Leaping over Bulls

The connection was unmistakable, and I moved in closer to listen. He was speaking of his love for an ancient mural (a man leaping over a bull) and explained how it had served him well throughout his childhood. Learning issues had plagued him throughout his childhood, and then a teacher at his boarding school suggested that he not write a paper but makesomething. Working with his hands to create a model of what the other students were writing about awakened something within him that eventually led to a successful career as an architect. Like the childhood mural, he had learned to leap with the bull.

As someone with a learning difference, I know well the struggles at school. More than that, however, as a minister I know the countless bulls that come charging at us as we seek to live lives of faith. They lower their heads and come charging whether we are ready or not, and our first thought is to charge right back (or stick them with a spear). The ancient wisdom captured in the mural suggests a more excellent way. Maybe it’s a sudden health issue, a job crisis, or a devastating blow to a relationship, bulls come in all shapes and sizes. Instead of charging, perhaps we need to learn how to leap.

I can’t help but think of the alcoholic who surrenders rather than lives another day trying to control his drinking and finds new life while twirling in the air above the bull. I think of the couple who had to navigate a new job that required regular international travel. It leads to “sporadic honeymoons,” as they call them, around the globe. I also think about the small, struggling company that found great success when they grabbed the horns of new technology and became a virtual giant.

Earlier this year, the struggling student got to see the original mural. With tears in his eyes, he could see how it had saved his life, and I couldn’t help but see how learning how to leap over bulls had saved mine, and maybe yours, as well.