A fully integrated being

In the therapeutic world we talk about what it means to be a fully integrated person.  What we mean by this is working towards a reality where an individual fully accepts every aspect of their being and lives in a way that honors every part.  It is acknowledging the emotional, physical and spiritual aspects of our existence and then not denying space for all the intricacies of human concreteness.

Now the challenge is that the human condition presents us with this thing we call: pain.  Typically we learn quickly that when pain is presented there is one of two ways to respond: fight or flight.  The problem with both these responses is it doesn’t allow us to ‘live into’ our humanity instead it encourages us to distance ourselves from others and essentially from ourselves.  It does not help us to elevate the dignity of the human condition that includes all its contradictory paradigms and parts– the love & the hate, the good & the bad, the fears & the courage, the joy & sorrow and the celebratory & grieving.  If we are honest enough with ourselves the reality is that these things more often than not inhabit us simultaneously and we are consistently weaving around all of these states of being.

Now coming out of this space and time in the Christian calendar we call Holy week my head has been swimming with reflections on Christ’s life.  And I realized that we can look to Christ and see that this integration model is embodied in his life.

When Jesus took his place in time and history we see that the deified put on humanity.  Jesus entered humanity completely recognizing and allowing all the complexities of the human experience to be explored and elevated.  He embraced all aspects of human existence from the emotional (doubt, fear), spiritual (temptation in desert) and physical (torture)– even as Christ was presented with pain he moved towards humanity and not away or against.

Only one thing can explain such actions– love.

The final moments of Christ signifies ultimate pain met.  The extent of Jesus’ physical pain is unimaginable to most of us and yet, even in that place Christ acknowledges the emotional pain of separateness he feels in the abandonment of God all the while maintaining focus on the mission at hand and his ministry to those around him (the two thieves).  Christ is an open source to every aspect of human sorrow and suffering and he embraces and embodies this in all fabrics of his existence.

It takes tremendous courage to live in such a way.  I struggle with that challenge every single day.  I know I do not have the strength in myself to face my own humanity with such dignity and grace, but I believe that there is potential and choice.

All this to say, I am humbled by such love and example.  I stand renewed in hope.