physical Distance

by Janelle Esposito

In our second class on 8/29/2007, we discussed religious experience in relation to place. To encounter sacred we must be removed from the profane world. There is a physical distance established here as we find a sacred space to for our spirituality dwell. The mountain/valley metaphor is frequently used to describe peak moments of our spiritual existence.

As I was listening to the lecture and discussion, I drew a few pictures/ diagrams to help me sort this out. I went to Kenya this summer and at the beginning of the school year, I was not near close to re-adjusting back to American culture. I was still very much in re-entry culture shock.

This is the all-encompassing diagram to portray my reaction:

No, Africa is not an idealized world of perfection as you might think from this chart, but I flourished spiritually over there. This was from the physical distance from the profane- the distractions of American life. I was cut off from everything- friends and family (except for 30 minute intervals on dial up internet), computers for the most part, cell phones, and my individualism. Cut off from so many things, I had to grow a deeper reliance on God and faithfulness on his provision. My entire time in Kenya was not spent on a mountain peak; I cried and groaned on my way to the top (climbing hurts). It was funny that I had to get out of America and travel across Atlantic ocean to become intimate with God. I left Africa with high expectations of retaining this intimacy with God and radiating it on other people. Instead, I dropped down into the valley, and quickly assimilating back into the life of the profane, I removed myself from my Kenyan experience. I did not process what I had learned in Kenya and try to integrate back home. It became lost in translation. It did not translate initially. I’ve been fighting the long way back to the top of the mountain, and I feel sometimes I’m almost there even though I slip back down. These are often spurred by daily, mundane distractions or the false idea that I must always keep myself busy to be productive. Re-entry is even harder than entry itself and reckons a big fight- experiences from another side of the world vs. present place. Fighting this battle has made my encounters with God in Kenya even more real now, that I can apply my disciplines back in America. The mountain peak I will be reaching is even higher than the one shown in the diagram.