In the Belly of the Whale

People across the country today are unusually anxious and even somewhat depressed. The current mood began on September 11, 2001 and has intensified in recent months with the bad news from Iraq. The sight of New Orleans underwater and the survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita scrambling for their lives has brought us even lower. More recently the threat of fires and earthquakes in the west, and, beyond our borders, news of the devastating earthquake in Asia have added to our feeling of vulnerability. Our leaders' assurances that we'll eventually succeed in Iraq and rebuild New Orleans don't shift the mood much.

In the wake of Katrina people seem astonished that we don't handle disaster well. One reason may be our exaggerated sense of control. We tend to think we can handle anything, but when it comes to facing nature's force, we come head-to-head with our limitations.

This is a good thing: realizing our limits. Although the feeling of being vulnerable is uncomfortable, understood as a basic spiritual condition, it can deepen what strengths we have. For vulnerability and strength are not opposites. They go together like yin and yang, like two sides of a coin.

The Tao Te Ching, that remarkable holy text from Chinese Taoism, says:

Yield and be strong,
Bend and be straight,
Empty and be full.

Yield and be strong. This is not a sentiment familiar to our "can-do" culture. America has the strong will to overcome any adversity. We are a heroic society built by adventurers and pioneers who embraced challenge. We want to conquer every obstacle: illness, political adversaries, and, it seems, nature itself. For this country, especially, it takes spiritual depth of imagination to understand a non-heroic way of getting along. It takes spiritual wisdom to appreciate vulnerability.

The word vulnerable means "able to be wounded." Conscious vulnerability is a kind of strength. Being vulnerable allows you to be open to another, to allow another person or group to enjoy their own desire and strength--and it is the foundation for love. At its best, to be vulnerable means to be open and not overly defended, which only a strong person has the courage to be. Because vulnerability and strength are so entwined, it's best to cultivate both at the same time.

The Bhagavad-Gita, the ancient and revered teaching on being a spiritual warrior, says:

Consider pleasure and pain as the same thing,
And success and loss, victory and defeat as well,
Then give yourself to the struggle
And you won't bring disaster on yourself.

Jesus taught a similar philosophy, constantly inverting expectations. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches in his Sermon on the Mount that the last shall be first and the poor are blessed.

These are extraordinarily important words for Americans today, who tend to make a commandment out of making money, wanting prestige, and needing to be first. You have a better chance of keeping in touch with basic human values if money isn't your ultimate concern and if you can relax about not being the best. These profound texts from all over the world hold the secrets to our survival and should be required reading of all leaders.

Religions teach that the chief mistake human beings make is hubris--in other words, not knowing our limitations. We get into trouble, personally and nationally, whenever we become arrogant and think we can do anything. But religions warn against this kind of thinking.

Our vulnerability opens our hearts...
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