Human Nature

I was a little nervous as I climbed up a narrow ladder with at least a hundred rungs, forty feet up. I wasn’t afraid of heights, but I was doing something new that I had never done before.

At the top of the ladder, the trainer guided me to step onto a flimsy wooden platform that already held one other person, who proceeded to strap my harness to the safety line on both sides. I was all set and ready to go. I was given instructions from the woman below that another trapeze artist would appear directly across from me. That person would shout, “Listo,” signaling me to get ready, and I would proceed to grab the trapeze bar, bend my knees, and wait for the next instruction. When the trapeze artist directly across from me said the word, “Hep,” I was to step off the platform into thin air.

That was not human nature to do. We, humans, have a survival instinct, and everything in me was against the idea. I knew it was time to check in with the God of my understanding. It said, “You have the appropriate safety apparatus correctly connected to you, Elizabeth. You are good to go. I’ve got you.” The woman on the ground level said, “Let’s try this again, Elizabeth. You must step off the platform when you hear the word, hep.” The person on the trapeze bar across from me asked, “Listo?” I replied with the same word, “Listo.” I’m ready. I stepped off the platform and continued following the instructions provided.

The experience made me contemplate areas in my life where I felt called by Spirit within to make a change but might not have taken the next step because it seemed complex or challenging. I also remembered a similar experience when I tried bungee jumping and skydiving years before.

I initially checked in with Spirit, the Self within all selves, which guided me to take the next step. Each of those experiences required focus and attention to make the conscious choice of something different. Recognizing my higher power in those instances of checking in with it proved its importance and strengthened my faith.

Sometimes we continue to live and behave in ways that do not serve our highest good. I believe we do so out of habit; it’s comfortable; it’s what we know. Don’t worry; it’s not just you. Everyone has done it at one point or another in their life. The good news is that all it takes is a little mindfulness to get present enough to make conscious choices in the here and now that will propel you into your greater-yet-to-be.

In the same way that it was not in my nature to step off that platform into thin air, it’s not in our nature to challenge ourselves or be uncomfortable. So, for the next week, challenge yourself by monitoring your thoughts and asking yourself, “Is that true?” You are Divine!

Human Nature
by Rev. Elizabeth Rowley Hogue

I was a little nervous as I climbed up a narrow ladder with at least a hundred rungs, forty feet up. I wasn’t afraid of heights, but I was doing something new that I had never done before.

At the top of the ladder, the trainer guided me to step onto a flimsy wooden platform that already held one other person, who proceeded to strap my harness to the safety line on both sides. I was all set and ready to go. I was given instructions from the woman below that another trapeze artist would appear directly across from me. That person would shout, “Listo,” signaling me to get ready, and I would proceed to grab the trapeze bar, bend my knees, and wait for the next instruction. When the trapeze artist directly across from me said the word, “Hep,” I was to step off the platform into thin air.

That was not human nature to do. We, humans, have a survival instinct, and everything in me was against the idea. I knew it was time to check in with the God of my understanding. It said, “You have the appropriate safety apparatus correctly connected to you, Elizabeth. You are good to go. I’ve got you.” The woman on the ground level said, “Let’s try this again, Elizabeth. You must step off the platform when you hear the word, hep.” The person on the trapeze bar across from me asked, “Listo?” I replied with the same word, “Listo.” I’m ready. I stepped off the platform and continued following the instructions provided.

The experience made me contemplate areas in my life where I felt called by Spirit within to make a change but might not have taken the next step because it seemed complex or challenging. I also remembered a similar experience when I tried bungee jumping and skydiving years before.

I initially checked in with Spirit, the Self within all selves, which guided me to take the next step. Each of those experiences required focus and attention to make the conscious choice of something different. Recognizing my higher power in those instances of checking in with it proved its importance and strengthened my faith.

Sometimes we continue to live and behave in ways that do not serve our highest good. I believe we do so out of habit; it’s comfortable; it’s what we know. Don’t worry; it’s not just you. Everyone has done it at one point or another in their life. The good news is that all it takes is a little mindfulness to get present enough to make conscious choices in the here and now that will propel you into your greater-yet-to-be.

In the same way that it was not in my nature to step off that platform into thin air, it’s not in our nature to challenge ourselves or be uncomfortable. So, for the next week, challenge yourself by monitoring your thoughts and asking yourself, “Is that true?” You are Divine!

And so it is.