This really resonates with the work I’ve been doing lately. Just this morning, I taught a webinar on liminality and said that one of the gifts of liminal space is that it allows us to disentangle from codependency, social hierarchy, and enmeshment with harmful systems. One of the quotes I shared was this one from Hildegard von Bingen: “We cannot live in a world interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a hope. Part of the terror is to take back our listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light.”
Thank you for reading and sharing your perspective. My students, and I'm sure others, sometimes struggle with the idea of social construction and that few things are 'absolute' outside their shaping systems. It's challenging to come to a place where we discover that our truths are likely the truths of others. The von Bingen quote is very relevant. It's quite scary to begin this journey, especially if our 'truths' are connected to systems we believe to be supportive, even if, on reflection, we find they are not.
A year or so before I met you, I found myself in a liminal space between what I thought I would be by 50 and where I was. It was an uneasy couple of years, yet I found clarity in my purpose by listening only for my internal calling. It was a long journey to here, but I'm confident now that I am on the right path.
The more I learn about liminality, the more I recognize it as a necessary part of our human development. And to get through the liminality, instead of trying to bypass it or numb out, we need reflection. They go hand in hand.
Another thought… I remember, in the early days of T’s first presidency, I heard Bruce Springsteen say that T was incapable of self-reflection. And that feels profound - we end up with bullies, abusers, tyrants because they lack self-reflection.
The research supporting social psychology supports the idea that self-reflection may be a pathway to empathy. Goleman’s work with emotional intelligence would connect self-reflection and empathy for others among leaders.
Without self-reflection, empathy appears difficult. Yet, I had not drawn such direct connection to how it might produce bullies, abusers and tyrants.
This really resonates with the work I’ve been doing lately. Just this morning, I taught a webinar on liminality and said that one of the gifts of liminal space is that it allows us to disentangle from codependency, social hierarchy, and enmeshment with harmful systems. One of the quotes I shared was this one from Hildegard von Bingen: “We cannot live in a world interpreted for us by others. An interpreted world is not a hope. Part of the terror is to take back our listening, to use our own voice, to see our own light.”
Thank you for reading and sharing your perspective. My students, and I'm sure others, sometimes struggle with the idea of social construction and that few things are 'absolute' outside their shaping systems. It's challenging to come to a place where we discover that our truths are likely the truths of others. The von Bingen quote is very relevant. It's quite scary to begin this journey, especially if our 'truths' are connected to systems we believe to be supportive, even if, on reflection, we find they are not.
A year or so before I met you, I found myself in a liminal space between what I thought I would be by 50 and where I was. It was an uneasy couple of years, yet I found clarity in my purpose by listening only for my internal calling. It was a long journey to here, but I'm confident now that I am on the right path.
The more I learn about liminality, the more I recognize it as a necessary part of our human development. And to get through the liminality, instead of trying to bypass it or numb out, we need reflection. They go hand in hand.
Another thought… I remember, in the early days of T’s first presidency, I heard Bruce Springsteen say that T was incapable of self-reflection. And that feels profound - we end up with bullies, abusers, tyrants because they lack self-reflection.
This is profound.
The research supporting social psychology supports the idea that self-reflection may be a pathway to empathy. Goleman’s work with emotional intelligence would connect self-reflection and empathy for others among leaders.
Without self-reflection, empathy appears difficult. Yet, I had not drawn such direct connection to how it might produce bullies, abusers and tyrants.