"Congraduations"

Is life a circle, or a continuing line?

In eastern thought, life is seen as a circle, with history repeating itself and people reaping what they sow. In western thought, life is seen in linear terms, as a line with points, and a distinct beginning and end, and with those two ends never touching.

In the eastern philosophy (which is the philosphical tact that Christ was exposed to) every person eventually winds back up where they began - feeble, helpless, and dependant upon others for survival, with life going on in a never ending circle. The western ideal touts that we all run a race, and the one with the most "points" between their two divergent, non-intersecting markers wins. Now, turn that line metaphor up on it's end, along with the hash marks, and what you have is something identical to the markings on a scientific, graduated cylinder. Beginning to make sense?

Here in America, we want everything in life to be measured and compared. Winning is everything. You would think we all came directly from Egypy, given our fascination with pyramid-esque thinking. It's all about being at the top. So, naturally, we think about graduating events in our lives as stepping stones to reaching the top. And of course, the "top" is the only place to be, right?

But what if we thought more in the eastern vein? What if we saw life as a continium, always keeping our beginning in view, knowing that what we do will be visited again and again? How would this influence the teachings of Jesus in our lives, and how we saw life in general? In eastern thinking, graduating (in academics, in age, in careers, etc.) would be seen more as something that enlarges and enhances the circle of one's life, rather than as a hurdle that is jumped and never seen again.

In reality, "graduating" happens slowly and naturally for most people, as they grow, face challenges, adjust, adapt, grow in their relationship with Christ, and just live. If we eschew the graduated cylinder (or yardstick metaphor) model and lean more towards the circle, we will lose our obsession with reaching certain points, and thereby have a better chance of seeing living life, rather than surpassing hash marks, as our goal. If life becomes a competition, even with ourselves, we turn it into a game, rather than a gift to be developed and shared, as Christ intended. He came to give us life, and life abundant - not an "edge" for competiting.

So, as we enjoy another day of the Lord's blessings, let us be thankful for the true life made possible in Christ, and let us find our sense of purpose in that relationship with God's Son, rather than in achieving any trivial status in human estimations. Besides, when we finally "graduate" from this life, our relationship with Christ will be all that matters then.