A couple of evenings ago I was scanning my bookshelves for something to read before bed. I was restless and tired - not a great combination - and was looking for something to bring my scattered thoughts back to the center so I could sleep.
I'm a big fan of Thomas Moore, a psychologist and former Catholic monk. He writes about the soul, certainly not in the religious sense, but from the perspective of "soulfulness". He writes of the mythical and spiritual in ways that are magic, yet applicable to real life. His most well known work is "Care of the Soul". I would highly recommend it.
On this night, I selected "Dark Nights of the Soul - A Guide To Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals".
In one part he wrote about the story of the man being swallowed by the fish - the Jonah story. Don't worry - I'm not going all biblical on you. This is one of those stories that shows up in mythology all over the world and the point of it is about when life circumstances swallow you up and take you for a ride. The whale is in charge, not you, and you have little choice but to get as comfy as possible until he spits you out on some shoreline where you can finally take stock of where you are and what you'll do next.
This is the place where I am. What I have influence over, I influence in the best way I can manage. What I don't...well...I'm learning to stop worrying and fretting. I'm trying to sit back and enjoy not being in charge for awhile. Yes - it is very scary not knowing if I'll have a job in a month. But it was scarier imagining staying in a job that was draining the life out of me. Proverbial rock and hard place. So I dove in the water...and quickly became whale fodder.
Truthfully, I have a sense that this is a friendly whale. He doesn't want to eat me. He just wants me to stop clinging to the familiar.
The belly of the whale really isn't that bad. I just wish I had a window seat.
Kowabunga dude
WS
I'm a big fan of Thomas Moore, a psychologist and former Catholic monk. He writes about the soul, certainly not in the religious sense, but from the perspective of "soulfulness". He writes of the mythical and spiritual in ways that are magic, yet applicable to real life. His most well known work is "Care of the Soul". I would highly recommend it.
On this night, I selected "Dark Nights of the Soul - A Guide To Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals".
In one part he wrote about the story of the man being swallowed by the fish - the Jonah story. Don't worry - I'm not going all biblical on you. This is one of those stories that shows up in mythology all over the world and the point of it is about when life circumstances swallow you up and take you for a ride. The whale is in charge, not you, and you have little choice but to get as comfy as possible until he spits you out on some shoreline where you can finally take stock of where you are and what you'll do next.
This is the place where I am. What I have influence over, I influence in the best way I can manage. What I don't...well...I'm learning to stop worrying and fretting. I'm trying to sit back and enjoy not being in charge for awhile. Yes - it is very scary not knowing if I'll have a job in a month. But it was scarier imagining staying in a job that was draining the life out of me. Proverbial rock and hard place. So I dove in the water...and quickly became whale fodder.
Truthfully, I have a sense that this is a friendly whale. He doesn't want to eat me. He just wants me to stop clinging to the familiar.
The belly of the whale really isn't that bad. I just wish I had a window seat.
Kowabunga dude
WS
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