They left their nets at once, and followed him.
readiness
assent or resistance
to a presumed arrangement
needing but a nod more
requiring body and soulin ordinary times
our assent is automatic
solidifying a status quo
confirming all is a need be
a comfort an opiodthere is no easy way
through a soft web
resplendent in bread and circuses
slowing both thought and reaction
only resistancein ordinary tasks
known to the nth degree
proceeding mindlessly
one more opportunity
to breathe a deeper breathwith everything to lose
staring us in the face
we affirm our invasive species-ness
in an unknown here and there
as we shall be and where
Immediacy, urgency, is available to us. It can lead us into our own wilderness.
Whether we think we understand where hitching our life to a star will lead (fantasize prosperity, fame, honor) or not, to leave the known behind is to leave behind any semblance of control. This is as good a definition of wilderness as there is.
If Simon and Andrew were Bedouins they would be asked to leave their herds behind to be herders of people.
Fishers and herders will both find wilderness in following an announcement of change and growth. Fisher folk will experience desert thirst and herders feel they are drowning.
In today’s world, changing jobs has become the expectation. A challenge for an institution is to affirm its own change and growth. This means affirming that every task its members have lived within or trained for needs a larger perspective of leaving usual expectations behind in order to participate in those tasks as a way of sharing a larger vision and changed relationships.
Watching masters of their craft is a joy. We begin to see that their work has been to make their work so natural that they can play within its limits. They take their proficiency both with a light and diligent hand. It is their joy to practice their craft. The practice of sharing good news is both joyful and freeing.