“You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.”
― Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
What weighs us down? From early on my generation was told to ‘get a life’. After many years of wandering, studying what I would, travelling I met the person who fit with me and together we’ve raised kids, pets and hopes. Still every so often I start feeling chained down and that my life is not my own. Even the relatively few demands I have on me feels like too many. Then I realize that it is not my family that weighs me down as much as my attitudes about my family. In reality, they also give me the stability I need to fly.
So much of what weighs us down seems to be our expectations of ourself and what we perceive of as other’s expectations of us (really the two become synonymous when I realize that my biggest expectation of myself is that I don’t disappoint the people I love). If we can let go of those expectations then we will be able to fly free. By this i don’t mean let go of our areas of responsibility. As the old zen master said, “Before, enlightenment we chop wood and carry water, after enlightenment we chop wood and carry water”. When we see our responsibilities as part of the cycle of our life, our wings grow.
Blessings, G
Night Field Under a Full Moon by G A Rosenberg
Origami Rose by G A Rosenberg