THE MEETING FIELD 

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” ~ Rumi 

I noticed he didn’t say, “Out beyond wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” Read it again. He was talking about ideas. Maybe he had some inkling that ideas can be tricky. They’re subject to one’s viewpoint, interpretations, biases, priorities, personal experience, parental and educational guidance (good or bad), philosophy of life, politics, tribe, caste, economics, feelings, maturity level, a lot of things.  

Some people are thoroughly convinced that the earth is flat. Or that their favorite conspiracy theory is absolute truth…and they are the lucky ones who can see it. 

A lot of us say our ideas are based on the Bible, but I’m keenly aware that its words are so transformative, it’s easy to take shortcuts and call it good. To use them to defend our positions instead of listening to them and letting them bring us to our knees. To glom onto the “law” and miss the grace. 

I don’t know about you, but I need to stay open to daily transformation.  

Richard Rohr recently said this. “Those who have passed over (to a transformed space) eventually find a much bigger world of endurance, meaning, hope, self-esteem, deeper and true desire, and, most especially, a bottomless pool of love both within and without. Their treasure hunt is over; they are home, and home free. This deep transformation isn’t achieved by magic or miracles or priestcraft but by a vital spiritual experience that is available to all human beings.” 

Maybe the meeting field is for all of us who want to keep growing.