The Grinch classic cartoon was on network television tonight. I found it ironic that a cross-generational story which on one level has something to say about transcending materialistic impulses was so poorly chopped and truncated to fit the commercial breaks. Classics like The Grinch should be shown unaltered.
But with that aside, I chose to keep watching because as we experience the eve of 2012, The Grinch has been on my mind for days, a story many of us have loved since childhood. The Grinch is the perfect personification of The Shift, the kind of Shift I choose to believe in, the kind that leaves no one behind.
There is a reason why we love The Grinch...and it's the very same reason why we love all stories of darkness transformed into Light, whether it be the Grinch, Darth Vader or the Prodigal Son. It is the story of Planet Earth, and its contrasts and ultimate lessons are symbolic in every possible way, far transcending the message of Christmas or any particular spiritual or religious path.
In every society on Earth today, even a repentant Grinch would be scorned and jailed for years, maybe even executed.
Let's ponder the crimes of the Grinch. He is not only a vandal and thief of toys, Christmas trees and candy (not to mention an abuser of little dogs), perhaps the parts that enthralled us as children.
No, the Grinch takes every last bit of food, every last log from the fireplaces, tantamount to a genocidal act in that cold, wintry place at the base of Mt. Crumpit. He does it just because he can, for the sheer delight of it, to relish the suffering of others, especially children. Joy is painful to the Grinch, so he chooses to extinguish it entirely. We all know the story well.
But how well DO we know the story??? And how much have we truly allowed the story to expand our own hearts? Yes, there's the part about how Christmas happens even without the toys, that's the lesson about materialism we were supposed to focus upon as kids. As a kid, besides missing out on a Christmas feast, I'm sure I didn't really comprehend the dire severity of the Whos down in Whoville having no food or firewood at the coldest time of year.
So what makes this A True Story of The Shift? First, there is the Light, the Light that rises up the mountain, a Light generated miraculously, solely through the Conscious harmony of an entire people, young and old, singing in Joy hand in hand in a circle. By transcending the illusion of hardship, the Whos have shifted, and they are ready to share. The Light of The Shift is contagious, critical mass attained.
It's far easier to believe in a version of The Shift in which only those who "qualify" make the cut, a version of The Shift which is at its worst, yet another fear-based, non-inclusive version of "left behind" that we've heard so many times before. "You better watch out...The Shift is coming to town..." sums it up quite nicely.
But a REAL Shift, a REAL quantum leap, is not just about shifting the choir - it's about shifting The Grinch, including whatever remnants of The Grinch remain in each of us. It's about dramatic change, not incremental progress. It's about darkness transformed into Light.
No doubt we all remember The Grinch's heart growing three sizes that day, his smile radiating with that same Light which encompasses his heart. But how many of us have really pondered what comes next?
When the Grinch comes barreling triumphantly into town, what does he find there? Does he find fear? Does he find judgment? Does he find scorn? Does he find punishment? No, he finds Forgiveness. A Quantum Forgiveness so very vast that just like the Prodigal Son returned, The Grinch is the guest of honor at the feast, trusted and accepted so very completely, he is placed next to the sweetest, most precious child in town, a guest so very honored that he gets the highest privilege of carving the Roast Beast.
Could you give your worst enemy (no matter how transformed) the keys to your city? Would you honor him or her with a parade? Would you trust him or her with your children?
A lower consciousness society would cling to the past. A lower consciousness society would indeed jail The Grinch. A lower consciousness society wouldn't believe he has shifted and wouldn't really care (or those few who might notice wouldn't care enough to do anything substantial about it). They wouldn't trust. They wouldn't love. They wouldn't accept.
A lower consciousness society bases "justice" on punishment for the past, not on healing and rehabilitation in the moment. A lower consciousness society is focused on vengeance and fear, not on Unconditional Love. What would we do to The Grinch in OUR society now? What would YOU choose to do?
Until we can all understand what it truly means to completely accept, forgive and honor a "Grinch", we don't really understand the Higher Consciousness of the Shift at all. And that includes unconditionally accepting the transformation of the darkest possible soul you can imagine on Earth. And that includes unconditionally accepting the transformation of the darkest part you can find within yourself.
We already know how. Our stories have shown us the way. We don't jeer The Grinch or Darth Vader. We cheer. And the Prodigal Son story has been with us a very long time. Many Christians claim to believe in spontaneous transformation, yet they have made little effort to create a society to match - much like the bitter brother in the Prodigal Son, they still feel the need to punish even repentant wrongdoers and call that "justice". And many of them speak of a "narrow path", the most rigid form of exclusivity, with the other paths leading straight to hell.
At its most profound, challenging level, the in-progress Story of the Shift even includes forgiveness BEFORE apparent Transformation...because it is forgiveness itself which creates Transformation. Did the Whos know the Grinch had shifted when they began to sing?
Some day all of us will understand. The Shift will be so radically transformational, it will transcend our every expectation. I firmly believe The Shift is NOT about "qualifying" for the ascension in any possible way, no matter how many teachers I have admired insist that this is so. When the Light begins to radiate irresistibly on this planet, when it encompasses and shifts each and every heart, nobody will need to tell you to shift - you will simply Know - nobody will need to tell you to forgive - you will simply Know. And that's when the REAL celebration begins...
Image notes:
Grinch drawing obtained from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ted_Geisel_NYWTS.jpg and is part of a collection donated to the U.S. Library of Congress as a gift, with no known restrictions on the usage of this photograph (see Wikimedia entry for more information).
Radiating star image obtained from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PGC_39058.jpg and can be shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Holding hands image obtained from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hold_my_hand.jpg and can be shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Grinch: A True Story of The Shift
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