Dear Friends,
Most of us are familiar with the term, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” In our language it means that all of us should be able to succeed on our own. But according to the website Useless Etymology, the meaning evolved into the opposite of the original intention. Here is their explanation:
The phrase “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” originated shortly before the turn of the 20th century. It’s attributed to a late-1800s physics schoolbook that contained the example question “Why can not a man lift himself by pulling up on his bootstraps?”
So when it became a colloquial phrase referring to socioeconomic advancement shortly thereafter, it was meant to be sarcastic, or to suggest that it was an impossible accomplishment.
Eventually, however, the phrase’s commonly-accepted meaning evolved, and now when we tell people to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” it’s implying that socioeconomic advancement is something that everyone should be able to do—albeit something difficult. (https://uselessetymology.com/2019/11/07/the-origins-of-the-phrase-pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps/)
The reality of life is that none of us is capable of succeeding completely on our own. Even if we don’t recognize it, the systemic structures that are built around us either help or hinder our actions. More importantly, we need the communities that surround us. I learned this in a profound way the week after Easter.
This is when I celebrated my 60th birthday by trying to run and/or hike many many miles at an event called Born to Run. Here I joined other participants in a 4-day attempt to go as many miles one can – or wants to in the allotted time period (noon Wednesday to noon Sunday). My goal at this event for the past three years has been to get to 100 miles. The first year I went 60. The second year I went 50. This year my stated goal was 60 for 60 (but 100 would be nice).
By Friday I had completed 60 miles and did not see any way I could get to 100. Then friends and family arrived. Saturday morning, I was accompanied by two buddies. Saturday afternoon another two joined me. Then two friends (who’d already gone 10 miles earlier that day) joined me for a night hike (complete with almost running into a cow in the dark!). That got me to 90 miles and another friend joined me for the second time to get to 100 miles. There is no way I would have gotten to 100 miles without them!
We need one another. Our successes are not solo successes. This is a good reminder for us as a community of believers. What we do (or don’t do) as a congregation is not due to the dedication of any single person. It takes all of us.
At the end of this month we celebrate Pentecost. This day is traditionally thought of as the birthday of the church… the coming of the Holy Spirit upon all those present that day. As we see in this story, and in the growth of Christianity through the centuries, the movement was (and is always) a movement of people rather than persons. As we think about our own congregation, how might the Holy Spirit be calling us to work together?
Blessings,
Pastor Nancy