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  Theology of Hope and Healing From A Bisexual Transman with Depression and Anxiety Introduction There’s a questionnaire that I answer often. It’s called a safety plan. The full gist of this questionnaire is that it will be used in case I have suicidal ideations or express suicidal behavior. There are two questions that stunt my progress. “Why do you value your life?” and “what brings you hope?”. I don’t know. I’m discerning if I’m looking for a theology of hope or a theology of healing. Formed in the Presbyterian tradition the answers are easy. I have hope in the resurrection and the life ever after. I value my life because God, creator, father, beginner knitted me in my mother’s womb and knew me by name. Fairly rehearsed. There’s something missing, a bridge from theology on paper to my lived experiences. My first quiz in Seminary was to rehearse John Calvin’s definition of faith which included the words “a firm and certain knowledge…both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our ...
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In His Green Book - Poetry Collection - Mini Review

 


In His Green Book is a poetry collection unlike any poetry collection I have ever encountered. It is a collection of prose poetry and philosophical poetry that does not always embark on word play or literary structures. Yet, it is a very enjoyable read.

Terence Asitibasi creates a sacred space of wisdom and life entertained with the natural world. There is something so mesmerizing about some of the poems that speak to a deeper understanding of this world. For example, in "With New Eyes He Sees" the opening lines capture your soul:

The feeling that comes deep

Inside him, as he felt that

He was blind

Asitibasi clearly and cleverly breaks apart 'the the deep' feeling in juxtaposition to blindness. The stanza break, the unnatural pacing of the comma, everything about these opening lines keeps the reader captive. And you just want more, okay? Luckily there are over 70 poems of more!

The philosophical poem "Keep Watch" kept me pondering the 'beingness' of the created order. It is a philosophical concept that their is an inherited essence to beings. For example, and I promise you I did not make this up, all chairs hold an essential similarity a 'chairness'. 

One last poem I want to celebrate in this mini review is "Breathing Forgiveness". Forgiveness, or the act of forgiving someone is a controversial doctrine in theology. But Asitibasi presents forgiveness in a different angle. 

Breathing forgiveness is actually

Saying "yes" to a forgiving spirit

A 'forgiving spirit'. That sounds magical and easier than forgiving to move on or to heal for me.

If philosophical poetry is something you have not encountered yet, do give In His Green Book a chance! It will definitely give you a lot to ponder.

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