“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”
(James Baldwin’s quote triggered an inner dialogue within me)
What do you see, when you look at me?
Why are you so disturbed to see me?
What about my presence makes you feel so alienated?
Yes, I am a lot different…
I don’t belong to your class, caste or creed
I am not the type you would relate with
Definitely not the one you would ever want to become
I don’t fit your sense of human or humanity by far
Yet I am familiar, so much familiar…
Yes, I am the one you never wanted to be with
That’s why you know me so well…
You wish your life could have been an amnesia without me
But life is a cruel magic
I am stuck on you…
The more you wish you wouldn’t, the more you end up being with me
I sense, you are longing to meet me
So that you could touch that part within yourself…
— — — — — — — — — — — —
And that’s why, I guess, we love to hate
It helps us in covering the deeper pain
Pain of our sense of loss, failures, inadequacy
Pain of accepting ourselves and the truth of the moment
Hatred gives us a sense of identity
Making us distinct from (and secretly superior to) the ones we despise
And we fear loosing it all
And so it persists
— — — — — — — — — — — —
What if, you could let go this fear
And touch your own pain
However old, however hurtful,
Just sit in the center of it
Without any need to find a cause outside…
What if, you could accept your pain as a part of you
As something that happened as it happened
And let it go as a tree farewells its old yellow leaves
May be then, you would see me beyond what you see now…
May be then, you could go beyond my history, adjectives and stories
And look into my deep eyes
Reflecting the pain similar to yours
You could also see my wrinkles, my eye sockets,
And in the middle of my hatred towards you,
you may see my deep longing to belong to you…
Through my eyes, if you look long enough,
You may see my soul
And it’s long long journey,
With struggles, fears, failures and hopes
All so similar to yours
In such a moment you may experience a strange wet spark in your heart
Flowing right upto your eyes
This is compassion- a deep feeling of oneness
You may also see my upright yet fragile body
My rooted strength yet my vulnerability to open my heart
You will see that my heart is big enough to consume all of you and all your lifetimes
It may be hard to believe such a moment
It may feel like betraying your old distinct identity
Yet it’s the most powerful, liberating moment you can experience
And trust me, if you keep practicing it
Looking at people long enough
Beyond your own love for righteousness, distinction and hatred
You will soon start seeing their soul journeys
You will become their co-traveller
They will become yours
Life will transform
With magic every where…
And you will wake up with a magic wand in your hand!
Love…
Sacred Well
the sacred well 