MASSAGE AT THE RED SEA - GOD DOESN'T MESS UP!
MASSAGE AT THE RED SEA - God doesn’t mess up!
The other morning, I was obsessing and upset about developments in the massage field and how those affected my future and that of our profession. And I naturally am upset about recent events in the U.S., Europe, and around the world. Then I tuned on the radio, just wanting to listen to some calming music.
But instead a man was shouting real loud…something about the Red Sea!….Well, I realized it was Sunday morning and the radio happened to be tuned to KAZI, the African-American public radio station in town. Now I am not particularly religious but I’m open to learning from anywhere. And the minister was shouting about God and the Israelites at the Red Sea. And he shouted about that situation over and over in a variety of ways – both rhythmic and sensical.
He said we all get to really tight places in our lives. We all get a number of times to our “Red Sea”.
He said, when the people of Israel got to the Red Sea and couldn’t go any further, the people blamed Moses. He’d made, they said, a horrible mistake and misled them. They’d be better off if they’d stayed in slavery in Egypt! And through him they blamed God.
But God, the preacher said, had led them to this very place…as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God didn’t, the preacher said, “MESS UP!”
Moses then said, “STAND STILL!” And then he "stretched out his hand" and sure enough, the story tells us, the Israelites survived and this challenge further empowered their faith.
So it does help to know – when we get to a tight place, at the very least our decisions and circumstances, both mundane and sacred, have brought us there. Then if we will stand still and have faith in ourselves or whatever we believe in and then take action, we can make it through. We have made it through before and we will again.
Standing still, then moving forward. Perhaps first adding calmly some knowledge, research and contemplation about our situation. We will then know what to do much better. And then we can act. Then we can “stretch out our hands.”
“I give you my hand, more precious than money.” - Walt Whitman.
In every massage session, we stretch out our hands, and give our clients a chance to stand still. May this time of non-action, give them the time and space in which to rest, to strengthen their resolve, to have more energy to act and, if they happen to be at their Red Sea, to make it through with a deepened faith in themselves and the forces, known and unknown, that help each of us through difficult passages in life.