Blog 174 – 12.1.15

I have but one brother with whom I share the same mother and father and I love him very much. Chief Joseph, one of the last great Native American chiefs to fight against the onslaught of western “progress”, finally came to a point where he said, “I will fight no more … We are all brothers of the same Father.” I have heard that quoted many times in the expression, “Same father different mothers.” But if I may I’d like to share with you about a friend that is closer than a brother. I would even venture to say – a friend that is even closer than a lover.

Bear with me as I develop that last one. Being lovers is about as close as two people can get. For a brief moment of time you might say they are even occupying the same space. Brothers, too, are very close. My brother and I as children shared the same bed, and later, when we had a room, the same bedroom. We shared a mom and dad. We became quite skilled at splitting a soft drink or a candy bar equally in half. We had very little that we were not made to share so we probably both made way too big a deal out of our personal possessions. We traded them so often that we really even shared those few items most of the time too.

The expression is, “Your freedom ends where the other fellows nose begins.” But the real question is where does one end and someone else begin. We are all connected but just how exactly?

Here is my theory and if you are looking for science you will probably be disappointed. I think at the center of our being lies the true us. Us implies two but there is really only One and that one has been described as God, the Universe, the Great I Am, and a host of other names. That is our true identity but because early on we wanted to be independent, separate, we created this alter ego. That, my friend is when all our troubles began. That false alter ego is what drove the prodigal son to ask for his inheritance and to leave home and waste it all on riotous living. Even still when he bottomed out he came to himself, his true self and came home.

I believe we are all destined to do that. It is a process. We like Dorothy of Kansas have to go away from Home to truly find it. So many people are trying to find themselves when there is a friend that is closer than a brother inside their own heart ready and willing to show the way home. It is a short journey. As another old hymn says so sweetly, “Come home, come home. It’s supper time.”

Your friend and fellow traveler,
David Whit