Truth, Connection, Intimacy and God
“When two people relate authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that arises between them.”
~ Martin Buber (1878-1965)
It’s a mystery to me when, when relating to someone, I feel that special bond between me and them, in such a way that I can be myself. I’m thinking of one person in particular right now, a person who has had many struggles with depression and anxiety, a person who has significant daily challenges, but a person who seems to be more authentic than most.
A relationship with someone like that, the relationship that is achieved in a 10-minute conversation, is inspiring. When we can be ourselves among others, life takes on a new dimension and something like a life force is added to us.
WHAT IS REQUIRED FOR GOD TO BLEND THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO?
Whether the relationship is with our spouse, a coworker or friend, or even a stranger, there is always a distance between them and us: a physical distance and a psychological distance.
Overcoming such a distance, electrifying that division, is the role of both in being authentic with themselves before the other. There are four dimensions.
1. I must be honest with myself.
2. They must be true to themselves.
3. I must be honest with them.
4. They must be honest with me.
Such a fourfold truth is a risk at each of those four junctures. We can well imagine why there are inauthentic transactions within many relationships. Only one or two of the above four factors are needed to be friends, and the relationship exists in a subtle or very feigned way.
The fragility in relationships is due precisely to this fact: we both must be truthful, respecting ourselves and the other, risking our vulnerability and receiving theirs, as well as giving ourselves and the other person what they really deserve. But sometimes the trust between two is not deserved, and we can see how and why we hold ourselves back.
We can confidently say that when two people relate to the truth, God bridges the space between them. There is an infusion of love between two who trust each other enough to be authentic. There is also the wonderful resonance of mutual respect that vibrates between these two.
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When we are honest with another person, and they are honest with us, God bridges the distance between us and creates a bond of intimacy rarely known.
Intimacy goes beyond romance. The centrality of intimacy is the truth. When two people trust each other enough to tell the truth, intimacy is created. Where truth exists, there also is God, both present and real.
© 2012 SJ Wickham.