When Did These Ball Players Get Here
In Field of Dreams, Mark, the character who represents conventional wisdom and The Way The World Works, is a banker. Of course. He has to be – because his job is to embody the pressures that we feel in our culture, the messages that keep our Souls from speaking up and guiding us.
And for millions of people in our culture, dominant messages about the way the world works are centered in money – and the message that there is only so much money, so much access, and so much room. It’s a message based in scarcity.
A worldview that has scarcity at its core is effective at making everyone afraid to risk too much. We do what the system says is acceptable, with an awareness all the time that if we break the rules, or ask for too much, or get out of our lane, we’ll be punished. Punishment can either come in the form of shame and censure, or withdrawal of blessing, or being fired or fined or flogged. We’re told to try new things and learn – but not to try too hard, or make a fool of ourselves. And don’t be naive, and don’t hang your ass out too far. You’ll get smacked down.
But what if our Soul knows something bigger than or just different from all those culturally-agreed-upon messages?
What if our Soul has a sense that there is plenty? That’s what many people’s story work exploration is about: the story I was told – about anything, from money to gender to sexuality to self-worth to what or who I could be – was based in scarcity, but Something inside me is telling me there’s more.
When Ray, the main character in Field of Dreams, chooses to listen to the voice within himself and do something seemingly illogical, almost everyone around him tries to push him back into the lane an Iowa corn farmer is supposed to stay in. But Ray isn’t having it. He’s heard something from within himself – and he can’t go back. And besides – the ball field is full of players! They emerge from the corn and play games all day long!
Even when his brother in law, Mark, insists that he’s made a huge mistake in building a baseball field in his farmland. Mark uses all the strategies that The Way Things Are has – mocking, belittling, reason, persuasion, threats, and the biggest one of all: “You’ll lose everything.”
Mark says this because he genuinely believes it. Because Mark is so insistent on his worldview, he can’t see the ballplayers.
Imagine now that both Ray and Mark are parts of yourself, and that they’re at war with each other. It could be about a specific situation – do I take a risk in this relationship, or with this job, or with this move? Or it could be about an entire pattern in your life – love, or a dream, or an overall way you live in the world.
Ray is speaking for your Soul, the eternal, big, beautiful part of you, that has a Story it longs for you to live.
Mark is speaking for whatever stories you acquired throughout your life that tell you how the world works and what you are and aren’t allowed to hope for.
If you can find a way to listen to Ray enough, something magical will happen.
The voice of Mark within you will begin to see the ballplayers.
Coincidences will happen. Doors will open. Possibilities will show themselves. You’ll feel more hopeful.
It won’t be magic. Field of Dreams is a parable; it’s not realistic. It’s a movie. I mean, did you see all those cars coming in the end of the movie? Ray and his family don’t have enough parking, much less food or port-a-potty facilities for all those people!
It’s not about Field of Dreams. It’s about you. It’s about you making space, even the tiniest bit, to hear your Soul, and then expect that when you change your life, even a small bit, the unexpected, the abundant, the un-scarce can happen.
