Learning from a pair of talkative bears
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14).
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Our About 2HC page mentions that the overall 2HC journey emphasizes several critical second-half-of-life themes, first on the list being “becoming our ‘truest’ selves.” We clarify our meaning slightly by adding that “becoming one’s truest self” involves “identifying and finding freedom from our adapted or shadow selves and living into our truest identities in God.”
Okay, this all sounds well and good, maybe even desirable. But terms like adapted self, the shadow, and true self can still come across as rather enigmatic or esoteric. What are these concepts really seeking to convey?
Perhaps an intriguing allegory from an unexpected source can play its role in drawing us into the deeper meaning of these terms. We invite you to enter imaginatively into the experience of two talkative bears, whose story is told by the fourteenth century Persian poet Hafiz.[1] May this poem’s imagery shed a soft-glowing, tender light on what might otherwise come across as somewhat sterile nomenclature, that of “adapted self” and “true,” helping us grasp their meaning at not only the head level, but also the heart.
Two Bears
Once
After a hard day’s forage
Two bears sat together in silence
On a beautiful vista
Watching the sun go down
And feeling deeply grateful
For life.
Though, after a while
A thought-provoking conversation began
Which turned to the topic of
Fame.
The one bear said,
“Did you hear about Rustam?
He has become famous
And travels from city to city
In a golden cage;
He performs to hundreds of people
Who laugh and applaud
His carnival
Stunts.”
The other bear thought for
A few seconds
Then started
Weeping.
Have you ever felt like Rustam, performing “carnival stunts” to win the applause of various audiences?
Have you ever felt like the two bears, experiencing gratitude for life, having invested your energies into precisely what God made you to do and to be?
Photo by Anthony Renovato on Unsplash
[1] Hafiz, The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master, trans. Daniel Ladinsky (London: Penguin Arkana, 1999), 123, Kindle.