I think we have to strip ourselves of the tactical responses that we have learned that hide the truths and hide the lies. This was harder before the lockdown.
Stripping maybe a bit harsh, after all these tactical responses were innocently developed to protect us, often as children. even if they have led to us lying to ourselves and so to each other.
It does FEEL like a stripping though. It’s painful. Facing our lies is not a pleasant encounter, for the ego at least. How can we make this easier (my ego asks/pleads!).
Well we can take the whole process less personally. We are undergoing a process. A growth process. An initiation. Into the truth that was always there, just hidden. That’s the bit the ego doesn’t like. It feels caught out.
If I approach this lightly and with kindness, despite the squirming then maybe with a little more indifference and compassion towards my own pain of it, I can go through this passage. Multiple passages. It’s an ongoing process.
Many of the structures we have built around us in life, the seeming stability, the goals and ambitions, trying to get more money, the distraction of entertainment, the people carefully chosen to agree with us. For many these structures have buckled or broken recently in lockdown and we find ourselves looking in the mirror.
So this pandemic is giving us an opportunity. Stopped in our tracks, what else is there to do other than be still and face ourselves. I think this is happening whether we like it or not, so we might as well cooperate with this initiation.
Learning to Rest with it All 