The cross we all must bear.

Some people believe that Jesus did not die on a cross but escaped into exile, perhaps ending up in France, Spain, or England. Fact or crucifixion? We may never know whether he was or was not crucified. We do know the practice was widely used at the time and the symbolism of the cross is rich for spiritual mining. And with all of the added religious symbols and themes there could hardly be a more dramatic image to conjure up when one feels crucified in a figurative way as John Lennon did when he wrote "...the way things are goin' they're gonna crucify me"

For my purposes here the religious symbolism only clutters and clouds the more pure spiritual symbolism that should be apparent to all with minimal contemplation. Incarnating into the physical realm is a process ripe with tension, pain, suffering and a life of fluctuating stress. This is partly due to the fact that physical bodies require so much in terms of food and shelter and are never completely safe from harm. Ideally, as children we're protected and fed and can remain pure and innocent for many years. But once we leave the nest and start paying our own bills and rent and buying our own groceries we begin to see the world very differently.

Obviously the cruel world isn't always that cruel and some people are never really flying without a net and can get what they need with a simple phone call to Mommy and Daddy. But for most adults and many children the world (or at least the market place) is a cruel game of give and take with very clear winners and losers. One must learn to use what one has to get what one needs and the deal is rarely if ever a fair one. Most people are asked to make compromises every day of their lives in which they give something of themselves in exchange for something they require, usually money.

The cross that we all must bear is the intersection of spirit and matter, heart and mind. Our spirit may not wish to kill another organism for any reason, but our bodies simply must eat something to survive. Our hearts may not want to take money from people who can barely afford to eat, but our minds are trying to run a business here. We carry this heavy burden with us until the moment of our passing back into the spiritual realm, so we can feel as though our whole lives are spent nailed to a cross waiting for the mercy of death. Simply being born is to play out the Robert Johnson song "I went down to the crossroads, I fell down on my knees".

The modern day traffic light shows us the energy of the cross and what is required to survive in this world. Whether it's a stop light, stop sign, or yield sign one route must stop so the other can go. Stop lights are programmed so that all of the lights will never be green at the same time so that one route is always blocked by the other. Red lights are stressful to conform to but we understand why we're stopping, even if we're in a hurry. This symbolism can be easily observed in all spheres especially politics which is (or should be) the process of reconciling the intersections of cross purposes and opposing agendas, interests, and issues.

Almost every time we personally, publicly, or politically weigh our options there is a sense of right and wrong with our spirit and heart on one side asking us to "do the right thing". On the other side is our hungry body and calculating mind working together to make sure that all of the bodies in your family are well fed well into the future. But the true essence of this intersection is not about the mind, heart, spirit, or body; instead it's a much more subtle polarity constantly pulling us in opposite directions. It is love that wants us to take no more than we need and give all that we can, and it is fear that wants to take care of our "own" and short change the other at every opportunity. And when you put it in those terms the answer is clear.