You know how it is when a paragraph leaps off a page?
Oh, wow! Look at this one. Behold this one, about beholding.
Warm, intimate, profound.
This is what we’re short of in our screen-bound, connection-scarce, modernity.
Warm, intimate, profound.
She was at the door, the light blazing in behind her, and I was beholding her. They say there is no such thing as an ordinary person …
Warm, intimate, profound.
This is poetry. This is the poetry of life. This is the something, the creation, that leaps into being when we have learned to gaze, to hold eye-contact, to truly, deeply, behold.
Warm, intimate, profound.
At a time when world politics seems to have lost the plot, when refugees are left utterly bereft and helpless, in which ‘wars and tales of war’ are ubiquitous, wherein extreme forms of ignorance and wickedness are laughed about, and even considered praiseworthy – in and among all of this we may yet learn to behold, may yet discover how to celebrate, how to be profoundly touched and grateful, how, beholding another, we may encounter ‘the richness of this particular human consciousness, the full symphony, how they perceive and create their life.’
Warm, intimate, profound.
When we behold, and are beheld, some words from Ram Dass come to resound in us …
We are all walking each other home
This is shaping up to be the most important book I’ve read in years.
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We beheld His Glory…..full of Grace and Truth.
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This passage gave me shivers. SUCH a gift to *really* see someone, both for you and for that person. Thank you for sharing this, Simon.
Oh, same here, Lori. This is really a great read 🤗✨x
Such a beautiful concept – one that feels embracing and warm. I have followed David Brooks over the years – and he was once a very dry and intense conservative. He is proof that time can smooth hard edges and soften extreme opinions. His recent books have been fascinating explorations of social interactions, society itself, etc…I find his observations so appealing, and I nod in the affirmative a lot…xx
Thanks for sharing this, Mimi. Among the things I’m appreciating about David Brooks, who I hadn’t known of before, is his gentle, self-deprecating, present-day acknowledgment of all that you have noted, and I so easily warm to that – to a ready willingness in him, and in any of us, to keep on growing and changing.
A few years ago I penned some words of Diana Fosha in my journal. I clearly remember wanting to shout ‘Yeessss!’ at that time – and lo and behold, David Brooks has obviously had a similar moment! …
Brooks writes (and quotes)
‘Seeing someone well is a powerfully creative act. No one can fully appreciate their own beauty and strengths unless those things are mirrored back to them in the mind of another. There is something in being seen that brings forth growth. If you beam the light of your attention on me, I blossom. If you see great potential in me, I will probably come to see great potential in myself. If you can understand my frailties and sympathize with me when life treats me harshly, then I am more likely to have the strength to weather the storms of life. “The roots of resilience,” the psychologist Diana Fosha writes, “are to be found in the sense of being understood by and existing in the mind and heart of a loving, attuned, and self-possessed other.” In how you see me, I will learn to see myself.’
What a marvellous thing it is that we humans have learned to listen and to read, to speak and to write – that we are able, should we want to, to share something of the unfathomable depths in each of us. Thank you for our friendship and for the valued breadth of our conversations 🤗✨xx
PS – on another note entirely: I was thinking of you earlier today as I happened upon photos of snowfall today in New York ☃️❄️😊
The thoughts of Diana Fosha are so well phrased – I found myself nodding with enthusiastic agreement. Isn’t it true that we feel most understood when we feel seen by another – without any pretense or motive, other than wanting to understand. I enjoy seeing how David Brooks has charted his internal growth and awareness. And needless to say, I greatly appreciate our shared perspective…xx
PS. I’m from NY (and still have my sister there), but we raised the boys outside of Washington, DC…and followed them here – near Charlotte, North Carolina. I delight in my proximity to my kids and granddaughters…And here we’re dealing with thunder and massive rain and a couple of tornado watches. I’d like the snow more…xx
Yes: absolutely true – and as vital to our health and wellbeing as food and water.
‘Near Charlotte, North Carolina …’ thank you. Places I shall look up with renewed interest. Keep dry. (I think I’d prefer snow, too!) 🤗x
We’ve got a porch here too – and coffee as well…xx
Ah! – you remembered! – grilled cheese, coffee and conversation until we all nod off to sleep, content and replete, in our chairs 😊✨xx
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I am smiling, because you see that potential in me. That makes me blossom.
How glad I am to know of that 🙂x