Defying Gravity

Have you wondered what weightlessness would feel like? Two very brave astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, experienced it for 9 months longer than they had planned when they launched into space last June. They returned to Earth last week, finally setting foot on the Earth rather than orbiting it. Their time defying gravity was over. Are there ways to defy gravity without being weightless?

After the scorched capsule splashed down, it was loaded onto a waiting vessel. The capsule’s hatch was painstakingly opened. Each astronaut was assisted out of the capsule and onto a stretcher. They gave big smiles and waves as they were whisked off to be attended to. Why did they need stretchers? They had not walked with gravity in a long time. I was filled with admiration for these courageous and highly trained people who took this long delay in stride.

The word gravity comes from the Latin word “gravitas,” which means heavy or weighty. When a circumstance has gravitas, it is serious. Its meaning weighs on us. I hear from folks they are feeling the gravitas of national and international politics, economic worries, family concerns, and worry about health. We may not be able to experience weightlessness, but we can find ways to defy gravity or to resist being pulled down by gravitas. Here are some very different places to look for inspiration.

It may be surprising to find this kind of inspiration in the writing of Paul in the Christian scriptures. The 12th chapter of his letter to the Romans has a lot to say about how we should live together and treat each other and how we can face adverse circumstances. In the second verse, the JB Phillips translation puts it this way:

“Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold. Remold your mind from within.” Romans 12:2

Paul demonstrates the Greek influence on his thought. Your mind is your own. You have power over your thoughts and you are the gatekeeper of them. Conformity is an enemy of true community. In a true community, each one has a place and each one’s gifts are respected and utilized. Don’t let your mind be squeezed into someone else’s mold. Defy gravity.

Fans of the movie musical version of “The Wizard of Oz” will have already noticed that I borrowed the title for this commentary from one of its most popular and well-known songs.

The two main characters, Elphaba (the green one) and Glinda, are battling it out in the verses over their loyalties to one another and to the wizard. This greatly impacts their bond as friends. Glinda’s persuasion to get Elphaba to remain with her falls on deaf ears. Elphaba sings:

Something has changed within me; Something is not the same.

I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game.

Too late for second-guessing; Too late to go back to sleep.

It's time to trust my instinct; Close my eyes and leap.

It's time to try defying gravity; I think I'll try defying gravity

And you can't pull me down.

Lyrics by Stephen Lawrence Schwartz

Trusting one’s own instincts is similar to the advice in Paul's letter. The extra oomph found in this song encourages us to take bold action. To feel the fear and do it anyway. Being boldly true to oneself and one’s beliefs is defying gravity.

It may seem contrary to find inspiration in the writing of someone who identified himself as a nihilist and an atheist. Albert Camus was a French Algerian from a very poor family. His mother was deaf and illiterate. He contracted tuberculosis at 17. Yet, he had one of the brightest philosophical minds of his time. In his 20s, he was in Paris when Germany invaded France in 1940. He joined the French Resistance and wrote for underground newspapers. He maintained his political activism and wrote prodigiously.

Here is one of his poems:

Within Me

In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.

In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.

In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm...

And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me,

Within me, there is something stronger - something better, pushing right back.

Albert Camus

Camus’s early life and ill health were situations with gravitas, but with support from those who believed in him, he defied gravity. The times in which he lived were perilous, yet he was the second youngest person to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature when he was only 44. He died tragically in a car accident at age 46, but his work left lasting contributions. In his own way, he defied gravity.

You may not be famous or infamous. You may not experience weightlessness or fly on a broom. You may not win the Nobel prize. In your own time, in your own way and in your own place, you too can defy gravity.