Saturday, December 3, 2022

Let Openings In

                                                                                           

In Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Lacuna, her symbol intrigues throughout the story.  The word 'lacuna' encompasses a variety of meanings in the book: a cave, a missing text, a gap, a cenote, even the growth of a writer.  The reader's Individual curiosities add to the mix.

With lacuna imagery, these lines fascinate:

"Frieda, you always said the most important thing about any person is what you don't know.  Likewise, then, the most important part of any story is the missing piece."


On the last page of  Barbara Kingsolver's novel, notions of what we don't know and all the openings stays.  Do you wonder about what's gone missing?


We learn to break open to our process and discover it's vital to, "Open all your pores and bathe in all the tides of nature,"  as Henry David Thoreau observed.


How do we also remain open to the changes and transitions in life and avoid the traps?  We need to observe nature's ways and watch the unfurling of a rose. The times of twilight intrigue when the sky opens to light and darkens at dusk. The trill of birdsong out of silence awakens us at dawn. What occurs within the fissures where water sneaks and bubbles form?

Our awareness pushes our eyes, ears, noses and taste buds to the next curiosity.  Do we dare fall into an opening, like Alice? Will we permit our pens and fingers on keyboards to explore with courage and risk?

When we look for openings, we risk the chance to make mistakes. If closed, we miss opportunities and all the wild and wide open places.

What does it mean to become open and receptive?  What represents an opening of awareness? Where did the missing piece go and can it become retrieved?

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