Rumi, Joy, And That One Time I Met Myself In A Field
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing & rightdoing, there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.”
I love Rumi.
This line from one of his oft quoted poems reminds me of the importance of meeting one’s self out in the open, in the fields beyond the labels, judgments, notions, opinions and norms that press on us.
It’s easy to get caught up in our routines, our habits, and all the ways we move in the world. Ever find yourself doing something and immediately forget why you are doing it or why you are even where you are at to begin with? Ever stop to ask yourself why you always take the same route to work, or school, or react the same way to something you’ve read or heard? The expectations of life often impact our awareness of our own actions. And when that happens, we start taking our own being — our actions, our bodies — for granted. It’s like moving through life without really seeing or experiencing it. Moving through life without being aware of our own participation in it. Depressing. It’s much easier to focus on what we are supposed to be then who we are — especially if who we are goes against what is expected of us. It took a while for me to see that. To see how I was moving through life aware only of the expectations of others. I couldn’t tell you why I was doing half the things I was doing! If pressed, I might have said, “Because, I really like it,” or “It’s fun,” when really it wasn’t. I was just going through the motions.
“I had to redefine and reimagine myself for myself so that I could be myself in the world.”
At some point along my journey, I found a field (a space) where I encountered myself for the first time. It wasn’t an easy place to get to — I had to let go of some things. There was no label, no title, no status, no demographic information to categorize me or other me into something I was or wasn’t. Just me. And when I saw her (me), I didn’t have very many nice things to say to her. I hadn’t learned how to listen to my voice and use it to support me instead of to hurt me. I had to redefine and reimagine myself for myself so that I could be myself in the world. That’s when I really started to see what life is and how living a life of joy was paramount.
I invite you to take a trip (literal or figurative) to meet yourself in a field or space beyond the criticisms and judgements you (your family, community, society) have for yourself. I hope that you will meet yourself there. That with love and compassion, you’ll embrace all of you. And in so doing find your joy along the way. J+W
Photo Credit: @tombrand via Unsplash