A dream and parable from last night:
The Parable of the Wounded Feet
Many people were gathered together, moving, walking, but had stopped – perhaps for the night, or for treatment of their wounds. I was with Judith in some sort of house or barn-like space, big enough for a small crowd of people, and Judith was teaching, showing some women how to treat the injured. There was a small table with a light above, a person sitting or laying on it with their feet out. Her hands are gentle but sure as she holds one foot, showing it to the others.
The first foot only had a small cut, or maybe it was a long splinter, in the big toe or at the base of the toe. Splinter out, cut washed, dried, and she was saying “We don’t even need to do anything else here”, and to the person, “You’re fine, you’ll be with us” – and they walk away.
Another person, and this foot had a larger cut, down by the heel. Everyone looks, “It’s deep, but clean. We don’t need to stitch it but need to close it.” As it is being taped, wrapped, she says to the person: “We’re going to bandage this. You can walk on it, but it will be painful. You will have to decide if you can continue on or not.”
The last person is helped onto the table, and this foot has a deep gash around the ball of the big toe, deep into the sole. We see the wound laid open, and gently it is cleaned and then slowly gathered together, from the deeper inside wound, out to the sole, where it is stitched shut, a long series of small, neat knots in the stitch-threads. The person is in a lot of pain, and it is painful now for everyone watching, because it is clear – they can’t go on, they will have to stay behind, and they now are very afraid of being left alone when everyone else moves on. No one will be able to stay with them.
It is suddenly very clear that there is a vast movement all around, and clear that the wounds we have seen are wounds of the spirit. Clear that these are soul wounds, and in the multitude around us, everyone is carrying some scar of their own wounds, but they are all healed by Spirit and moving with Spirit, moving, going, following.