On goes this Wisdom Series: Forgiveness. It’s not just the class time. It’s the days between that surface the learning. I find this true when I am a participant. I find it true, as it is this time, when I’m co-hosting others.
The beauty of anger (Week 1 theme) is that it points to important things that live nearby. A neglect. A shame. A loss. An embarrassment. A worry. And many other grasses that grow in that forest. Anger points to the human condition, and if listened to with deliberateness, invites the possibility of deep tissue healing.
The beauty of grief (Week 2 theme) is that it opens a valve for release and flow. It is movement from unnoticed to noticed, from unfelt to felt. Grief brings kindness to the inner psyche. Grief restores. It makes way.
My friend Meg writes of grief in her book, Perseverance, quoting Zen Teacher Norman Fischer.
If we are able to give ourselves to the loss,
to move toward it —
rather than recoil in an effort to escape, deny, distract, or obscure —
our wounded hearts become full,
and out of that fullness we will do things differently,
and will do different things.
Our loss, our wound, is precious to us
because it can wake us up to love, and to loving action.
Here’s to these revealing paths of continued learning, that invite dwelling just long enough.