roll away the stone – a meditation

the tomb of the soul

 

In the tomb of the soul, we carry secret yearnings, pains, frustrations, loneliness, fears, regrets, worries.
In the tomb of the soul, we take refuge from the world and its heaviness.
In the tomb of the soul, we wrap ourselves in the security of darkness.

Sometimes this is a comfort,
sometimes it is an escape.
Sometimes it prepares us for experience.
Sometimes it insulates us from life.
Sometimes this tomb-life gives us time to feel the pain of the world and reach out to heal others.
Sometimes it numbs us and locks us up with our own concerns.

In this season where light and dark balance the day, we seek balance for ourselves.
Grateful for the darkness that has nourished us, we push away the stone and invite the light to awaken us to the possibilities within us and among us—possibilities for new life in ourselves and in our world.

– Sara Moores Campbell

When life is difficult, when troubles press in on me, when nothing seems to be going right, I can easily retreat into isolation. Sometimes I just need the refuge, the security of darkness. Sometimes I just need to crawl under the covers and curl up in the warmth. And that is good.

But sometimes, I am trying to hide from my problems, to stay numb and pretend that it will just go away. Pretend that by sticking my head in the sand, by hiding in the dark, by not looking at the pain, it won't find me, and I will be safe.

I have found great strength and hope in the principle that Al-Anon is a “we” program. If I roll away that stone at the entrance to the tomb; if I bring my pain, my troubles, my problems into the light; if I share that from which I am hiding, or which I would rather hide from with another person and with God; then I can find resurrection to the fullness of my life. I am learning to push away the stone and to invite the light in.

A meditation for March 31, 2013 (Easter).


“So come out of your cave walking on your hands”

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