We all are born with what we need to find what we need to do what needs to be done in each situation as it arises. And it all depends upon what meets us at birth. Everything hinges on the environment that receives us when we are born. We are never alone. We all are encased in the invisible essence constituting the quality of life on this side of the womb. Many, perhaps most, of us spend our lives compensating for what was missing from our life at birth. And that comes down to, depends upon, flows from, the quality of our relationship with ourselves–and how observant, aware of, the fact of that relationship and the degree of its significance to the life we are living. And the marker reflecting all of this to eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that understand, may well be the quality of the manner in which we handle silence. How comfortable are we–how at home are we–with emptiness, stillness, silence? How quiet can we be for how long? What meets us in the silence? What do we do with the quiet? And, to what extent do we enjoy being alone with ourselves?
There comes a time when we must become the parents we never had. When we become the father/mother we needed but wasn’t/weren’t there. I am the best father I ever (never) had–And I have been growing into the role all my life. So that, by now, I am quite safe and secure with me. And enjoy my own company as much as I have ever enjoyed anyone’s. I am a delight to be around. And I laugh at/with me all of the time. Everything I write/think becomes a gift from us to ourselves and to all of those who read/hear what we have to say. The joy of knowing who I am, doing what is mine to do redeems/atones for all that was not there to greet me at birth. May it be so for us all!
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 