Boldly Go

The introduction for each episode of the original Star Trek television series ended with, “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” The word boldly is an adverb defined as confidently and courageously, showing a willingness to take risks.

We are in a time of rapid transformation in our world – a call to live boldly and confidently. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, we sheltered at home for an undetermined amount of time. The initial forecast of about two weeks turned into nearly two years. During this time, people learned how resilient they were and discovered personal areas of resistance to be unbound to survive. As a result, everyone entered a rapid growth spurt simultaneously. In 12-step programs, there is a saying, “You only have to change one thing: everything.” That became real for everyone. And we did change.

Then, as always, changes occurred again. People had time to re-evaluate their lives and what matters most. Clarity rang like a bell for everyone. Life-changing choices became easier to make. With the clarity and understanding that we don’t know what the future holds, and this moment now is all we have, making significant changes became easier to comprehend. They boldly went where they had not gone before.

I recently read an allegory to the Parable of the Eagle, attributed to African intellectual, missionary, and powerful educator, James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey. In short form and paraphrased, a man goes out into the woods to catch an animal and returns with an eagle. He places the eagle in his yard with chickens, ducks, and turkeys. He trains the eagle to be like a chicken. After five years pass, a naturalist comes by and sees the eagle and attempts to get it to fly. Each time the eagle jumps down to join his chicken friends on the ground pecking at the chicken feed. The owner confidently declares that the eagle is not an eagle but a chicken. The banter continues, and after two failed attempts to get the eagle to fly, the naturalist is inspired to take the eagle out of his environment. The eagle trembles initially and appears to be filled with new life but does not fly. Finally, the naturalist turns the eagle to face the sun, and the eagle, with his eagle heart, lets out an eagle cry and soars away, up, up, up, higher, and higher, never to be seen by them again. This story is rich and meaningful, with a lesson for us all.

If you feel Divine discontent in your life, perhaps you are an eagle pretending to be a chicken. These are the voyages of the (insert your name here) Enterprise. Commit to living with spiritual boldness as we enter the month of May. Live under the radical premise of “I AM Divine.”

Say yes to discoveries, adventures, and challenges. Say yes to boldly going where you have not gone before. You are magnificent.

And so it is.