EMBRACING LIMINALITY
There is so much change going on in our
world. The saying...
"the only thing constant is change"
(attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus) emphases that
everything in the world is in a perpetual state of flux. This idea suggests
that the only certainty in life is that things will inevitably transform over
time. Change happens. Change is happening. Change will continue to happen. As writers, change is at the heart of our character developments, with narratives that have
a reasonable development, tensions, conflicts and resolutions. Change is a
powerful tool when employed well in our writing and in our personal lives as writers
too.
Change is a doorway or threshold into
somewhere new, or an in-between place. The idea of in-between spaces isn’t new.
Some might say that it’s as old as time. It is something about time and process
and transformation. Many fantasy writers utilise this device overtly. C.S.
Lewis employed this concept with Lucy Pevensie’s discovery of Narnia through
the threshold of the Wardrobe. The idea of in-between spaces is particularly
about the process that happens as we transition from one form or state of being
to another. It is about being and becoming. In our own lives, if we can
recognize what’s causing tension and stress of going through change and
experiencing a feeling of being neither here nor there, we can start to manage
it. Giving it a label is an important first step.
Monks referred to in-between spaces as “thin
places,” where the distance between this world and some other reality is
thin enough to notice. This instilled in them a love for spaces where they
could feel hints of heaven in their waking reality. This is why pilgrimages are
encouraged. This is why living a rhythm of life in simplicity, humility,
servantship and abandonment to God has been recognised as so invigorating.
Anthropologists employ a word definition
for being ‘in-between’. It’s called “liminality.” The word comes from
the Latin word limen, meaning threshold. Liminality is about being on the
threshold of moving from one state or place to another. When you are in a
liminal space, you’re no longer where you started; you’re also not yet where
you will wind up. You are in transition, in progress and in transformation.
Theologian Alan Hirsch introduces the
concept of a "liminal lifestyle" as a way for Christians to
live authentically and engage with the world, drawing further on the
anthropological concept. Liminality, in this context, refers to the
"in-between" or transitional spaces where individuals or groups face
uncertainty, risk, or disorientation. Hirsch makes a call for Christians to
embrace the uncertainty and discomfort of liminal spaces as a means of
fostering deeper community, renewing faith, and engaging in a more authentic
and missional expression of Christianity.
Liminality is a wonderful concept for us
to embrace and be intentional about as we write and create story arcs for
characters. The Hero's Journey trope is in essence a methodology of multiple
liminal experiences and metanarrative.
Paul Tournier argues that liminality is
“A time of danger, of expectation, of
uncertainty, of excitement, of extraordinary aliveness.”
For me personally liminal spaces have
often been adventure filled experiences, transitions and transformations,
challenging situations, heartbreaks, heart melting, heart moulding times. Spaces that I remember and ‘take me back’
with rising emotions include:
Jungle flanked creeks in deep gorges
surrounded by towering previously-navigated mountain faces. Resting there
exhausted, exhilarated, thankful and thoughtful.
In the dirt and grime of broken streets in
Vietnam next to dismembered beggars hoping for a morsel and a caring friend.
Sitting beside them, simply being together with them, no words spoken, but the
unsaid power of presence, communicating compassion for them and hope for brave
futures.Atop the mountainous massif of Massada in
Israel having scaled its winding fortress-like cliffs to its summit. Lifting my
eyes and arms over the dead sea basin as a lone Shofar awakened the dawn as a
cried prayer.
Beside my mother as she breathed her last.
Holding hands. Heaven receiving her.
With families and friends and colleagues
and students I have journeyed with over many years. As I was farewelled
recently. Transitioning from decades of Chaplaincy ministry in schools to
serving in my new role as Missionary and Member Carer.
For others liminal spaces may be
cathedrals with steep spires, stain glassed windows and gothic edifices, or
small churches in the countryside with the scent of old silk-oak timber pews
and wattle, or wooded glens and tree ferns with Lyre birds, or open fields
filled with flowers and butterflies, or the streets of your town you have been
praying for, or surfing at sunset in a tropical paradise, or a revisit to a
hall where you performed your first solo, or a dusty floor inside an abandoned
house of your upbringing, or opening the bible and sharing with a friend
special words, or peacefully listening and singing to hymn-song, praises and
musical worship with a knowing that God is with you.
What is your experience of Liminality?
Where have you experienced a ‘thin place’?
When have you sensed you are on the
threshold of something new?
Each of Paul Tournier’s descriptors of
liminality (danger, expectation, uncertainty, excitement, extraordinary
aliveness) can be turned into prompts and inspirations for our writing:
·
Help your character work through dangers,
difficulties, challenges and all the feelings associated with that.
·
What would it mean to show the
expectations of our characters in new ways as they navigate thresholds of
change?
·
How can we show an authentic navigation of
uncertainties in our stories?
·
Make your narrative full of exciting
transitions that inspires your reader to feel the change and perhaps be
motivated towards positive change for themselves.
Paul Tournier’s descriptors of liminality
can equally be turned into personal prayers as you navigate your own personal
change:
·
“Please, mighty God, keep me safe in my
feelings of danger.”
·
“Jesus, you walk with us every day. Help
us to expect to see you at work.”
·
“Help us to trust you in our uncertainty.”
·
“This exciting transitional time makes me
feel fresh and alive. Help me to perceive that aliveness as a gift from you.
Help me to serve you with this energy I'm feeling.”
Perhaps you are standing on the threshold
of embracing the liminal space within you. You may feel resistance, fear,
grief, and sadness. Wherever you are is ok. Embrace that and allow yourself to be
with what you are feeling. Liminality invites us over the threshold of
everything we often resist.
Perhaps this article may even be an
inspiration to step across your own threshold into a bold new vision or action
for your life and writing.
Be encouraged.
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose
hearts are set on pilgrimage.
And how blessed all those in whom you live,
whose
lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
discover
cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-travelled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
at the
last turn—Zion! God in full view!”
Psalm 84:5-7 NIV and Message
