is what most human beings would like to do a great deal of the time. It
is the flight part of the fight or flight deeply in our bodies and our
past, it
To want to run away is an essence of being human, it transforms any
staying through the transfigurations of choice. To think about fleeing
from circumstances, from a marriage, a relationship or from a work is
part of the conversation itself and helps us understand the true
distilled nature of our own reluctance. Strangely, we are perhaps most
fully incarnated as humans, when part of us does not want to be here, or
doesn’t know how to be here. Presence is only fully understood and
realized through fully understanding our reluctance to show up. To
understand the part of us that wants nothing to do with the full
necessities of work, of relationship of doing what is necessary, is to
learn humility, to cultivate self-compassion and to sharpen that sense
of humor essential to a merciful perspective of both a self and another.
Wanting to run is necessary; actual running can save our lives at
crucial times, but it can also be extremely dangerous and unwise,
especially in the presence of animals that are bigger faster and more
agile than we are; especially when the very act of running triggers an
aggressive predatory response, or when running exiles us from the very
circumstances that were about to mature and cultivate our character. In
the wild, the best response to dangerous circumstances is often not to
run but to assume a profoundly attentive identity, to pay attention to
what seems to threaten and in that attention, not to assume the identity
of the victim.
We decide not to run not only because there are
many who would be left behind who cannot run as fast as we can, but
also because in turning to the source of the fear we have the
possibility of finding a different way forward, a larger good, through
circumstances, rather than away from them in some supposedly safe area
where threats no longer occur. We know intuitively that most of the
time, we should not run, we should stay and look for a different way
forward, despite the evolutionary necessity. Rarely is it good to run,
but we are wiser, more present, more mature, more understanding when, we
realize we can never flee from the need to run away.
©2015 David Whyte
‘RUN AWAY’ From CONSOLATIONS:
The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words
MANY RIVERS PRESS
http://www.davidwhyte.com/consolations.html
Bridge to Somewhere
Photo © David Whyte
Brunswick Heads Australia
May 26th 2015
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