http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkzRK182UP0
Thanks to my nephew, I have been back in the Marvel universe again. He suggested that I watch Thor: Ragnarok, assuring me I would really enjoy it. So, I decided to be the good aunt and trust in his advice.
He was right. I laughed so hard. It is one of those movies you can watch over and over again and enjoy it each time, picking up on deeper layers of meaning each viewing.
This Thor movie was so different than the other movies, really allowing Thor’s humanity to come forth. As I watched it, being a pastor, my spirit, soul, heart and mind began theologizing and sermonizing. I had to laugh at my nerdy self. But, I decided, why not? And so from time to time I shall share some theological thoughts on popular culture and movies and have some fun!
We shall begin with Thor: Ragnarok….
In the beginning of the film Thor has allowed himself to be captured so he can get answers. After he gets the answers he needs, he decides to be the hero, breaking free from his chains and taking on Surtur, a huge fire-lava-like being.
Surtur says, “You are making a grave mistake, Thor son of Odin.”
Thor responds with confidence, power and authority, “I make grave mistakes all the time.” Then with a little less certainty continues, “Everything seems to work out.”
Then the battle begins…and Thor is Thor meeting every challenge with courage and strength.
“I make grave mistakes all the time”
That line had me laughing and yet knowing the truth of it — the life lesson. Creating and growth require risks. Sometimes those risks work out spectacularly. Othertimes the risks do not work the way we imagine them to, but in the end they work out if we are open to allowing for possibilities we did not foresee.
We can not allow other’s definition of our creations as “grave mistakes” to stop us from doing what we know we are called to do. Whether the risk we take is experienced as a mistake or not is in the eye of the one naming it “a grave mistake.” Note that it was not Thor who named it as a mistake, rather Surtur. Thor does not attempt to change Surtur’s mind. Instead Thor stated with confidence that Surtur’s label will not stop him. Thor will do what he knows he needs to do. He will do what is right, trusting that it will all work out.
Weaving Sacred Spaces and High Desert Essences
I remember when I decided to take a nine month sabbatical and head to Taos, NM to put my attention and energy on the creation of my business, Weaving Sacred Spaces. It was a huge risk. I also knew deep down in my heart, it was what I needed to do. It was the right step for me to take in my life.
I could tell friends and family were concerned. Some coached me to not do it. What are you going to do for income? You should think this through a bit more. Why not do something part-time and work on your business here (on the East Coast)?
I, however, was trusted my choice. I knew the risk and was very aware of the possible cost. But I also knew it was the right thing for me to do at that time. I had fears. However, I was able to answer those challenging me confidently with, “It will all work out in the end.”
Once I got into it. Wow, it took tremendous trust, courage, strength and power to continue the path I had stepped onto. I had to face my deepest fears and confront my own innermost darkness. Yet, with each moment, with each step I was guided by Spirit in the co-creation of my healing business.
It worked out in the end. Not the way I wanted it to. I ran out of money and had to go back East for a few month before returning to NM. It felt like failure as I drove back East last September, wondering what I had done.
Yet as I found my bearings, centered myself and grieved my perception of what should have happened, I began to recognize the success of this co-creating time. I left NM with a line of flower essences, High Desert Essences. I had not foreseen myself doing this. Yet Spirit and the Land invited me into this beautifully sacred experience.
My business was indeed born. My decision was not a ‘grave mistake.’ It all worked out once I released my fixed perception. I am back in the Land that I love, New Mexico; not as I foresaw, rather as Spirit guided: pastor and spiritual healer, pastoring a congregation and continuing to develop and launch Weaving Sacred Spaces and High Desert Essences — bi-vocational. Everything has indeed worked out!
As it did for Thor at the close of the film once he released his fixed perception.
I invite you to release your fixed perception and trust fully that everything will work out in the end.