"Nowhere is magical unless you bring the right eyes to it." Pico Iyer.
Those of you who have read my blog will no doubt not be surprised that I appreciate the above quote. This sentiment can be found within many spiritual traditions and systems of psychotherapeutic change. The universe exists as it exists, and it inherently neither good or bad, but is. We bring our own evaluations to it, or as I explore throughout this blog, or own capacity for either seeing the wonder in it or having existence clouded by our own psychosocial "gunk."
Over the last six months, I have had my willingness to practice what I preach tested. A divorce that I did not plan for, and my daughter leaving the country for a gap year have changed my world in ways I had no anticipated. The very structure of my life, heading toward my fiftieth year, was rocked.
The discourse(s) in my head reflect this change, and are characterized by an essential "awfulness" about this transition. And while my loss is real and my grief is simply grief, it has been important to place this within the context of other fundamental truths.
For example, I am now afforded the opportunity to reinvent myself in a way that I would not otherwise have. I am afforded the opportunity for sinking into myself in a new way, and have opened up a new space in which to be of service to others. I can engage the world in a new way, from a new place- a new me.
What do you need to bring your right eyes to? How do your "wrong eyes" impact your writing, your capacity to write, your scholarship? Consider what you need to do to bring your right (write) eyes to your life.
Those of you who have read my blog will no doubt not be surprised that I appreciate the above quote. This sentiment can be found within many spiritual traditions and systems of psychotherapeutic change. The universe exists as it exists, and it inherently neither good or bad, but is. We bring our own evaluations to it, or as I explore throughout this blog, or own capacity for either seeing the wonder in it or having existence clouded by our own psychosocial "gunk."
Over the last six months, I have had my willingness to practice what I preach tested. A divorce that I did not plan for, and my daughter leaving the country for a gap year have changed my world in ways I had no anticipated. The very structure of my life, heading toward my fiftieth year, was rocked.
The discourse(s) in my head reflect this change, and are characterized by an essential "awfulness" about this transition. And while my loss is real and my grief is simply grief, it has been important to place this within the context of other fundamental truths.
For example, I am now afforded the opportunity to reinvent myself in a way that I would not otherwise have. I am afforded the opportunity for sinking into myself in a new way, and have opened up a new space in which to be of service to others. I can engage the world in a new way, from a new place- a new me.
What do you need to bring your right eyes to? How do your "wrong eyes" impact your writing, your capacity to write, your scholarship? Consider what you need to do to bring your right (write) eyes to your life.
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