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Category: Just for Fun

Metamorphosis Reprise

© Kristin Dauk

I love the word ‘Metamorphosis.’
When I was growing up I was amazed when I learned that word.
Besides being really fun to say, c’mon say it with me,
“M-e-t-a-morph-o-s-i-s.”
To me it was another word for “Magic.”

Although there are several different animals that technically go through a metamorphic process in their development, it’s really the Butterfly that catches our imagination.
A caterpillar, a worm for lack of a better term, builds a house and goes to sleep.
In a few weeks, Presto! Changeo! A beautiful winged butterfly emerges!
If that ain’t magic, I don’t know what is.

The change is physical and it is complete. Everything that looked like caterpillar had disappeared. It was transformed into everything Butterfly.

So, imagine my pleasure when I read this,
“Don’t be conformed to this age. But, be metamorphosised in the renewal of your mind.”
(Romans 12:2a trans. mine.)

Most English Bibles translate the Greek word that Paul wrote, “metamorpho’o” with “transformed.” And, while that is an effective translation, I think that it lacks the nuance that Paul was going for.

Once I saw this in the Greek, I decided to look around to see if there were other instances of this language used. For those of us who are kind of geeky about language and stuff, finding other uses helps us put the words into a greater context.

I found two other places that surprised me. But, also made me smile.
These appear in the Gospels according to Mark and Matthew.
In Mk. 9:2 the writer tells us,

Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them.

Matthew 17:2 has,

And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

In both verses the word “Transfigured” is what translators chose for “metamorpho’o.”

Jesus “metamorphosised” in the presence of his friends.
Paul tells us to be “metamorphosised.”
You can see how this might excite a person!

The whole concept of metamorphosis, though, has to do with an obvious physical change. A crawly caterpillar cocoons and, voilà! Butterfly! Jesus walks up a hill with Peter and Pals and Poof! Transfigured!

But, what was Paul getting at? Because, I’m not seeing how what he said has to do with any physical change.
Truth be told, scholars have spent the better share of two millennia trying to spin this in a way that makes sense. The most acceptable way is to say that Paul was talking about an Inward transformation. A change in character and temperament that, while not as obvious as shining faces and clothes, could still be “seen” by others.
And, I kind of agree with that. For example, I find that anger doesn’t rule me like it once did. So, yeah, I guess that could fit the bill.

But, I was still not convinced that this was what Paul was getting at.
Then, I read the rest of the verse.
” Don’t be conformed to this age.”
Most English Bibles translate this along the lines of,
“Do not be conformed to this world. But…”

Ok, I gotta turn the word nerd loose for a sec.
We could translate this,
“Do not be formed by the pattern and mold of this age.”
Paul seems to view the age, or the culture, or the systems that govern us as some kind of mold that exerts its pressure on us in order to form us.
We see this every day in our lives.
Parents form children. Laws and rules form us into citizens. Cultural mores press us into acceptable players in our lives together.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to say that these are bad things. They may not be. But, Paul did write, “Don’t let the molds of this age form you” for a reason.

Paul wrote this letter to a Church in Rome that had undergone a huge persecution. The people were under tremendous pressure to conform to Roman law and custom. The most important custom, to acknowledge Caesar as Lord and Savior.
Paul encouraged the Church to persevere and to present themselves to God, rather than Caesar, as if they were living sacrifices dedicated to God through Jesus Christ.
They should, therefore, be metamorphosised into something different. That somehow through a renewal of their mind, or thinking, or perception they would actually become a different creature. A physical change would be noticed by those who were molded and formed by the present age. These “New Creations” would stand out like the proverbial sore thumb!

This is my takeaway on this.
God, somehow, I have no idea how, but God is able by God’s Good Grace to cause a renewal of our minds that results in a New Creation being born.
A New Creation that breaks out of the cocoon in which it has been slowly changing; transforming, yes, Transfiguring.
That same Grace and Power is still available to us today. Grace and Power to bring about a true Metamorphosis in our lives.

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Metamorphosis

Let Renewing waters, like Breath of God, Flow through you!
All of the dust and grime that has caked itself to your Soul?
Washed away!
Standing naked in the Sun, You are changed.
A Metamorphosis!
A New Creature is Born!

The Apostle wrote that we all must be Metamorphosed
As our Minds are Made New.


Our Head revealed Metamorphosis to His faithful Friends.
He seemed to reveal to them, “This is how you will be!”

Changed!

New!

Everlasting!

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Presence

This morning during the quiet time that I devote to spending time with God, I noticed something.
You see, the time I have is somewhat limited. Yeah, I get out of bed early so that I can have any time at all for this. But, there are things to do and places to go.

I usually spend my time split between prayer and journaling. I say journaling, but it’s really a written extension of my prayers. And, it may be my favorite time.

Which brings me to today.

As I sat quietly, I found myself concerned about the time. Was I going to have enough time to write 4 or 5 pages in my journal? Would I be able to get everything done in time to get ready for work?

That’s when, I believe, the Holy One told me to stop.
I was not really ‘Present’ in that moment.
I was looking forward to what ever came next.

And, God wanted to spend time with me Now.

So, I stopped. I changed my course and sat quietly.
Within a moment or two I could feel God’s Presence with me.
No, it wasn’t a profound ‘Ah Ha!’ moment. Nor, was it some ecstatic experience.

I simply became “aware” of the Divine Presence with me At. That. Moment.

Now, I know the theological explanations about how God is always with us. God will never forsake us. And, all that other theology-speak that really doesn’t help.

When God’s Presence is experienced, all of those high sounding words become, well, like clashing cymbals and noisy gongs.
They are meaningless.

The idea of Being Present, or Becoming Aware, is not new. Nor, is it the sole property of folks who follow Jesus.
It is foundational to many religious traditions.

Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, tells a story about thisvery thing that has become transformative in my life.

” Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred. In this light, no boundary exists between the sacred and the profane.”

We can find the time and ability to be Present to God, to others, and to ourselves if we are willing to do the hard work to actually Be Present.

After all, God is.

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Bind; Binding; Bound; Loosed

Iron links entwined around our hands; our feet,
Like Marley’s Shackles Hobble.
Each loop forged and hammered with strength and skill.
Created for imprisoning; wielded with weapon’s wide arc.

Aren’t we all constrained by fetters of our own making?
Manacles strangle hands and feet to keep us in line,
Trudging step by step, in lock step.
Drum beating time so we don’t fall like so many dominoes.

“No, Children!
Look up!
Let Me Break These Chains That Bind!
Freedom for Freedom’s Sake, May You All Be Loosed!”

Chains Drop! Forged Links Loosed!
Gossamer threads appear and link our hands; our hearts.
Hold each in gentleness and care.
Love released to Wonder and Soar to the Heavens.

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A Prayer; A Lament

Jesus?

Are You there?

Because it seems as though You’re not, sometimes.

Maybe, it’s because we don’t know where to look.
The stories tell us that You are a king, a Messiah.
They tell us about how the ancient Israelites looked to their God for a deliverer.
A king and savior who could rescue them from their enemies and establish them in the Land of Promise.

But, we are not ancient Israelites.
In fact, we have no real connection to that ancient hope.

So, we have created our own crises and our own oppression.
Then, we call on You to Deliver us; Redeem us; Save us.
We have created as many Christs as are necessary to make us feel loved; safe; accepted.

In doing that, we have created You in our image.
Like the song says, “You are our own personal Jesus.
Now, I command that You save ME!”
Because, after all is said and done, isn’t that what a savior is supposed to do?

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Happy New Year!!!

Ok, I know! It’s November 1st, not January 1st.
But, today is an anniversary of sorts for me that marks a rather significant milestone.
Before I get to that, though, there is another milestone I want to share.

THIS IS MY 400TH BLOG POST!
(And, the crowd goes wild!)

I went back and checked. My first post was written using Blogspot on
December 12, 2009. Considering that it’s been a decade in the making, maybe 400 posts doesn’t seem like a lot. But, it is. Trust me.

The other reason that this is a significant date for me is that one year ago today I started my first NaNoWriMo.
And, that ushered in a year of pretty substantial creativity from me.

I finished NaNo at the end of November with a novel of just over 50,000 words.
During that month I learned a lot about the process of writing. I learned that to create anything takes hard work and showing up Every. Single. Day. I had to average almost 2,000 words per day in order to achieve the goal.

And, I did it!

One of the results of that experience was an increase in content output for me. Yeah, I didn’t show up a lot on this here blog thingy. Not nearly as much as I would have liked. But, I began what has now been a nearly year long process of introspection. I primarily use Journaling for that work. Right now I’m on my third journal since Jan. 1 and will be going out to buy a fourth this weekend.
And, yes, Journaling is creative writing.
It enables me to tap into the Creative River that courses through the Cosmos. Writing this way opens my Heart to the internal Pulse of Life that animates me as I walk through the fields of this life. I also continue to develop the discipline of showing up every day to think, create, and write.

So, yeah!
It’s New Years for me!

Tonight I will begin the task that is NaNoWriMo 2019.
In 30 days I hope to have another 50,000+ words completed.
As near as I can tell, this is the Best Way to ring in a New Year!

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Trick Or Treat, Bitch!

(Or, the true story of a Fairy Princess Ballerina.)

For those few folks who know me, they will immediately wonder what I’ve been smoking.
After all, I have the well-earned moniker Grumpy McGrumperson.
But, this year I decided to do something a tad different.
Something to, “keep ’em guessing.”
So, Voila!

Maybe I’m just getting old and realize that sometimes we just gotta let our inner Weird out for a walk.

Or, maybe this is the true Me that I’ve spent my whole adult life stuffing into a box that is acceptable to everyone…but me.

In any case,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

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Ideabola

Burn!” cried the mob as the book pyre blazed in the night.
“Death to Infidels; heretics; free thinkers!”

Death?
Books can die?

This sentiment seems to be making a resurgence in some parts of the world. I mean, it’s never really been far from us.
The some churches still believes that Harry Potter poses an existential danger because of the whole witches and wizards thing.
At other times books that some so-called authority deemed ‘subversive,’ (re. Doesn’t agree with my opinion), have been collected and set ablaze as a public rebuke to anyone who might harbor similar positions.

But, books are not ideas.
They may, at best, be the vessels in which ideas travel.
Ideas, though, are by their very nature untouchable.
And, incurable.

Ideas are like a virus that spreads by getting inside of a person at a cellular level, invading and capturing the minds of those who are exposed to them.

Ideas become a part of a person’s DNA. They are, by nature, invasive.

Yet, not foreign.

Not harmful.

In fact, they can produce vitality and health in those who harbor them deep within their hearts and minds.

Ideas CANNOT be stopped by destroying the vessels that carry them.

Even if those vessels are living, breathing human beings.

That, too, has been tried. How many “heretics” have been burned; fed to lions; hanged; drowned?

And, yet, the ideas live on.

“But,” some say, “ideas can lead people astray! They can put a person in harm’s way!”

Astray?
NO! Emphatically, NO!
Ideas may open our minds to other ideas.
They may cause our minds and hearts to grow 2 sizes larger.
They may make us more empathetic.
But, astray? Nuh uh.

Ideas are what make us humans in the first place.
They are the engine that pushes us forward.

Yes, ideas can also give some people reason to hurt, maim, or destroy.
But, it will also be an idea that counters those who would act in that way.

Ideas are like a virus.
They will infect us.
They will change us.

The question that remains is, how will we embody these ideas?
How will we live in a world where Ideas live, thrive, and yes, Infect?

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Light To Light?

The Western mind had been trained to see things in Binary terms.
Right/Wrong
Good/Evil
White/Black
On/Off

But, what if the Universe doesn’t work that way?
What if there can be
Right/Right?

In most stories people who lead so-called “double lives” are generally cast as immoral. Or, at the very least, amoral. They can’t possibly be virtuous. In fact, theirs is a life defined by vice. It is vulgar and without any redeeming value.

The story that I plan to work on this year during NaNoWriMo is one in which I hope to look at the possibility that Right isn’t always quite Right.
Perhaps there are degrees of “Rightness.”
And, what happens when someone finds themselves with lives that exist in two different realities must straddle that gulf where what is Good and Acceptable in one reality may be entirely different that that in the other.

Can that person be called Virtuous?

Or, would that person be a Victim? Victimizer?

I don’t know for sure where the story will lead.
That’s one of the cool things about creating worlds and stories to populate them.
They can take on a life of their own.
Perhaps, to the mountain peaks.
Perhaps, into Alice’s rabbit hole.
The journey should be interesting.

For who truly knows where Light ends and Light begins?

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Yeah, It’s Hard. But, Oh So Worthwhile.

Yesterday I wrote a bit about the role that Emotion and Passion can play in the creative process. Yeah, they can be good motivators. And, if Passion is properly channeled, as in having a Passion for the work rather than being driven by some external event, it can be quite helpful. I mean, how many times have we stopped doing something that we once loved to do because we “lost our passion” for it?
Lord knows I have!
At one time I would strap on a guitar and it would stay there for up to 8 hours!
Simply because I was passionate about learning and playing.
Now? I think it’s been at least 2 years since I opened the case.

That example kind of points to where I am going with this post.

This morning during my daily quiet time I opened my journal to write.

Crickets.

There was not one thought or idea the came to the front of my brain demanding to find its way on to the blank page.
This seems to happen way more often than when so-called “inspiration” strikes.

So, I wrote that down.

“I got nuthin'”.

These are the times when we creative folk need to show up and do the hard work of, well, creating.
We can’t count on some great inspiration to ignite our passions so that we can create that Great Magnum Opus that we all know is just waiting to be birthed from the fertile soil of our imagination!
Yippee!
No, these are the times when we just need to get down to business and create something. Anything. No matter how bad or uninspired.
Write! Play! Dance!
Whatever the expression that we have, we need to use!
Yes, it’s true that, as Thomas Edison said, “Success is 10inspiration and 90perspiration.”
For those of us who aspire to create stuff, the ratio may be more like .5% inspiration and 99.5% perspiration.
At least, that’s how it feels to me sometimes.

Creating things, whether cobbling words together, making music, or building a bat house, is all hard work.
And, it takes discipline to stick to the tasks we’ve been given.


Especially, when it’s Just Not Happening, we need to Make. It. Happen.

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