The Hearth of Kinship

Black Sheba

In Buddhist philosophy we understand that there is no singular, independent self. That everything and everyone is connected to everything else.  We would not exist in isolation. Even the soul is dependent up on the body. (and perhaps the body on the soul). What is possible is dependent upon countless known and unknown factors and Beings. 
 
Write about that.
 
What beliefs or assumptions do you have about what makes us human?  Write a scene were you (or a character) discovers something that challenges a core belief that you (or they) hold.
 
“Individuality is never simple or one-dimensional. Often it seems as if there is a crowd within the individual heart. The Greeks believed that when you dreamed at night, the figures of your dreams were characters who left your body, went out into the world, and undertook their own adventures; they then returned before you awoke. At the deepest level of the human heart, there is no simple, singular self. Deep within, there is a gallery of different selves. Each one of these figures expresses a different part of your nature. Sometimes they will come into contradiction and conflict with each other. If you meet these contradictions only on the surface level, this can start an inner feud that could haunt you all the days of your life. Frequently, you see people who are sorely divided. They are in a permanent war zone and have never managed to go deeper to the hearth of kinship, where the two forces are not enemies but reveal themselves as different sides of the one belonging.  O'Donohue, John. Anam Cara (p. 113). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.
 
What crowd occupies your heart?  Write about that.
 
What characters are showing up in your dreams?  Write about that.
 
The hearth of kinship is here within us and surrounds us. This moment, even during these times of separation, faces hidden behind masks, and social distancing, we belong to one another.  We do not have to feel divided.
 
Everything (and everyone, no exceptions) is an expression to our one belonging.  Write about how that is true (or feels not so true) in your life.
 
You dear Reader are part of my kinship, my tribe, and an expression of my belonging. Just so!, all your present and future Readers will be that for you.
 
May what you want continue to come toward you in this New Year. May you be an invitation to these new arrivals, welcoming them into your inner and outer hearth.  May you find yourself at the hearth of the page as writer and reader. Happy New Year Friend.
 
Julie