Denial is deeply underestimated as a state of being. Denial is an ever-present and even splendid thing when seen in the light of its merciful and elemental powers to cradle and hold an identity until it is ready to move on. David Whyte (Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words)
Despair takes us in when we have nowhere else to go: when we feel our heart cannot break any more, when our world or our loved ones disappear … Despair is a haven with its own temporary form of strange beauty and self-compassion; it is the invitation we accept when we want to remove ourselves from hurt. … a necessary and seasonal state of repair … the last bastion of hope. … The antidote to despair is not to be found in the brave attempt to cheer ourselves up with happy abstracts, but in paying profound and courageous attention to the body and the breath, independent of our imprisoning thoughts and stories, even, surprisingly, in paying attention to despair itself … David Whyte (Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words)
Ah. Once again David Whyte imbues words I often deny as dance partners with a depth that invites me to acknowledge and, even, embrace them as companions on life’s journey.
I’ve been wondering ‘what does one write in a time such as this?’ as I consider where The Pivot may go in the future. The question joins last week’s Now What? question: What is mine to do?
Such questions come and go as I engage in the daily ‘doing’ of life, but this morning I woke with a touch of dread about writing a post. What is mine to say, to add to the seemingly endless narratives of this time? They feel like questions of the soul rather than ones asking that I simply ‘figure it out’. They ask for my soul’s deepest knowing or at least invite me to explore from that deeper perspective. Perhaps inviting that into my awareness may bring some clarity to this time, its events and choices.
Last evening as I began to think about blog time, I randomly opened Whyte’s Consolations to his essay, Denial. Hmm. His thoughtful framing led me to read the essay that followed, Despair. This morning as I read them again, I felt a familiarity with both, a recognition that in my mostly positive, upbeat dance with life, I deny both denial and despair their rightful and necessary places on the dance floor.
Fearing despair may take up long term residence, I unconsciously avoid allowing despair in for a visit, a turn on the dance floor in a dance that might just hold a clue to the soul’s quest.
As so Whyte often does whether I’m musing to write or simply musing to muse, these essays opened me to a deeper place, one that I’ve been unconsciously dancing around rather than consciously choosing to dance with.
With this awareness and Whyte’s wise words I can pivot, allowing myself to dance paying ‘profound and courageous attention’ to body, to breath, and to the deepest desires of heart and soul. Laying aside thoughts and old stories, I can call forth compassion and give despair its rightful voice and season. If, like me, you find yourself in denial of despair, consider inviting her in to discover just what wisdom she may have to offer.
There is hope after despair and many suns after darkness. Rumi