As we are being driven to the airport, I open the Kindle app and start reading. It’s an old romance novel. I know how it’ll end. I know they’ll live happily ever after.I lift my head suddenly. It’s still raining. I look at the hill, the houses covering it barely visible in the grey gloom. Instead of reading, should I be looking around instead? Committing the heat inside the car, the shape of the hill, and the squat buildings on the side of the freeway to memory? I’ll be back, I tell myself. I’ll be back. Will I, I wonder. I’ve made it back all these times. The rain is coming down heavily. It’s hard leaving home, and harder because it’s raining.
"Beep-beep, I whisper to myself, both to forcibly interrupt the terror and to bring some gentle, affectionate humor to my situation. It is an initiatory signal to offer myself more support and a guide string out of the labyrinth of old stories." This is so vulnerable and poignant, and a powerful thing to remember, Priya!
One image I try to remember if I'm feeling "triggered" by my darling husband, or by any loved one, is that if I get REACTIVE versus responding in a more mindful way, it's as though I've been pulled into a sandpit. When I notice that kind of reactivity transpiring, I practice remembering to invoke an image of a sandpit, and that my preference is to stay harmoniously playing on the lush green grass around the sandpit, and not be dragged into it.
I hope more readers share here too, as I find these kinds of tools invaluable. Thanks for this idea to share here Priya♥️🙏🕊
p.s. on another note, yesterday I bought the just-published book, Mythmaking: Self-Discovery and the Timeless Art of Memoir by Maureen Murdock who also wrote The Heroine's Journey, of which I just read the Introduction to the 30th Anniversary edition! I'm enjoying Mythmaking more than her first book, and thought of you and your interest in Campbell's The Hero's Journey. If you happen to read a sample and end up reading the whole book, I'd love to hear your thoughts. It may even be fun to get a Note going on this topic...
Hi Camilla, thanks for reading and for sharing- the sandpit vs garden is such a brilliant image! I do hope more people share because it’s so helpful. And even if you don’t think about it right now, the image/tool that you read about may pop up to pull you out of the mental sandpit!
I did see Maureen Murdock’s book on Audible, but didn’t get it. If it’s better than The Heroine’s Journey (which i really enjoyed), than I’m going to give it a listen. Thanks, again!
Love the beep beep 'alert' system. Fantastic! Great post, Priya.
Thanks, Jeanine! The beeping sounded sweet and poignant when I thought about it.
"Beep-beep, I whisper to myself, both to forcibly interrupt the terror and to bring some gentle, affectionate humor to my situation. It is an initiatory signal to offer myself more support and a guide string out of the labyrinth of old stories." This is so vulnerable and poignant, and a powerful thing to remember, Priya!
One image I try to remember if I'm feeling "triggered" by my darling husband, or by any loved one, is that if I get REACTIVE versus responding in a more mindful way, it's as though I've been pulled into a sandpit. When I notice that kind of reactivity transpiring, I practice remembering to invoke an image of a sandpit, and that my preference is to stay harmoniously playing on the lush green grass around the sandpit, and not be dragged into it.
I hope more readers share here too, as I find these kinds of tools invaluable. Thanks for this idea to share here Priya♥️🙏🕊
p.s. on another note, yesterday I bought the just-published book, Mythmaking: Self-Discovery and the Timeless Art of Memoir by Maureen Murdock who also wrote The Heroine's Journey, of which I just read the Introduction to the 30th Anniversary edition! I'm enjoying Mythmaking more than her first book, and thought of you and your interest in Campbell's The Hero's Journey. If you happen to read a sample and end up reading the whole book, I'd love to hear your thoughts. It may even be fun to get a Note going on this topic...
Hi Camilla, thanks for reading and for sharing- the sandpit vs garden is such a brilliant image! I do hope more people share because it’s so helpful. And even if you don’t think about it right now, the image/tool that you read about may pop up to pull you out of the mental sandpit!
I did see Maureen Murdock’s book on Audible, but didn’t get it. If it’s better than The Heroine’s Journey (which i really enjoyed), than I’m going to give it a listen. Thanks, again!