February 16
– At the End of Our Exploring
Simple Abundance; A
Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban breathnach,1995.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end
of all our exploring
Will be to
arrive were we started
And know
the place for the first time.
- T.S. Eliot
When we
live our lives authentically, we discover our true place in the world for the
first time. But this self-knowledge is
not easily acquired. It takes tenacity and daring to travel to the darkest
interior of one’s self. Who knows what
we might find there? “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your
calculations, if you live near him.” The writer J.R.R. Tolkien advises.
Our dragons
are our fears; our day stalkers, our night sweats. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failing. Fear of starting something new and not
finishing. Again. Or the real fear, the
one that sends shivers up our spines; the fear of succeeding, of becoming our
authentic selves and facing the changes that will inevitable bring. We might
not be happy with the way we are living now, but at least it’s safely familiar.
We don’t
know where we are headed and it’s very scary.
Old dreams are resurrecting, new desires are wooing. Instead of clarify, we feel confused. At moments like this, it is comforting to
consider T.S. Eliot’s belief that there is really nothing to fear from
self-awareness because at the end of it all our personal exploration, we will
arrive back where we started and know in our hearts that we finally belong
there.
Women have
always known how to deal with dragons hiding under beds or lurking in closets.
We turn on the lights and reassure worried souls with love. We need to slay the dragons in our minds the
same way.
Today, if you feel
frightened or unsure about the future, pick up the double-edged sword of Light
and Love. Always remember, it’s simply
not an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons. But as in the best old tales, at the end of
your exploring, you will live happily ever after.
