Doing Time

Religion is like an hourglass.

At the outset it’s difficult because the sand is trying to go up. Each grain of sand is an aspect of the person, and the person sees the narrow constriction in the middle as The Way Gods Wants Things. It’s nearly overwhelming seeing all your grains of sand and thinking of getting them through the constriction, especially knowing that some of them aren’t supposed to go through. And the fear is that if you leave enough of the grains behind you’ll not be the same person, you won’t have the interesting colors they bring. This is balanced against urgings by the church and the importance of your image to others; you must appear as if you want to leave behind the sinful grains.

Some people make the transition. For a few the constriction is relatively short. For most it is longer and more arduous. There is a struggle to leave behind things which are supposed to remain there but they are so darned attractive. Or compulsive. Or part of your arsenal of habit or defense. Some extend the constriction into the rest of their lives, settling for the struggle, never really believing that they will be free of sinfulness. They may go to church faithfully and give it all their effort but they never lay aside the sinful sand.

It is a shame that one’s view of the top half of the hourglass is restricted to that which can be seen through the constriction. It is a narrow aperture. If one does finally resolve to leave behind unneeded sand and comes through the constriction it turns out that one’s life begins expanding. One’s experiences, joys, and visions become far greater than could have been imagined. There is more space to spread out in, more time and energy and relaxation. It is far less of a struggle for three reasons: one has left behind the grains of sand that, it turns out, were hindrances in living well; the longer one toils the fewer grains there are to pull from the bottom of the glass; and one doesn’t need to struggle to get through a claustrophobic tunnel anymore. One has climbed out of the earth and into the air.

It is understandable if people don’t recognize – or have trouble really believing – that life eventually gets more free and expansive when their religion is at present constrictive. Perhaps we need a different type of religion to accommodate those who have made it to the top half of the glass, for although they have overcome strong difficulties through the constriction they are still imperfect and could use guidance to keep going up and up and up. No human has ever reached the top, at least alive. And we would do well to instruct those in the lower half of the glass or in the midst of the constriction that things get freer and more expansive. That way people in the constriction don’t get the idea that they’re at the top of the game, or that narrower and narrower constriction is the goal. One cannot chart a path if the destination is unknown.

I understand that the message is often given that there is joy in overcoming, yet it is confused when congregants are encouraged to remain spiritual infants (especially under the tutelage of a charismatic, self-styled master who preaches constriction), told that they are bad by nature, and are filled with fears of freedom because nobody teaches them what to do with it. I also understand that the ‘different type of religion’ could be ancient Eastern practices that assume you’ve already got things right with God and now go about improving habits of living and being for the rest of your life.

We recognize some humans who have lived in the top half of the glass: Gandhi, MLK, Jr, Schweitzer, Mother Teresa. There are those around us who seem to have an ease of living we don’t understand; they don’t have to berate themselves constantly to follow a strict path yet they seem to be good people. Although it hasn’t happened yet it is possible that a majority of people can attain this state, and when the hundredth monkey Gets It humankind will blow into a method of easier and principled living that would drop our jaws today.