I wrote this earlier in the week but Blogger is not letting me upload pics right now so I was going to wait until that was fixed -- however, it still isn't fixed, so here it is :) Just to clarify, I am not talking about the actual philosophy of this guy, of which I know nothing about.
I have had just as much fun playing with this rapture prediction over the past week as some. I've laughed at funny Facebook statuses and some YouTube videos, and celebrated vicariously through the "end of the world" gatherings that have resulted.
Now that the dust has cleared, I am hearing some more perspectives. Some were amused at the craziness of the prediction, and some are very angry that the guy "wanted" rapture to happen and that believers gave up so much for the cause he started. Some think he owes those folks compensation since his prediction that they believed and invested in didn't come to fruition.
I seem to have a minority opinion on the matter (no surprise to me in life anymore).
I want to applaud this man for believing in something so radical, for trusting his insides, and standing up for it regardless of public ridicule. And I want to hug him in the aftermath and assure him that it is okay to believe in things, to invest completely in something, even if you end up looking like you fell on your face.
In this society, we are really big on being safe -- even if you take a risk, make sure it's a safe one! And in this society, we are really big on "right"ness. We are so deeply invested in the importance of being right that we cut adventure and exploration and thinking short if it's "inaccurate".
How many parents will allow their child to believe something they don't see as true? How many people can sit in a car and allow the driver to accdently go the opposite direction of the intended destination? How many people think falling on one's face is a horrible tragedy?
This is all very common in our society (and maybe even bigger than just the US).
I'm the mom who just pauses when my son sings the A,B,C's in some crazy order that often leaves out entire chunks of the alphabet :) I'm the mom who is learning to sit back and enjoy the journey my kids' learning takes, instead of focusing on the destination. I'm the person who is loving taking risks, knowing that I have NO clue how some things may turn out, but the only real "end" is death, so I have my whole life to keep going. I'm the person who is learning to be gentle with my own learning and living, so as not to avoid falling on my face, but to leap up and laugh "I'm okay!" as I skip off to find another adventure.
The problem isn't falling on one's face (to me, that's a noble quality and proof that one is trying to live life to it's fullest -- maybe even that they are leaping toward things even further than they think they are). The problem may be in laying there stuck, or jumping up in shame and embarrassment and deciding to not chance something like that again. The art of falling on one's face gracefully entails expecting that it could happen when we are walking (or dancing or skipping, as the case may be), light-heartedly getting back up to one's feet, and relishing in the possible scrapes and bruises that are battle wounds of the fun of living.
I have literally fallen on my face (about a year ago). I was walking my friend's dog, and I felt inspired to run. It was a glorious feeling -- a rush of excitement and lightness and freedom. So, as I had done in my childhood, I took off down a hill. Well, my spirit seemed to be a bit faster than my physical body, and I tumbled down the hill face first (to the horror of 2 girls from our parkday group LOL). I leapt up laughing, feeling the aches and precarious numbness in areas of my body. And for the week or so that it took my bruises and scrapes to heal, I was reminded of that feeling of lightness and hilarity of how I must have looked. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat, even if I fell flat on my face again :)) Falling wasn't "proof" that I shouldn't have tried sprinting down that hill. Just because I fell doesn't mean I did anything "wrong" or that I need to get better before doing it again. Sure, I learned from the experience, but the goal wasn't to learn how to do it "right" next time.
I feel more light and forgiving about the whole experience.
This is flavoring my plans for this new road-living chapter of my life, too, or any plans I make for my life. I am learning to not only take the steps that ensure I will not fall on my face. It's okay to take the steps that may leave me face down and scratched up. It's okay to take risks, and the ability to jump up afterward is more important to me than the ability to plan everything to a "t" and ensure that every step is sure-footed.
Another part of the "rapture theory" analogy is the folks who believed his message and invested in it. Some people are really upset that they sold their homes and now have "nothing" to show for it. It seems that people feel these folks were forced or duped or deceived. I think they, too, fell on their face. They had faith, they took risks, and it didn't come to fruition (thankfully, for some of us). Is it really the guy's fault that they did what they did? Is he really to be held accountable for their choices?
It seems that he is kinda like an investment banker who invested in something that didn't work out afterall (assuming the folks who invested feel disappointment that the rapture didn't come -- in one of my psychology classes, we learned how folks who believe strongly in something like this can actually feel stronger afterward, even if the rapture didn't happen). As long as he spent the money the way it was intended to be spent, I don't think it is fair to hold him accountable in the end. He seems pretty genuine and authentic.
I will sit with these folks in their disappointment and validate them. I just don't see it as the tragedy that some are seeing it as. No one drank cyanid. They gave up stuff -- something folks all over the world/historically (my current self included) do for something they believe in. Even if they feel disapppinted right now, I feel they are better off for having had faith in something, took risks, and invested in something, even if it didn't pan out the way they originally planned. Life kinda works like that often, doesn't it? Who KNOWS what life journey those folks are on, what their life lessons are destined to be?
I'm assuming positive intent. I'm vicariously practicing the art of falling on one's face gracefully.
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