Journal of Sacred Work

   Our earliest "graduations" are clearly defined steps we climb.  Starting as early as nursery school adults hand out certificates authorizing our travel to the next stage. 

    What lives at the top of the staircase? The steps we climb & how we ascend them answer part of that question. 

   Of course, each level becomes increasingly challenging. No one can practice nursing without certifications. No one can practice medicine without degrees & licenses. 

   These transitions, like my oldest grandson's high school graduation, are products of civilization. Miles (pictured) has climbed this stage so well that he has been accepted into the country's most selective university. 

   Every time we reach a new height we find ourselves yearning for the next. Higher levels of competency forever beckon the ambitious. 

   Instant proof appeared while I was writing this. My youngest grandson, siting beside me on the sofa, began struggling with a toy. "I wanna be six so I can fix this," he said. He is four. 

   When do we know we have climbed enough stairs & it is time to rest? Michelangelo answered with his last words: "I am still learning."

-Erie Chapman

Photograph by Erie.