what I do to earn a living. I try very hard to get to know a person for more than just my first impression. And certainly not through the eyes of any preconceived notions of what "that type of person" might be.
It is not easy. Much quicker to conclude that I know all I need to know about you based on some aspect of you. But not nearly as rewarding.
Blessings,
Ed
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment