Limitation Becomes Space
Allowing this moment to be as it is, just this moment, no more. Just this moment.
Suddenly there’s an inner space around it which frees you from the limitation of the form.
The greatest image of that is the crucifixion, which you may not be fond of; some people don’t like it because it’s very negative, but I believe it’s a deep symbol of a truth that perhaps at that time could not be expressed in any other way. [...]
There’s this man nailed to the cross – a great limitation – but the cross is also the symbol of the divine and there’s deep wisdom in that.
How is it that a torture instrument is also a symbol of the divine?
… It’s about surrendering to the limitation of form, and the cross is an extreme example of that. The crucifixion means not my but thy will be done, which refers to the totality of what is.
If you surrender to what is, the extreme limitation becomes an opening into space.
That’s the deepest rule really that there is for human beings to realize that. Even the worst thing that happens to you can become the doorway then … will become the doorway into transcendence. Limitation becomes space.
That’s where human suffering comes in. There’s a grace hiding behind every form of suffering. There’s always the possibility of transcendence, which comes from not resisting the present moment. [...]
The one thing humans need to learn so they can live a different way, so that there’s an inner freedom, is the complete transcendence of the conditioning of the past.”
The above is an excerpt from Eckhart Tolle’s interview with Common Ground, titled Just Now.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion that even the worst thing to happen to us can become a doorway into transcendence? Can you share a personal story of a time when you found grace behind suffering? What helps you deepen in inner freedom without falling into the trap of passivity?