QUOTEWORTHY & TRUSTWORTHY
"At some point, I believe one has to stop holding back for fear of alienating some imaginary reader or real relative or friend and come out with personal truth.” May Sarton
“WRITING IS BOTH MASKING AND UNVEILING.” EB WHITE.
If we live in the moment with purity of heart, what 'then'?
Then those difficult memories that plague us will disintegrate, as we become stronger than the impurity distrust.
I'm pretty sure most of us know just what it means to be hurt and lose trust, as ‘once bitten, twice shy’ is a common thread on Earth School. It is "normal" to feel guarded or hyper-vigilant after experiencing trauma, but Earth School is often confused with Drama School.
Drama School: pain and control issues are the professors and trying to force solutions (toward a better world) is the curriculum. Being conditioned in the dramatic tradition, we ‘cave’ to pain, whereas Earth School just offers lessons to explore. To reverse pain, we take back our power and live in the mystery.
OK, time to get personal. My past abuse 'happened, ' and human trust eroded; the good news is that I don't have to trust people when I trust the lesson. If you are one of those who believes people need to earn your trust, you’ll balk. We love each other as we are. Everyone has defects, shortcomings, and practice varying degrees of hypocrisy in our respective areas of life, if we are honest and admit it. Lack of trust in people is giving your power away. You’re letting people live rent-free in your head. Evict them!
The world is addicted to judgment, but we don't have to let it kill our hearts. Keeping one's heart open after experiencing trauma, and open to pain, is not always easy, but the outcome outweighs the risk. The worst pain, grief, is both painful and beautiful because it's also evidence of love. People who don't grieve, don't love.
Pain burns us down to raw existence; it disintegrates all of the impurities from our lives, the removal of which can be excruciating. But the raw beauty of one who prevails discovers who they are thereby uncovered, allowing us to see others as we truly are. When we see ourselves clearly, we see others with pure clarity. Trust restored to its right size; the ego-state goes to sleep.
GOING INTO MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY AIN'T ALWAYS EASY, BUT IT'S TRUSTWORTHY
Here are four more quotes from May Sarton to help digest the meal:
"It always comes back to the same necessity: go deep enough, and there's a bedrock of truth, however hard."
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be."
"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.”