“12 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Co 12:1–10 ESV)

One of the greatest premises of life in community, of thought work, of boots-on-the-ground Bodily Contribution, is the ninety-percent rule. At any given time we are only using ten percent of our capacities. How can this be? It is a solemn reflection, that individual personality quirks, regressions, retreats, holistic personal Centeredness, all these things may distract from the capacity for Genius or Inspired outlay. The lines of our Battle are already in some distant prophetic haze, upon us. Each Person in the contingency is Called Upon to make military and sagacious Decisions. The tent city, the bee hive, the galloping Flock, these things ebb and flow, come in and out of Focus, but True to Promise, the Trinity of three spirits is Intact, is Agentic and Efficacious, is Warping and Warbling a Super-Human third eye Strength.

We decide, and that for the sake of having taken a Mind Trip moment Away from the Routine, and unto, towards, the momentary murmured Prayer for the neglected half. So we also have it Both Ways: the mensch, the Pundit, the Godfather figure in our community, has a deified Aura around herself or himself. They are Managing, Bearing Up under, Inspiring and Enabling, third eye Mellifluous Circuit-Riding, preaching and healing Ministries to flourish. But also always ninety-percent Unused, capacity for yet more and yet more Genius and Inspired Spirit-Thought and Spirit-Unthought-Action reactive and effective to take place.

To the soldier, then is the Ontology (philosophical banter for what is “out there”) of Trinities, One Trinity in particular, greater than the sum of their individual parts; and Fellow Laborers, particles conjoined at a distance, Simple and Simply United Minds similar, because in dreamland come the other raging chorus of stampeding Hooves, the ninety percent. We are boots-on-the-ground for a Freshness and Art New, nouveau, of Presence in the community: “Oh, he’s/she’s someone rather fun, all things told, alleged to be working on the Mission, all things told, but who can say these days…?”. 

The Good Cheer, then, is because we drink from a font already Victorious, already Cleverer by far, Spades of talent, Heartthrobs of Ingenuity and Passionate Action. We have this surety within, and where two enmities both think themselves Perennial Victors, there is War. Surely we will win, with this clever Draw (aka the game of chess) or that Preemptive, Hawkish, Strike. Surely we will Deuce the enemy with our manifest… not just Belligerence and Pugnacious Effect, but with our Good Cheer, what the theologians call Joy: nothing can take from us that we are all in need of Mercy, and all, like the smile of a sibling who greets you lovingly, in the calm grasp of a Friend.

Some call Joy Fabulosity, or Zeal, or what-have-you. This we know, that strange Trinities of Inspired Souls, will make executive Decisions sublime, and wow and amaze us with their Timely measured (economically-, statistically-, sociologically-speaking) inspired genius. We are those Graduated from the school of brushing shoulders in the lobby, on the street corner, and so on: we are those who Move for others, as a first not concession but Recognition: give benefit of Doubt! Acknowledge the personal space of others! Be cheer and Presence in something Greater than either of us, at play, the Joy, the distant respectful Gaze. And when called upon to be Front and Center Present, dictum-maker, not dictator but Presence, we know our beloved Totems and Figureheads, as ones who like Christ are acquainted with sorrow and grief, with personal Sacrifice and Bodily degradation. For this we have Love, and cherish the Memory of long-absent Ones.