Quotation Tuesday 16!
When I'm stressed or overwhelmed, I tend to wind myself tight like a ball around my thoughts and look inward. This is one of the most worthless moods a person can be in. Problems begin to seem bigger than ever, and everything feels immovable. For me, the quickest trick I can use to try to release myself from this hard and useless state is reminding myself that it's simply not about me. None of it is.
Not real problems in the world, and definitely not the big or small solutions I might hopefully find. So if it's not about me, then closing up and looking inward is only going to separate me from what's real.
"The soul should always stand ajar. Ready to welcome the ecstatic experience." -Emily Dickinson
Leaving anything ajar feels a bit dangerous. Like leaving the door to your house ajar means your pet cat might escape.
But you can leave your soul ajar and nothing is going to get loose from you. Usually I just share one quote per quotation Tuesday, but when I was writing this post, and thinking about what the Emily Dickinson quote meant, I came across something I wanted to say here but turns out someone already said it.
"You can not protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness." -Jonathan Safran Foer, in the book Extrememly Loud and Incredibly Close
You know you like an author when you start wishfully confusing their own phrases and logic with something you probably would have said yourself, had you not read it in their book before you could string the words together yourself.
I like the contrast between the two authors... the romantic metaphor of Dickinson and the beautiful simplicity of Safran Foer. Both ring true to me.
It's not about you. So you better leave your soul ajar.
-Brigitte
Do you have a comment? We'd love to hear what you think!
Do you have a question that we haven’t answered yet in About SAM-e? If so, please Ask Us a Question.
Comment Policy
We value your comment. Please see our comment policy for more details on our guidelines for commenting.
Comments
hans duncan Tuesday, May 18, 2010
people who are open and awake to joy are so much more attractive, and therein lies the answer. what i cannot fathom by myself, together we can and will. i believe most people are generous and kind. so i use that dynamic to smooth out the ride.
Eric Jaffa Tuesday, May 18, 2010
How about a Video Friday in which you post a video to your daisytree1 YouTube channel and discuss the video here?
romeo Tuesday, May 18, 2010
uselessness inherently is it's own virtue -a sense of freedom.. simply priceless..... no one here is a commodity -as only living things can have a soul. looking inward is what is meant to illuminate the truth -for it unites us all as one. the surface or mask that we think is reality is in fact the illusion that divides existence.
an ego is the only barrier to the recognition of it. it's like the air one breathes -chances are you'll realize that choosing is irrelevant as closing the door won't keep it out.
Mikhaela Wednesday, May 19, 2010
I love the last two sentences, "It's not about you. So leave your soul ajar." It's just so down to earth and reasonable. It makes feeling bad seem to have a simple answer. Also I really miss your videos Brigitte, and I really like Eric Jaffa's idea. :)
Bud Wednesday, May 19, 2010
"The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position." ~Leo Buscaglia