Fog or Pearls

"These things will destroy the human race:  politics without principle,

progress without compassion, wealth without work, learning without

silence, religion without fearlessness, and worship without awareness."

Anthony de Mello

Living in the Foyer is a book I wrote about our bodies being like a mansion.  When we are small, we run the in the upper halls of the mansion playing in every room and sliding down the banister.  When we begin to engage with peers at school, we sense that not all parts of us are acceptable.  So we begin to close off parts of our self by shutting the doors upstairs.  Life continues to gain control and we  gently close and sometimes slam doors to be accepted by others.  Stifled, we find our selves cramped, Living in the Foyer.

Being aware of massive space above us, we eventually yearn to climb the stairs and rediscover our authentic selves.  Opening one door at a time, we remember what was originally important to us and we start feeling the nudges to live authentically once again.  Some doors are carefully closed with respect, but the majority of them lay discoveries of a lifetime.

If we feel cramped, living a false life that no longer inspires us, it is time to return to what we have hidden.  Maybe we stopped dancing as father expected us to master the piano.  Perhaps we gave up our hours of painting in order to attend our hunky boyfriend's football games.  We may have put aside our heart's desire to make room for raising children.  Time returns to us and we have the option to fall back into a fog or to focus our energy on resurrecting the pearls within.