Growing Fierce

Wild Joy

“Wholeness is the goal, but wholeness does not mean perfection. It means embracing brokenness as an integral part of life.”

Parker J. Palmer (On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old)

There is an article in the Fall 2018 Issue of Parabola Magazine, p.53, written by Parker Palmer and titled, “Fierce with Reality.” In it he sites a quote by eighty-five year old, Florida Scott-Maxwell: “You need only claim the events of your life to make yourself yours. When you truly possess all you have been and done...you are fierce with reality.” What a brilliant idea! Think of all the time and energy we spend trying to outrun our past, camouflage our flaws and screw-ups right now, and “upgrade” ourselves for the future. All we need to do to become our own person, and not someone else's idea of who we are or should be, is claim ourselves in our fullness. We create our own fierce reality simply by being here now and being fully ourselves.

I have lived now for a bit more than 70 years, and let me tell you, I have some history. Until recently, I tried for all I was worth to explain to myself and to others how I got to be the way I am, and why I did all the things I did, made all the mistakes I made and just generally messed up a lot. Like everyone, I went through a period of blaming my pain on other people—parents, husbands, society. All it did was wear me out and make me sad. I'm glad I had help wading through that swamp though, because I never would have made it otherwise. But now, on the other side, I see that what I once considered a tragic event was, in fact, a blessing in disguise. Oh, the lessons I have learned! All those events and the lessons learned are what makes me me. Likewise, all the events of your life belong to you; the lessons learned can be claimed only by you, because they are yours alone. No one else is to blame, and no one else can claim victory.

There's a wonderful Dr. Seuss story that speaks to this:

“You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on you own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who will decide where to go.”

(“Oh, the Places You Will Go!)

Are you fierce with reality? Are you claiming every square inch of yourself? You'll feel a sort of wild joy when you do—I guarantee it.

                                                                   In the Spirit,

                                                                       Jane