Beyond is Within

The Truth (with a capital "T") of most spiritual traditions is found in paradox.  In the Christian tradition, Jesus is a walking paradox as he continually proclaims the first as last, the poor as rich, the humble as exalted, the outsider as insider, and ulitmately life in death.

Paradox draws us into perspectives that are usually alternative to the dominate thinking, suggesting that perhaps our "way" of livng may seem progressive and productive, but is actually counterproductive.

One of these "ways of living" is the human propensity to first seek the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs of our lives from outside sources only to eventually discover what we really need comes from within us.  Literature and mythology are filled with examples of "hero" stories in which a person sets off on a journey to find something only to be led back to the beginning to discover what they are looking for was right under their noses all the time.  I also venture to say that most of us have our own hero stories of this sort.

So why do we keep looking for answers out there somewhere when deep inside, beneath layers of "coulds, shoulds, woulds, and oughts," we know were to look and seek.   I think perhaps this is what Jesus means when he says, "Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven [within], then all the things [beyond] will be added."

The Kingdom of Heaven is sort of like the rear view mirror message - it is "closer than it appears to be!"