We are all hiding from something we cannot see. Maybe we have been hiding from things we cannot see for most of our lives. There is the fear that we can’t show. The anger we try to tuck away before it overwhelms us. The breaths we take just to let our bodies know we’ve got this, we are in control, please body, relax…from what? We are not always sure. Some vague feeling of doom flailing its arms at us, screaming, “Lookout!” ?
This hiding is different. The hiding now contains all our secrets, amplified to a point where even our iron clad personal defenses must bend. In the isolation, the magnification of our internal eruptions need a place to vent. No blocking maneuvers will work…at least, not for long. It seems we need each other more than ever. This time we are all hiding together, isolated but not alone.
There is a weird disposition of being as whole as we can be without the outside world to bump up against as we still try to engage parts of that world virtually. How do we work without the camaraderie of our friends at work? How do we deal with feelings about our partner that were kept at bay but now…? In this mode, everything gets zoomed down to a very tight focus while the swirl of “reality’ gets louder and louder around us. As the lens pulls us in to look carefully, to genuinely see, the questions we ask ourselves begin to change. Against the backdrop of this extraordinary reconfiguration, there is the quiet, the silence of humanity allowing the the sounds of nature to amplify, to billow and holding us for a new, tender moment. All of these experiences push for a new framing, a different point of view that requires relentless adjustment eventually leading to small
leaps into exploring different parts of ourselves. We ask, “what do I need to do to stay safe right now?” Safe, not just in the outside world, but in ourselves.
And in this world turned upside down, we still need to hide and to open at the same time. While we hide from what what we cannot see, we also are seeing what we can. We are beginning to reach for the parts of us that have stayed hidden, the fears, the longings, the sadness, all of it. We have the focus now, the time, maybe even the compulsive need now, to see, to express and to open. Like the nature’s beacon, the magnanimous whale, that shoots through the safety of the sea to burst into the beckoning sunlight, we have a need now to show ourselves to ourselves, the vulnerability of stepping out of our deeply held hiding places and trust that the light will be there when we too reach for the sun.
Love your writing skill. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.
Nice artical
wow, great post!! very well said.
This is a beautifully composed, thoughtful piece that lets us move gently into the spaces where the writer has gone. Amplifying the sounds that echo within so we can hear and understand what our inner voices are trying to tell us. It is time to step out of our hiding places, individually and collectively, and trust the light will be there. This is a writer who shines that light.
I look forward to her next reflection…..
Wow! Absolutely in awe of your writing. This is really a fascinating article.
Very nice Annie. Is this your first blog post? If so, keep at it.
I don’t practice what I preach beyond emails, but writing is a great way to consolidate feelings, organize thoughts, and open mental windows you might not have even known were there. But you know all this.
I’m reminded though of an exchange I read about back in college between a well-known journalist of the time (whose name I don’t recall) and a colleague that has stuck with me lo these many years. I’m paraphrasing, but he was about to write a newspaper article about something newsworthy that had just occurred. His colleague approached and asked what he thought of it. He replied “How do I know until I write about it?” I kinda think there’s a lot of truth to that.
PS: I had no idea that whales were magnanimous. I may have to write something about that. 🙂
Very true lines in this blog somewhere we all are hiding from something but we cannot live like that so we have to open up about the things we hide.
Love the layers and ultimately the optimism. Beautiful!
A beautiful and brave post Annie, congratulations.
You put it out there….and it will be interesting to see what comes from here….
This not something most ate acknowledging.
A beautiful and brave post Annie, congratulations.
You put it out there….and it will be interesting to see what come from here….
Beautifully said. This is such a beautiful time for introspection and owning/becoming familiar with all of our parts.
Hi Annie,
These are lovely thoughts how isolation is opening doors inside us, and pushing us to share our feelings with others. Thank you for writing.
Paula
Thank you for sharing your insight. This is, indeed, a time of inner reflection and one that necessitates our sharing our fears, anger, anguish and hope with friends.
What a wonderful post, Annie, capturing the fear and anxiety we are all facing with such eloquence and poetry. Thank you and keep ’em coming!