In one of the current editions of The Sun Magazine, "The Dog-Eared Page" is a piece entitled, "The Question Holds the Lantern" and it really spoke to me.
My husband says he wants to read these two paragraphs from the essay every morning over his oatmeal because it reflects how he felt after his trip to Alaska:
If you could imagine the most incredible story ever, it would be less incredible than the story of being here. And the ironic thing is that the story is not a story, it is true. It takes us so long to see where we are. It takes us even longer to see who we are. This is why the greatest gift you could ever dream is a gift that you can only receive from one person. And that person is you yourself. Therefore, the most subversive invitation you could ever accept is the invitation to awaken to who you are and where you have landed....When your soul awakens, you begin to truly inherit your life. You leave the kingdom of fake surfaces, repetitive talk and weary roles and slip deeper into the true adventure of who you are and who you are called to become. The greatest friend of the soul is the unknown. Yet we are afraid of the unknown because it lies outside our vision and our control. We avoid it or quell it by filtering it through our protective barriers of domestication and control. The normal way never leads home.
Once you start to awaken, no one can ever claim you again for the old patterns. Now you realise how precious your time here is. You are no longer willing to squander your essence on undertakings that do not nourish your true self; your patience grows thin with tired talk and dead language. You see through the rosters of expectation which promise you safety and the confirmation of your outer identity. Now you are impatient for growth, willing to put yourself in the way of change. You want your work to become an expression of your gift. You want your relationship to voyage beyond the pallid frontiers to where the danger of transformation dwells. You want your God to be wild and to call you to where your destiny awaits.
In the past five years I have made some amazing changes in my life, changes I never thought possible. "Once you start to awaken, no one can ever claim you again for the old patterns." This sentence alone is earth-shaking in my new world.
I hope you'll take a moment to read the entire essay. And comment.
4 comments:
The way my therapist put it was that a mind once stretched never returns to its original proportions. You can't un-learn growth!
I almost didn't click on the link to the essay. Almost didn't read it because I don't read much non-fiction and don't much care for it when I do undertake it. And I almost quit reading before the end because I had to really pay attention and think too hard.
I'm so glad I didn't miss "On this journey, you begin to see how the sides of your heart that seemed awkward, contradictory and uneven are the places where the treasure lies hidden."
We're experts at hiding from ourselves. What courage is required to walk into the open and to stay there.
Thanks, Ginny and Trisha, for taking the time to read the essay. I felt emboldened by the words, validated by the concepts, and encouraged to keep on keeping on!
With my oatmeal too. Thanks.
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