Entering the Belly
How did hell find me? Did I voluntarily walk right into hell? Did I invite myself to be in hell?
I don’t know the answer to these questions but I’ve ended up Entering the Belly. Which is the third section from my work Inside the Belly of the Whale. (The first and second sections are also on this blog – Blue Dream and Taking a Long Breath)
I don’t think going to hell is a once in a life time event, I believe that we can return several times in a life time but as Dante Alighieri suggests there are levels.
Throughout literature, the whale has been visited many times. The few I know of are, Jonah – Old Testament bible story, Moby Dick, Pinocchio, and Finding Nemo.
In each of these stories, the hero is stuck. They may receive divine intervention or just physical motion that gets them out, or they may need to live side by side with the whale, Moby Dick. Each of these options seems to be a paradox.
Acknowledging the pain and hurt that brought me to Inside the Belly of the Whale and out again. Each trip has been my guide.
the mess and slowness of staying on my own path
If I walk along and an obstacle is in my way I have a few choices.
I can stand there and wait for the obstacle to “go away”, or take another route, maybe climb over it, or maybe dismantle it. The path is messy and slow and it’s hard to stay interested in the task of dealing with the obstacle.
We also have the choice of walking away, but it’s really hard to walk away, if the obstacle is ourself.
The Real Work
It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings. Wendell Berry
