Staying Small To Stay Safe

Image of the Week
Hand-drawn art by Rupali Bhuva
Image of the Week
Atunci cand ne facem mici pentru a fi in siguranta
--de Peggy Dulany


Undeva in decursul evolutiei umane frica ne-a fortat pe multi dintre noi (mai ales pe aceia care au pierdut contactul cu natura si au ajuns sa isi duca existenta in conditii de aglomeratie si stres) sa ne adaptam unui fel mai restrans de a intelege viata si de a trai in lume. Aveam nevoie sa ne simtim in sigurata iar necunoscutul ne-a facut tematori. Asa ca am impartit necunoscutul in bucati pe care le puteam gestiona, pierzand o buna parte din intelesurile si misterele acestuia.

Daca privim din perspectiva supravietuirii, acest proces este de inteles: suntem muritori, vietile noastre sunt relativ scurte si, pe cand incepem sa intelegem dincolo de vietile noastre mici si limitate, murim. Fabricam tot felul de credinte (religii, ideologii, mituri) pentru a rationaliza viata si moartea, pentru a ne asigura pe noi insine ca undeva, ceva (paradisul, infernul, reincarnarea), vreun inteles, va continua dupa ce corpul nostru se va fi faramitat si lumina din ochii nostri se va fi stins.

Ajungem sa traim vieti restranse din cauza fricii de razboaie care ar putea sa ne ucida sau frica de violenta indreptata impotriva noastra si care sa ne forteze sa o indreptam apoi impotriva altora; sau teama la gandul ca violenta fizica, emotionala sau spirituala pe care le-am intalnit fie in copilarie, fie in decursul scurtei noastre vieti, sa se abata asupra noastra sau asupra copiilor nostri.

Prin urmare facem ce avem de facut ca sa ne mentinem in sigurata. Una dintre solutii a fost sa ne ‘ascundem’ de copilul nostru interior indraznet, curajos si aventuros, ce isi dorea sa iasa in lume si s-o exploreze iar apoi sa ne facem mici si chiar invizibili, astfel incat nimeni sa nu ne vada ca pe o amenintare si sa nu ne faca rau. Ne ascundem pentru a ne proteja si, astfel, ne ascundem maretia, desavarsirea, creativitatea, precum si acele trasaturi pe care le consideram rele. Risipim atat de multa energie incercand sa tinem aceste parti din noi invizibile, incat uitam si noi de existenta lor.

Cu toate acestea maretia si alte calitati mai putin atragatoare nu pot fi diminuate sau compartimentalizate. Sufera, se zbat, cauta fisuri in peretii celulei in care au fost inchise si ies la suprafata (spre spaima eurilor nostre mici si sigure) prin eruptii mai mici sau mai mari, ce contrariaza, incurca sau care ii surprind pe ceilalti si ne fac sa reactionam la cote alarmante.

Intrebari pentru reflectie:
Cum rezonati cu idea ca maretia nu suporta sa fie diminuata sau compartimentalizata? Ati putea impartasi o experienta cand maretia voastra a iesi la suprafata din celula in care a fost inchisa? Ce va ajuta sa depasiti fricile si sa lasati maretia sa straluceasca?
Seed Questions for Reflection

How do you relate to the notion that magnificence doesn't like to be shrunk or compartmentalized? Can you share an experience of a time your magnificence erupted beyond its walls of containment? What helps you transcend your fears and let your magnificence shine?

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Add Your Reflection

19 Past Reflections
PA
Feb 25, 2022
Magnificence calls me to be fully me! She reaches out and gently touches me and beckons me to grow into the marvelous now.
CO
Feb 23, 2022
Yes, let's shine! After feeling our emotion (without thinking at the same time) we all can just choose for magnificence! It will be easier and easier. Isn't this wonderful. Of course, I do. I like to do it. It feels joyful.
AD
Feb 21, 2022
Just like a wave, the interface with the world goes up and down, fills in and empties.
Hiding or replenishing?
CM
Feb 20, 2022
I'm more comfortable thinking of my innate dignity and worth—I suppose you could call it magnificence‚ a miracle really—life is a miraculous gift, though I can get mired in fear and uncertainty and forget that. What helps me transcend my fears and let my humanity shine is knowing I am a child of God, made in God's image, worth as much as anyone else.
DE
Feb 20, 2022
I am still growing into my magnificence.
JO
Feb 20, 2022
When I stepped out of my safe comfort zone and went to work overseas- different culture-language-New skills and expectations of who I am and what I could be capable of.
NM
Nancy May
Feb 20, 2022
I let my magnificence erupt wh I invited some women to my croning ceremony which I designed myself. I also let myself shine when I drummed and sang in women's gatherings
BA
Feb 20, 2022
Another good rabbit hole to ho down. A ahhh moment for me was falling in love with my being at the age of 60. I was doing a creative exercise using head, heart ❤️, hand, a reflective collage of my life. I liked where I had been, where I was and where I hoped to go.
RP
Feb 20, 2022
Once a friend of mine who I had joined in living so that she could find her own magnificence said to me: "I was always my best with you---I just couldn't hold onto being it." I look at that comment often when I feel like my magnificent has shrunk or fallen into a box and move back into it's light in Crystal's honor and my own.
JE
Feb 20, 2022
My magnificence erupted when I volunteered to sing a short solo part in my chorus' concert and I "found" my voice, finally! These days, my fear is transcended whenever I tune into my guides and my truest self.
RC
Nov 14, 2019
While I certainly appreciate Peggy Dulany'ssentiment to not be small, to lead large lives, I must say that the "Hero's Journey" (as conveyed by Joseph Campbell) is not mine. I prefer smallness and do not experience my life as shrunk or compartmentalized. My journey is with close members of my family and friend circle. I enjoy a consulting practice with a few dozen clients over two decades rather than thousands of clients. I take delight in the title of E. F. Schumacher'sSmall is Beautiful. Smiling on the cover is a photograph of Gandhiji surrounded by a bicycle, a butterfly, and a bulb. All small things that have their own magnificence.
SU
Surya
Nov 13, 2019
I could resonate with the point"(especially those who lost their link to the natural environment and came to live in crowded, stressful living conditions)" nature makes us feel confident and share with others making us feel one with whole, while crowded, stressfulliving conditions induce competition and shrinking from whole to self. Guess gaining knowledge of stressful conditions and handle situation in right way could lead to whole, unfortunatelywe find it difficult to handle condition with right approach because of the fear of being wrong or lack or knowledge, complications etc.
KK
Nov 13, 2019
Very good article to reflect on. I feel each of our inner self is unique and how each of us perceive things could be different and could be seeing a different angle to the reality that others might be missing. So rather than containing and hiding our magnificence with the fear of being wrong, it is good to express ourselves with an anticipation that we could be wrong and willing to correct ourselves. With this approach, we can see the reality better, accept the reality better and our collective goal should be how can we make the reality better for ourselves as well as for everyone around us.
MD
Nov 12, 2019
“If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
―Gospel of Thomas
KK
Ku Kahakalau
Nov 12, 2019
Just had an intense conversation with my daughter who is 26 about thinking too large, and visioning too big - which has always been my way of living. She warned me of failing and I almost listened to her. So this article came at the perfect time. Thanks.
AB
Nov 9, 2019
Normal zones of life get punctured by outbursts of different emotions....unpredictable, intense and powerful....getting in touch with how, within me is literally an assembly line that sorts out emotions and puts away some of them in the warehouse, all the time.....

And then, once in a while, they erupt (or might)....This happens for me with anger...with magnificence it is still a more complex web of humility, my own smallness et el
DD
Nov 9, 2019
I agree that magnificence (the real self of each of us) doesn't like to be shrunk or compartmentalized, which we do to a great extent in an effort to control, such as to try to control outcome or try to control how we and/or the other will feel. There have been many times I have allowed myself to express my magnificence and it or I has been well-received even when I expect disapproval. There have also been times that my magnificence has erupted beyond my walls of containment, such as when I erupted and rebelled against childhood beliefs, which resulted in some disapproval but overall the outcome has been positive, except on those occasions when my magnificence came out angrily, and then it was my anger rather than my magnificence that was the problem. What helps me transcend my fears is trusting me, trusting what I am seeing/perceiving/experiencing, and trusting that expressing me honestly and caringly is my responsibility and is good for me and others.
JP
Nov 8, 2019
When we are not in the fight, flight or freeze survival zone, our mind and heart are open to see and experience amazing, vowing and magnificent presence of natural beauty and beauty of human mind and human heart. We are born with the sense of curiosity, wonderment, and magnificence. As we grow up, our natural tendency to relate and welcome the mysterious unknown gets shrunk and compartmentalized. Sadly our mind and heart shrink and become narrow by the fear of the unknown. The shine of magnificence gets obstructed by the clouds of fear. My true self is not bound by attachment or aversion. It is vast and open. My ego self lives in a closed, fragmented and narrow world. Whenever I am in the being zone free from fear of losing my self, in the zone of unconditioned love and unconditional acceptance my magnificence eruptsbeyond its walls of containment. I am grateful to my beloved lifepartner who provided an ambience of letting me to be me in my relationship with her. In this relationship... View full comment
IH
I hear you Nov 12, 2019
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