Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Through a Glass, dimly

Life is bittersweet.
With love and apathy,
understanding and selfishness.

joy and knotted stomach
transparancy and bullshit peddling.

**

I'm so grateful for the people in my life who live their lives out loud. I'm so grateful for their authenticity, wisdom, joy in life, ability to cry as easily as they laugh. I'm grateful for their perspectives, their honesty, and the truth they speak in love.

I ache and wish for all the pretense to be stripped from humanity so that we could simply BE together. Love one another without fear. Lose our sense of self so that we can more adequately tune into the other selves who move amongst us. Lose the irritability, the competition, the insecurity.

Are you lucky beyond belief, as I am, to have people in your life who exemplify how different it all could be if we could lose those aspects of ourself and thereby free the ones we love to be more fully alive?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nope. But I look in the mirror and lead by that example ;)...I was just coming by to check on you, thinking that maybe my Google Reader was not tracking your feed.

joyce said...

Hey, you gave up being bipolar for balance?

I need to get that feed tracker thingy...

Anonymous said...

I want that too Joyce.

Queenheroical said...

oh the utterances of my heart ...

I am lucky to have a few such people ... enough to know it can be like that ... enough to wet my appetite for more ... enough to frustrate my knowing of others who are not so willing ... enough to know I still have things to work on myself.

But wouldn't it be so sweet!

daydreaming, Krina

Roo said...

oh joyce....one day my friend! one day....we will see clearly as we are clearly seen.

the line that hits my heart today is, "Love one another without fear"

love you.

Nancy said...

I think the key here is to see what drives the pretense. We live with these masks on because of a binding and debilatating fear...fear of rejection, fear of being dissapointed, fear of being misunderstood, and the list goes on... Perfect love casts out all fear. May we be the catalysts for change...loving first without expecting anything in return and without fearing the rejection of those we love. These are my thoughts...

Mills' Memoirs said...

Joyce, I hear you loud and clear, and the first person I point a finger at is myself... It feels like a constant battle in life to be real. Sometimes, actually most of the time, I do these things without thinking: put on a mask, feel a sense of competitiveness, get irritated.... A friend once pointed out to me that I was wearing a mask with her, and it was so true. If only we would all be willing to keep each other accountable, and keep ourselves accountable.

Bonnie said...

Good Afternoon, I know what you're talking about. Lately I've been in contact with some people from my past and it's hard because they never really liked who I was and wanted me to be something different. Then when I wasn't they didn't want to know me any more. Now I live my life the way I see fit, really, the way God sees best and don't really worry a lot about what others may think of it. Until, I see those certain people and then something rises up inside me that tries to make me strive to be something I'm not, but something that they want to see in me, only it's not me....Why does that happen???

Sorry for rambling on. I also liked the line "Love without fear" that's what I'm going to do!! thanks Joyce

Valerie Ruth said...

Oh gosh I wish I had people like you guys in my life.

joyce said...

VR- I bet you do.
Behind most of all of our fumblings with humans is the desire for real connection. The people who be-fuddle me to utter distraction are those who do not seem to want to go beneath the surface.
Ever.
It irritates me. It stresses me. It brings out the worst in me.

Ironic, huh?

Judy said...

Um.

It bugs me when I am real with someone and they are real back.

But then you see them in a different circle of friends and they aren't real there at all.

I'm sure I do this, too.

But, it still bugs me.

Anonymous said...

What an interesting string of comments. Apparently we are all in this kettle of fish together. I too have found it is great freedom to be yourself unapologetically and risk being alone, than to pretend and have a crowd. If only I had learned that lesson a little earlier. Part of growing up is finding our own selves loveable. It was the one great lesson of my twenties.
Joanne

Linda said...

In answer to your question? Yes. I am lucky beyond belief too.

Anonymous said...

You have put to words what I have felt for what seems to be ages. I believe I may not be as blessed in this area as you are. Maybe I need to look around more?