The Magic Coat
I walked into the gym yesterday and glanced at the coat rack as I walked by.
I noticed a coat that looked just like one I own.
I mean it looked exactly like one I own.
I checked it out closely and… yes it was mine.
I had left it there a week ago and it was still hanging on the rack.
I found something I didn’t know was lost!
I was really happy to have it back because I love that jacket
But I didn’t know it was missing until it suddenly showed up again.
I think it’s likely the same experience when we recover parts of
ourselves that have been lost.
The innocence of childhood.
The freedom to love without barriers.
The feeling of an open heart, not closed by wounds.
Many of these things seem like our normal condition.
It’s just how we are.
But when we recover that innocence, that freedom or that openness
Suddenly we realize how we’ve been missing them
Without realizing we have been missing them.
A lesson for me in this is to assume there are always deeper things to uncover
Even if I’m not aware of them.
Perhaps especially if I’m not aware of them.
This attitude keeps me alert and on the lookout
When will the next hidden gem (jacket) be revealed?
I particularly love this post.
I would love to know what touched you about it Scott?
It’s a familiar and important feeling, and the words you found for it are quite efficient. I imagine I’ll be saying, in the near future, “You know, it’s like finding a jacket that you didn’t know you’d lost.”
It’s what it’s like to meet an old friend for the first time. It’s what I felt like when I first went to massage school, and was re-introduced to my body. Ironically, it’s a little like the very act of reading your post and receiving this way of communicating a familiar (but hitherto unarticulated) experience.
Humble thanks for your writing.