Pole-Vaulting into Transcendence

When a young teen in P.E. one year, I ran and jumped the pole vault a few times. The anticipation for and mild fear of that run and leap, tensed us up. The vault didn’t rank with the sheer frighted fearfulness of the high dive in swimming, but it sure beat the boredom of doing pushups.

As difficult as it was to run and leap up balancing on the wobbly rise of the limber pole, in its back arch and then its swinging forward, up, and over the cross bar, I did manage to clear the bar at low levels.

The eventual goal was to set the cross bar higher and higher and yet still achieve the swinging leap up and over. But the higher the bar the more difficult the leap with the rise of the pole and the more dangerous the fall, even if one succeeded in clearing the bar.

Fortunately, pole vaulting lasted only a week for us P.E. students, was not required on a regular basis.

However, metaphorically I've been "pole vaulting" for at least 70 years (an unusual analogy similar to a poem by the metaphysical poet John Donne, the famous 17th century English writer).

Donne wrote very unusual analogies in his poems such as a romantic poem to his wife comparing his deep love for her to a geometric compass!.

In this case now, I'm comparing the all-pervasive meaning seeking action of humans of the last 200,000 years to the action of pole-vaulting--attempting to leap for hope in the mysterious cosmic reality.

Wikepedia photos

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In the actual sport of pole-vaulting, if one doesn't scratch or cheat, the bar keeps being raised higher and higher--eventually incredibly high. Similarly, in humans seeking answers to the Mystery of Life, trillions of stars in the cosmos, and troubling confusions about what is true, what is morally good, what is fair and just--this spiritual seeking has been increasingly difficult.

For instance, one of the most difficult high raisings of the bar came for Christians when Jesus didn’t return in the ‘soon’ time of Paul and John (I Thessalonians and Revelation), but Christians attempted to adjust the bar down and up at the same time! Biblical theologians reinterpreted the word ‘soon’ to mean ‘rapidly’ rather than in the common sense definition of ‘in the near future.’

They said the return of Christ could happen thousands of years in the future, but when it did it come, it would be ‘rapid’. This seems a very dishonest scratching of language and history. It is more than an accidental rule violation, but a situation of dishonesty and delusion--straining the gnat and swallowing the camel.

To be continued in 2 days,

In the LIGHT,

Daniel Wilcox

WELCOMING ALL to the GOOD-TRUE-JUST TABLE of sharing; while Not affirming any of our human failiings, wrongs, or illusionary beliefs

Illustration by ADAM CRUFT

My Lifestance--in brief-: a Transcendence Seeker

A TRANSCENDENCE SEEKER, living for Moral Realism--
the True, the Just, the Caring.
Living for Jesus' moral truths in the Sermon on the Mount, 1 Corinthians 13, Galatians 5:22...

Living in the worldview of Liberal Quakerism (within the movement, not so much the organization),
especially communing with others in expectant openness and hope and peacemaking;
oppose violence of speech and action.

In philosophical speculation, probably Process Deism;

In method of living, the primacy of reason and the scientific method;
and a focus on individual creativity in literature, the arts, and technology

in politics, leftist with libertarian leanings;
in economics, free enterprise, though with very strong social caring and practical help for impoverished,
dysfunctional, troubled, lost, etc.;

In government, voting democracy, (not electoral college).
Require meticulous honesty, moral leaders who while standing strong for the good and just,
also seek to work across political divides with opposing leaders of opposite parties;

In society, equality (not equity), consensus; generosity; creativity;
Avid support for human rights, "I Have a Dream" integration and reconciliation;
Very strong support for Monogamous marriage, the Nuclear family
including support for same sexual marriage for gay and lesbian couples;

Opposition to ideological falsehoods and social contagions including Trans and Nonbinary delusions--and their denial of the biological reality of the binary nature of human sexuality. Over 98% of humans are born either boy or girl.
Help those tiny percentage of humans who are born with physical errors such as intersex or who have illusionary feelings contrary to actual facts.

Against PRIDE Parades that glorify sleazy and immoral sexual behavior,
Drag Queens that demean actual women, harm the innocence of children, etc.
LGBTQ+ Propaganda and flags, promiscuity, kink sexuality, polyamory;

Opposed to the twisting of language such as the claim that a human can decide whether or not to be a man or a woman,
and that sex is "assigned at birth."
Of course that is an Orwellian falsehood. Infants aren't "assigned at birth." Baby humans come out of our mother's womb either boy or girl. And that actual fact is written down.

Against Trumpism, Augustinian-Reformed Christianity, Marxism, CRT (that distorts actual history), BLM (that is against the nuclear family and falsely blames whole groups of humans,and makes false claims of "systemic racism" in contemporary society). Of course, there have been cases of systemic racism such as segregation, "Jim Crow," Sun-down Towns, Apartheid, etc. And BLM attacks all police officers as racists, even though most officers are fair, just, and against racism.


To be continued...

In the LIGHT,

Dan Wilcox