“We are people.
A people do not throw their geniuses away.
And if they are thrown away, it is our duty
As artists and as witnesses for the future
to collect them again for the sake
of our children, and if necessary,
bone by bone.”
-Alice Walker
Yesterday Santjes Oomen and I had an exceptional opportunity to work with a group of sixteen individuals on Nantucket Island. This workshop was a continuation of our ongoing teachings, Spirit in Practice™. The work was subtle, sweet, and inviting of the unique qualities and gifts that each person brought forth in order to open consciousness to who we are and what we are here to serve. These few hours together became an opportunity to claim and hold a change of consciousness and to heal the context in which we live; inviting a culture of care and consideration, and an emerging collective intention to be present for how we live in relationship to one another and to this earth.
The focus of the work was the recognition of the degrees of presence we bring to ourselves, families and experientially to one another – the exchange between self and other.
One salient insight for me was the understanding that all who were sitting in the room had come a long way to find one another and if we are not present for our Self, how will we be recognized? And if we are not recognized, in this moment, where do we to go from here?
Santjes quoted: “You are a person, you started with nothing and you have most of it left.” Something in this phrase is so permission giving, so allowing of all that we are and are soon to become.
We spoke of sincerity, meaning “without wax” – a term used for sculpture when it is produced without using wax to hide the cracks or flaws. A work of art was said to be “sincere” if it was without wax. This simple concept seemed to inspire each one of us to reveal ourselves – wounds and all. And our “imperfections” were held and accepted. The work of love is to love. The practice of love is to love better, to hold each other and listen, and to be fully present.
In the rich underpinnings of the process lingered a question that inspired each one of us; “ how are we useful and in service of what wants to be known,” and the work unfolded as we aligned our efforts for our individual and collective well-being.
“So, another way to understand this effort to be sincere is as a commitment to firsthand contact with the world with the goal of having nothing between inner and outer but the skin of our heart. Who we are, then, and what enlivens us rests on this immeasurable thinness called sincerity. And in order to grow useful – which is not always synonymous with being productive, but more about being a life-affirming agent- we somehow must discover our true place, not as instructed by others, but uncovered by the litmus of our own uncorrupted sincerity.” –Mark Nepo
We spoke of the etymology of “person.” Greek per son – “the sound that passes through.” The unconditional invitation of total presence gives us permission to know our own person. Our chance to form inwardly, to become an authentic person, often depends on our willingness to let the winds of life shape us as they move on through.
And we shared our stories, openly moving through considerations that would normally keep us separate and less engaged. We simply took the risk of being ourselves, wounds and all. Throughout the day, synchronicity danced among us, reminding us of how deeply connected we already are.
“God breaks the heart again and again and again until it stays open.” ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan
Santjes and I work in deep appreciation for our teachers and the teachings that find us in the exchange of emerging communities of persons who gift your presence and with whom we share this journey.
References:
Nepo, Mark (2005). Exquisite risk: Daring to live an authentic life. New York: Random House
Sarris, Greg. (1994). Mabel McKay: Weaving the dream. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
