How wonderful! I just read a post by Parker Palmer which speaks so directly to my experience in Iceland which I've just spent days writing about that I thought I'd share it here. Here are his words:
"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."
As some of you know, that has long been one of my favorite quotes. It comes from "The Measure of My Days,” a remarkable book about aging written by Florida Scott-Maxwell when she was 85. I turned 80 a couple of days ago, so 85 no longer seems terribly old to me!
Ever since I read Scott-Maxwell’s words, becoming “fierce with reality” has been one of my aspirations—with the understanding that in order to get there, I could not blink or deny anything I’ve "been or done."
So on my annual January retreat this year, I took along two journals I kept during an especially anguished period of my life, journals I had not looked at for many years. They were not easy to read, but I’m glad I did. Revisiting that part of my journey in pained detail led to a breakthrough that, in turn, led to the poem below.
I share all of this not because my experience is important to anyone but me. I share it because I believe that Florida Scott-Maxwell’s counsel is important—and because I’ve learned that peace lies on the other side of anguish, if we are willing to walk into rather than around our most painful experiences...
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