Births are a daily occurrence everywhere in the world. Statistics show that in 2011 there were 131.4 million birth per year; that means 250 births each minute and four births every second of every day.1 Since births are an everyday event and, thus, there is the propensity to underrate the miracle of birth.

The aim of this paper is to offer an insight into and a reflection upon a non-physical event that is crucial and fundamental to becoming a mature spiritual and socially responsible human being. From the time we enter the world, we are surrounded by cultural, political, philosophical, and religious world. Consciously or unconsciously, we internalize our milieu and, thus, generally become comfortable with the status quo. There is an intrinsic risk in becoming comfortable, complacent, and self-righteous because it results in a failure on our part to thrive in our own social and spiritual development.

During gestation, physical growth progresses and the formation of who we will become is already underway. Birth pushes us out into a very dissimilar environment from the protected and safe womb of our mother’s body. This event, called birth, is undeniably a true transformational experience as well as the first crisis we will endure in our lifetime. The birth experience is an event which totally changes the child’s environment. She or he must now cry when hungry, when she or he needs a diaper change or experiences any other need or discomfort. In other words, the comfort of mother’s womb is gone and it becomes necessary for the child to begin experiencing the challenges of the first stage of development.2 As time goes on, the child is expected to separate and individuate from the mother or main caregiver. The child begins the process of experiencing a variety of developmental stages: from physical, to cognitive, psychological, spiritual etc.

Birth and transformation have to do with leaving a place (the womb) of comfort and safety and entering a very different environment (the world) that is not always kind, fair, or just. Unless she has induced labor or has a cesarean section, a woman does not have any control as to when a child is born…it just happens! The same is often true of transformation, it is the “coming out” of a cocoon that has enveloped us in a protective shroud which has prevented us from experiencing an expansive worldview and shielded us from the influence and effect of globalization; therefore, up to this point in our lives we are not confronted with the phenomenon of transformation One does not always choose when she/he is introduced to or challenged by the factors which bring about transformation. They just happen in the same way as the birth of a child.

Transformation is a far-reaching change at the core of our being. “Transformation is defined as the reorganization of one’s identity, meaning and purpose in life.”3 Social and spiritual transformation are often the result of feelings of unrest and cognitive conflict and dissonance in with what society and religion has taught us. It is the outcome of profound reflection, observation, and the ability to discern. Transformation is an act of the will. On one hand, it can be brought about by the willingness and the courage to think critically; to speak truth to power and to embody Jesus’ message of love and of justice. On the other hand, it happens as the result of a timely discussion central to who we are and to our identity as people of faith in rapidly changing times. This discussion is often prompted by the new technological/digital age, new paradigms, living in a global village, dealing with social and economic conflicts, and religious rigidity which hardly reflect the richness and inclusiveness of God as embodied in the life and ministry of Jesus. The list is exhaustive.

Before saying more about transformation, it is important to underscore the importance of the fact that social and spiritual transformation are woven together, thus reflecting a coherence central to the discussion of transformation and its outcomes. The following quote speaks of the inseparable elements in the process of transformation. In an article from Practices for Personal and Societal Transformation, published in the Liberation Spirituality.Net, the author offers the following thoughts about the process of transformation: “some start from spirituality – upon getting in touch with God’s abiding presence, they are compelled to take action for what is sacred in the world. A worldview of hope emerges with a sense of trust that we are meant to live in a community with one another… they know they must risk their comfort in order to change the violations of the sacred in our communities.”4

Transformation, like birthing, is often a difficult, complicated, and painful process. Frequently in that process one is faced with the disapproval of relatives, society, and even the church. There are many consequences to that process, since transformation is a permanent alteration in mindset, lifestyle, and paradigm shifts. Transformation is, in fact, a conversion in the core self. Often an entirely new creature emerges as an actualized self. That new creature is not a self-centered egotistical, chauvinistic, and unfair individual but, rather, a person who in his or her own life engages in a profound quest for meaning. This quest is not “a futile exercise in intellectual nothingness.5 Instead the transformation becomes the tangible embodiment of a new visionary, creative and educated way of being; it fosters a way of doing social and spiritual deeds with compassion and authenticity.

Notes

1. http://www.ecology.com, World Birth and Death Rates- Eco View 2011, accessed August 2014.

2. Erik Erikson, The Life Cycle Completed. W.W. Norton & Co. Inc Publishers,. New York, NY 1997.

3. K.I. Pargament, Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research and Practice, (New York, NY: Guildford Press, 1997), 417.

4. http://www.LiberationSpirituality.Net Practices for Personal and Societal Transformation (2002), accessed August 2014.

5. Rebeca Radillo, Lecture at New York Theological Seminary (2011).

About the author

Rebeca Radillo wrote 3 articles for this publication.

The Rev. Dr. Rebeca M. Radillo is originally from Cuba and came to the United States in 1961. Dr. Radillo is a United Methodist Pastor and just concluded her tenure as Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling and Director of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling Program. She is Professor Emerita at The New York Theological Seminary. A graduate of Candler School of Theology at Emory University, New York Theological University and the Blanton Peale Graduate Institute in Pastoral Psychotherapy, she is a Licensed New York State Mental Health Counselor. She has been an adjunct professor at Drew Theological School, General Theological Seminary, and Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas. She is the author of two books, Cuidado Pastoral Contextual e Integral and Cuidado Pastoral con Immigrantes.

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