“You Can’t Fly On One Wing.”
~ Scottish Proverb ~
As Easter weekend approached, I sat from a balcony overlooking Washington’s coastline. With Spring flourishing, I saw much life coming forth: bees, butterflies and birds fluttering about. When I crossed a child attempting to fly a paper airplane with a damaged wing, I repaired the man-made aircraft; and giving a gentle nudge, the plane soared high unto the prevailing trade winds of Orcas Island.
Looking unto the child of nearly eight, I said:
“Remember, much of life is like this paper airplane, one cannot fly upon just one wing.”
There will be many times when one believes they must do everything themselves. After all, “…it’s often the only way to get the right answer.” But in truth, I believe each of us needs a little luck … and the wings of God. And this past weekend, all of us, regardless of religion, regardless of faith, took some small amount of time to reflect upon the ‘cross’ and Christ’s life.
Many believe the cross first came into existence as a symbol associated with the Christian faith; but the cross existed before there was Christianity, before Moses, before Buddha and before any human written historical record. In fact, the cross can be found among the Aztecs and the Phoenicians culture. In some way, the symbol of a crucified savior or of a man crucified upon a cross, appears to have been known to many nations.
So there must have been a reason for the ‘cross.’ Personally, I tend to believe there is some natural association between a loving God and the human mind. I do not purport people ever agreed that the cross was meant only for Christians, but I believe there is a God–human connection between all of us.
For instance, in every religion the power of the word is recognized. In Christianity, creation itself is said to have come out of the word. Thus, there is an external aspect of the thought of God resides within the Word, and, as God thought and willed, He created and creation came from the Word.
In our stress and hurried materialistic life, our nerves lose sensibility and we become hardened. We lose our connection to faith, a faith which bears us this second wing, a wing that allows us to fly. If our duty to others means helping others; can we always fly in this world without our second wing? Should we always try to help the world alone or unified in an eternal force? If we dare to consider, we’ll find greater success flying as an eagle, versus fluttering singularly.
I once read a sermon which stated, “All this beautiful world is very good, because it gives us time and opportunity to help others.” Still, while we cannot deny there is much misery; to go out and help others is therefore the best thing we can do. However, it’s imperative to remember that in the long run we shall find greater power in being an eagle.
The power of Easter is love and God wants each of us to soar. But remember, you can’t soar on only one wing.