Finding Walden

Walden's Pond is always within.  The transcendentalist writers often went elsewhere to find themselves.  It is an interesting idea.  Everything begins anew. The quiet, the lack of familiarity bring you closer to yourself...in more ways than you anticipated.

Lunch with a friend recently brought this to mind.  We spoke about the value of meeting regularly with a group who want to lovingly be there for one another.  Some of these groups have gone on some thirty years.  Some meet weekly, some monthly.  The content is always the same.  A sample dialogue:

Robert: "So, Jeffrey, how is the dating scene going?"

Jeffrey: "What scene?  Bunch of who*es out there.  Why can't I find a meaningful relationship, others do."

Robert: "Well, we don't KNOW that.  We know they have something like a partner.  Don't assume. "

Jeffrey:  "Good point.  I want someone to really want me."

Celeste:  "You have to want yourself first.  What if our energy is given out more directly than we know - that others feel what is inside us. Fear, neediness.  Do we really think we hide it?"

Craig: "Jeffrey, you have told us before about the abandonment you experienced as a child.  Could it be you are still trying to find that security?  Just a thought."

Jeffrey:  "Wow, you have such clarity.  Why don't I see that?"

The group chimes in, including Sandi who agrees with Robert.

"We all have the same thing, neediness, security, ego.  I think it is onion-like.  We peel off slices of it when we are ready."

I am finding my Walden, one slice at a time.