Soul
Strength
“...And
you learn
that
you really can endure
and
that you really are strong and that
you
really have worth
and
you learn
and
you learn...”
Jorge
Luis Borges (Translation of excerpt from “After a While You Learn”)
There
are so many things that as children we learn to lean on. Our parents,
our ethnicity, our education, our looks, our stature in a given
community. Whether we live in rarefied company, or in a working class
environment, we lean on people and customs that exist around us. We
believe that they will always be there to support us. Over time,
however, and regardless of which community we share, things change.
People leave, and people die. Fortunes, if they ever existed, can be
lost, and with them goes the perceived security we thought would last
forever. Our looks change, and our well honed skills may lessen, or
become obsolete. What is left?
We
are. If we have built our inner spiritual infrastructure, we realize
that we've been leaning on something more fluid than we thought, and
we must stand on our own feet. We want to be in community with
others, but also in solidarity with ourselves. In the words of
Borges:
“After
a while you learn
that
even sunshine burns
if
you ask too much,
so
you plant your own garden
and
decorate your own soul
instead
of waiting for someone
to
bring you
flowers...”
Leaning
on others is not a sin. It's a human condition. But we also need to
recognize its insubstantial nature, and develop our own props, our
own strengths. In the final analysis, the only thing on earth that
will always hold us up is our own inner, spiritual framework. Better make
it substantial.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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