In 1909 a new word was coined—liminal. It derives from the
Latin līmen
and means threshold. Through the ideas
of British anthropologist Victor Turner in the late 60’s, the concept began to
spread into sociological and psychological literature. More recently, the concept has been showing
up in a number of contemporary Christian publications.
Originally, the term meant the space under a door between
two rooms, i.e. a passageway. It began
its popular usage as a description of initiation rites found in many cultures
in regard to the journey taken by children as they enter the adult world. The liminal space or passage was the
transition time between childhood and adulthood. In this sense, liminality embodies the idea
that Jungian psychologists called individuation. It is a place of ambiguity; a leaving of what
has been and a moving toward what might be.
A favorite theologian of mine, Walter Brueggemann, applies a similar
concept when he speaks of the movement of individuals and groups in
exodus. Of necessity, it seems, they
will move from orientation to disorientation to reorientation. In this motif, disorientation is a liminal
space and the road to maturity does not allow the false luxuries of avoidance or denial.
As you look back over the path of your life, what are the
liminal spaces you have experienced? In
the transition between different stages of your life did you attempt to skip the
discomfort that liminality often brings?
What if, rather than running from the discomfort of ambiguity, you instead
experience it to the fullest and see it as a stepping stone to new levels of authenticity
and maturity?
For the past dozen years of my own life I have repeatedly
found encouragement in the following poem written by Kathy Galloway. Rev. Galloway, in addition to being a poet, is a leader in the Church of
Scotland. Her poem, Borderlands,
resonates with the truth of limimality and bids me to continue entering that
place.
there is a place
beyond the border
where love grows
and where peace
is not the frozen silence . . .
to get to that place you have to
go or be pushed out
beyond the borders,
to where it is lonely, fearful,
threatening, unknown.
only after you have wandered
for a long time in the dark
do you begin to bump into others
also branded, exiled,
border crossers,
and find you walk on
common ground.
it is not an easy place to be,
this place beyond the borders.
but it is a good place to be.
Is liminality a place of
comfort? Rarely. Are you alone when in a liminal place? Probably not.
Are you ready to take the plunge?
If so, welcome...and walk on.
