What are you really looking at?

I felt moved to repost this inspiration first published on August 22, 2016. It has come back to me to help me look at my own deeper wounds and how I am doing at allowing the light to bring healing. I have had a long unconscious tendency to overlook all that is hurtful and gloss it over with positivity and love. Until the lies to myself stop working, I am forced to face the truth. I am grateful to find the capacity for greater deep dives in the crevices of my wounds than ever before. 

Peeping thru the leaves - starburst at dawn - Kala Pathar beach - Havelock - 1F8A1073

“Peeping through the leaves” by Atanu Chakraborty

There’s an empty glass of water sitting on the counter. It is broken. It is holding together but it has been shattered and has cracks going all direction. I look at it and see just that and nothing else …a piece of broken glass.

If you try to think of a situation or event in life that might have shattered your intact way of being …what do you really think of ? A situation that has cracked your core and wounded you open in places? Or something that has been bothering you very much since yesterday or last week? The broken glass probably doesn’t really represent anything to you. Life is perfect …except that this person, yesterday or last week, did not behave well, had a wrong attitude, did not do exactly like you expected or even deserved. My glass is as intact as ever. Now if I somehow make evident to this person that he/she has wronged me, I can get on with my perfect life … 🙂

I glance up out of the window behind the counter. There is this big vibrant sweet gum tree, always standing tall majestically, un-wavered through the winds and seasons. There are 2 men cutting off overgrown branches. The ones that were weighing down on the core were being fell to the ground. The idea made me feel light. They then raked off the fallen leaves and branches, leaving the ground clean and green again. A lot felt cleared on the slate of my mind. The sky was in better view now that the tree was trimmed.

Looking down at the broken glass again, sunlight now reached through the window and pierced through the broken glass …as if pouring through the cracks …filling them up, making it shine like never before.

I closed my eyes. Trying to imagine the healing golden light pour through my wounds and cracks. The glass became all gold but a dull one …no more cracks. Instantly I erased it and opened my eyes. If I am healed of my cracks I better look lustrous, I do not accept dullness!! …Ohhh do I accept my cracks?!!!

Are they caused by blows caused by other people or person? No, I do not play that blame game in my life. Did I allow those to be caused to me? Was I never strong enough to stand up to myself? That self-judgment doesn’t feel good and hurts me. So I am not going to relate to that broken glass in any way!!!

How many times do we try to mask and escape this way? In day to day life, what are we really looking at? Is it really the person yesterday that has made your life miserable? Or is there a deeper patterning at work here, a deeper healing  that we are denying ourselves? Healing of our health, and also relationships, with ourselves and the most significant to us. So, all that is bare and there, is there to nourish us.

Be brave to see the cracks, the deep wounds, let light enter through them, seal them and heal them. Let the glass hold the gold of clarity for you to drink from it. A crack in the roof of a deep dark cave lets the light in …imagine the exhilaration of seeing your path clearly, when you encounter that crack. What chipped the roof to make that crack, all the trauma that it endured, is just the drama that can become your story, that you might tell one day.

Be wiling to see your cracks …not as some external object or person. Sometimes we have shown such enormous endurance towards something un-imagined, or even unacknowledged, we don’t dare to look back at it …making us cranky at the most trivial though. Sure it is very human and also helpful in the healing process. But really if you see what you are looking at and what you are trying to escape, it becomes a true digesting of life events …tantrums, tears and all that are a part of it. Let it flow!

The light will always lead you to solace …if you allow it to enter you …pierce through you …seal you and heal you and shine you!

Advertisement

97 thoughts on “What are you really looking at?

  1. “The light will always lead you to solace …if you allow it to enter you …pierce through you …seal you and heal you and shine you!” This last line is my biggest takeaway among all of the readings i did today.

    Your post is so comforting because it/you validates how and what i do with my own “cracks”…i acknowledge it, i look through it..i never run away..

    Liked by 8 people

    • Thank you very much for highlighting line and what an honor to know it is your biggest takeaway. It is true courage to look at them – so good to know you are with me in working at this, it is comforting to me too. I took a long time to look at some deeper ones, I guess I was waiting to have a stronger container to sustain through them.

      Liked by 3 people

  2. What a beautiful and powerfully blissful reflection, dear Pragalbha. It reminds me of the cracks within myself that I avoided most of my life – not having them, made them larger, deeper. Once a good friend of mine said something to me like, you’ve got to let the light out. At that time, I began to do the work necessary to heal those cracks, and yet, how I think about them today, is that in some ways they are still there, I acknowledge them and love them, and the light within me pours through them, and goes out to everyone and everything else. Wow. What a profound post this is; I will continue to reflect upon this beautiful post for some time. Love and light to you, my dear friend. 💙🙏

    Liked by 9 people

    • This is indeed a very humbling and awe-inspiring process. Your knowing words make me feel very heard and understood. Your description is very soothing and comforting – I relate to come to being able to see the cracks for what they are, love them and this scheme of existence – once we go beyond our preferences, the light simply pours as you say! Thank you very much dear kind friend, from the bottom of my heart for your presence here 🙏🏼💛

      Liked by 2 people

  3. So deeply and profoundly beautiful! Thank you so much for this. I will have to read it again to glean the wisdom here. “Let the light pierce you, seal you and heal you”. I will have to remember that……Thanks again.

    Liked by 5 people

  4. Slowly we mellow down Prag, we develop resilience or learn to accept. Humans have this tendency of healing, with or without help. It is good to have nice people around us who understand and make our journey easy. 😊

    Liked by 6 people

  5. I’m a believer in ripping off the band-aid and digging around in the wound until I discover the source of the infection. While it can be painful to deal with things, it’s best not to let it fester and get even worse, poisoning our whole body.

    Liked by 6 people

    • I greatly appreciate your very powerful, no beating around the bushes perspective!! I perhaps have done that in only some ways and in many other ways I am slow and cautious, steadily pushing beyond the edges of my comfort zone, with a kind of relentlessness to it. Thank you very much for saying that, fuels my intention to keep moving on more powerfully!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. powerfully profound analogy … for every crack we confront the light grows stronger within us so eventually there is no container, we become the light! It takes decades of persistent effort but it can be done 🙂

    Kudos for all the hearts you’ve touched with this post!

    Liked by 6 people

  7. My dearest friend, I am simply speechless. I always love how you share gems from your past and how they connect to your now, it’s such an authentic expression of your journey! And this piece is beyond touching. Such divine wisdom laced in every line! I resonate deeply with your soul connective words, thank you for another gem. You are a gift 🖤🤗💫

    Liked by 4 people

    • I am very glad and grateful to have my past posts received so kindly by you. The spiral that this soul journey is, I am amused to find myself at exact points and yet at a very different place – I couldn’t do justice often to write in better ways what has been already written, and as if beacons me to keep going. Thank you my beautiful friend, your resonance and appreciation is such gift to me 💛🌹✨✨✨

      Liked by 1 person

  8. This was such a lovely read for me this morning, as I start a new day 💙. I too have been thinking a lot about the wounds we carry. Just like physical wounds…the deeper ones take longer to fade away, and some can been seen on our body for life. Maybe those very deep ones just have to be loved for what they are… in acceptance of the fact that they may be with us always; albeit in an ever decreasing way. 💙

    Liked by 5 people

    • those very deep ones just have to be loved for what they are – so comforting and soothing to read your words, as I know they come from your deep knowing. Acceptance and gratitude becomes a healing force in the process. I am so touched that you started your day with reading this. Thank you very much 🙏🏼💛

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Too much of positivity can be toxic. Accepting cracks within takes time. But once we acknowledge we are broken, healing can take place.
    Profoundly moving words, Pragalbha. May we all let the light enter through the cracks to be illuminated from within.

    Liked by 3 people

  10. I relate to this post for am in constant conflict look at the past, people who wronged me and curse myself for not hitting back at them, constantly nudging myself for not being able in standing for myself. It gets to me terribly at times and other instances, lashed at the others. I am still a work in progress and will go back to this post from time to time.

    Liked by 4 people

    • I am humbled that you share this 🙏🏼 it is not easy often. I have found ease in the learning that standing up to myself has nothing to do with the other – nothing for, against or getting back. It is just me, what I learned and how I stand moving forward. That’s when I am forced to face my needs, my wounds that need the healing.I am a continual work in progress that way too. Thank you very much for your thoughtful response.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. The last paragraph is truly soothing to every punctured heart.Yes,we need to allow the light to guide us to our destination otherwise we are likely to grope in darkness for decades and then finally we blame others for our failures.Miscreants prefer darkness that means so long we love to remain blind to our shortcomings we don’t allow light to guide us .So long a person is in a shell and doesn’t like to come out of it won’t realize the powers of healing.I have got a different meaning of the last paragraph nevertheless its worth acquiring.Thanks a lot for this awesome post.Loved it and its time to live up to it .Take care👍😊🌹

    Liked by 4 people

  12. This is so profound. Sometime ago I realized that though I’m completely balanced and at peace with myself, it is so easy for a person to throw me off-balance with one unfair remark. When such a thing happens, I heal by chewing it, regurgitating it and chewing it some more until I’m left with nothing- no more feelings towards what’s been said or done with me. But all that chewing and regurgitating takes time.

    Liked by 5 people

  13. I love the way you connect these incidences, Pragalbha. This reminds me of what I have read earlier, “Imagine this: If you had $86,400 in an account and someone stole $10 from you, would you be upset and throw all of the remaining $86,390 away in hopes of getting back at the person who took your $10? Or move on and live? Right, move on and live. See, we have 86,400 seconds each day. Don’t let someone’s negative 10 seconds ruin the remaining 86,390. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Life is bigger than that.” Let’s move on and heal ourselves.

    Liked by 6 people

    • Thank you very much for this kind appreciation dear Kamal 🙏🏼💛 I remember how deeply moved I was when writing this post years ago, and it comes back to me as a very powerful reminder. I agree with your wise words for living a beautiful happy life.

      Like

  14. Analogies can help us to make connections and understand what may be elusive or beneath the surface of our awareness. You have some powerful ones… trimming away that which is blocking the light and light finding its way into a dark cave. You are clearly open to the messages and messengers who show up and teach us those lessons, like the beauty found in imperfection and the common “broken” trait we all share, in one form or fashion. Reflective piece, Pragalbha. 💛

    Liked by 5 people

    • You bring light to my thoughts and learnings in new beautiful ways. I remember the raw experience of how this post came together and simply surged out of me. There actually were 2 men trimming the branches of sweet gum tree, the sunlight did come through the window brightly when they were done, just that morning I had seen a broken glass with cracks and contemplated healing, I was concerned how someone dear wouldn’t call me back for quite long. You are so right everything is a symbol or a message. I love how you say – common broken trait we all share. Thank you very much for your deeply thoughtful and kind response my friend 🙏🏼💛🌹

      Liked by 1 person

      • I am glad I could shine more light on your learning. ✨😁 Some moments sure lend themselves to poetry… for poets, writers, and artists who notice such things. 😊 Thank you and you are most welcome. 💐💚

        Liked by 1 person

  15. This is well written and profound. requires to be read twice. There is so much to unpack. Just like wrinkles are apart of life and the aging process, so the cracks apart of what I have endured in life. So, I won’t hide the cracks nor will I use a wrinkle cream… These are signs of my survival. I will not hide that. There is a lot more. But this is the piece that caught me!

    Liked by 4 people

    • I am so humbled and honored that you found this worth reading more than once 🙏🏼 Your kind appreciation means a lot to me my wise friend. I appreciate your affirmations and acceptance of these inescapable facts of life that are indeed signs of our survival, existence and endurance.

      Liked by 1 person

      • why would I not find what you present not worth reading. You are authentically you and some of our thoughts travel the same path. Plus you are a writer that provokes thoughts and transparently share in a way, that I can grow! Not to mention, you have been in my blogging life from the beginning…lol… not many are still around. that is worth celebrating.🤗✨

        Liked by 1 person

        • Your words make my heart smile a happy smile. I receive your kind regard with much gratitude, you truly made my day with such strong support for my being and my work. It is indeed worth celebrating that we have witnessed each other’s work fo this long. I too think of so many who are nowhere to be seen.

          Liked by 1 person

  16. This article is worth a hundred reads. Because it will resonate with everyone.
    Over the years I have been learning to forgive and move on. So my glass has become whole again. However, I find it very difficult to rekindle the same relationship. Once bitten….
    I must ponder over your post again and try to reset a few things.
    An excellent post

    Liked by 3 people

    • I am truly deeply humbled by this generous regard you give my words. It means a lot to me, coming from a wise learned person like you. I have been contemplating that exact aspect of moving on – it ifeels sad to imagine that some relationships will change forever, and yet that is what feels more true for how it is going to be. So it becomes imperative that I heal and grow beyond my needs and expectations of them. Certainly coming easier than ever before I think.
      Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind appreciation.

      Liked by 1 person

      • You’re so right. In younger days I could not comprehend the sudden change (almost a negative metamorphosis) in my closest friends. I would blame myself. Over the years I understood that you cannot have a one sided friendship. I had to move on without toxicity.
        Your article went deeper than that. It will illuminate many people who need it.
        That is why the heartfelt praise.😊👏

        Liked by 1 person

  17. A lovely honest and heartfelt post, profound and raw.

    I feel for me at least, that we have so many layers to pain. We can be that cracking glass, cracking overtime, so busy with Life that we don’t realise all the cracks. Then one day standing still, we realise, oh we were broken, but too busy to notice, as we had to get on with life.

    Then, there is . We know we are broken, and we see the cracks. But, the healing is of what I call layers. Or many be rounds. Meaning, Round one is just coping and managing. Round 2 is coping and able to smile and live life. Round 3 is cracks are there, but the heart and mind are less broken and can start to see the light. Round 4, magically I feel I have moved on , until a test paper comes along as say – ummm and I realise still more work to do.

    Some pain is deep , so deep, it take a few rounds or layers of healing to get rid of it all.

    in my humble experience.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Thank you very much, your kind words of appreciation mean a lot to me. It was truly very honest and raw how this post came. No way to know if I am being coherent as I am writing and simply expressing as I am feeling it.

      Your comment really peels back on all the layers involved in what I am attempting to convey with the metaphors and descriptions. The rounds you describe explain perfectly how we keep going through healing, and just when we think we are done about something, more work becomes evident.

      Sometimes I am not at all afraid or sad about something in my head but my belly or my heart are having a deep physical experience of those emotions. It does take time and quite a few rounds.

      Thank you ever so much for taking the time to share your valuable thoughts and experience.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. “imagine the exhilaration of seeing your path clearly, when you encounter that crack”- A whole new journey filled with light, wisdom and clarity. Another profound article! “What are you really looking at?” Is a very good question to ask- we don’t really look beyond. This is, I understand, a slightly older post but the contents resonate so well. 🙂

    Like

    • I am so thrilled and grateful that you visited back here, this is one of my favorite posts! I truly enjoyed the lines you brought back and refreshed for me. I am so happy to know you found resonance and meaning in this post. Thank you very much for taking the time and sharing your thoughts on it.

      Liked by 1 person

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s