Often asking more questions than it answers, poetry is not actually meant to solve problems or provide immediate answers. It is really meant to elucidate problems and unearth perspectives previously locked within the confines of suppressed curiosity and languages incapable of full and authentic expression. Sounds like the opposite of solving problems, to me. Yes, it most certainly does, but to me, solving problems or discovering helpful solutions is not a linear process. Much of life is experiencing the present moment and collecting knowledge that will only later grow into wisdom and help solve a future issue. In practical terms, we must learn to open to the present experience and accept new ideas without immediately seeing their relevance or impact. I call it, “Receiving present solutions to future questions” Or “Receiving disguised solutions to questions you cannot yet ask.” Ever read a textbook, studying for a test, only to discover that nearly everything you “studied” did not appear on the subsequent test, yet two years later, as part of a very different class, an aspect of what you studied came back into relevance and actually became the foundation for a project or paper? This is a quite literal example of acquiring present knowledge or “answers to a question not yet asked,” but how about something more abstract, yet practically more relevant. Relationships Yes, relationships. We are relational beings. We do not really exist without others. We are interactions, we are the interface. One of our most accepted beliefs is that when it comes to relationships, we tend to view them through a progressive lens, building and growing through partnerships and letting certain relationships pass away to make room for more nourishing connections and flourishing friendships.
Ever say, “I don’t regret dating them, because it allowed me to open more fully and receive my future partner.” Or “Even though it didn’t work out, it prepared me for my next relationship.” In the immediate moments following a break-up, divorce or relationship transition, did we really have a concrete answer to how we would be better prepared for a future relationship, or know exactly what we had learned in the transitioning relationship that would later allow us to flourish in a future partnership? Most likely the answer is no. When I ask myself this question and reflect upon such moments of transition, my answer is a most definite no. I had no idea I was acquiring precise answers and concrete insight that would later allow me to unconditionally love and accept a future partner. If you really think about it, who would ever say, “Yes, I am remaining open right now in our relationship so that I can learn and grow with you because I need to acquire some helpful answers and insightful wisdom so that when we break up I can be a more supportive person to a future partner or eventual spouse.” We definitely don’t say that. But this is precisely what we must do: remain open in all experiences knowing that even if the answers and knowledge we uncover in the present moment appear completely irrelevant or remain entirely hidden from our conscious awareness, it is possible and quite likely that thirty years from now, when you finally unearth those curious questions you couldn’t yet ask, you will birth a previously “discovered” and “miraculously” retrieved answer. Miraculous and mysterious, yes, impossible no. All that is required to find these unique and undeniably precise answers is openness, awareness, reflection, and right action, all practiced without attachment, without judgment, without fully knowing. Genuine Openness, Present Awareness, Mindful Reflection and Purposeful Action. A recipe, a poem, or collection of thoughts, whatever you call it, just know there are lots.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
The MessageDedicated to the flourishing of your being Archives
November 2018
Categories |