For today’s poetry post, I wanted to delve into the idea of the “inner-self.”
[What is the inner-self, how do we reconcile our inner-selves, and how do we even discover our inner-self?]
Instead of answering these questions myself, I wanted to give you guys the opportunity to look at how other writers, well-known writers, have started discussions and asked questions about confronting one’s self, and living from “inner-selfhood.”
One of the most interesting “discussions” of the inner-self comes from one of my favorite poets: Emily Dickinson. Here is one of her most intriguing poems on the topic:
Untitled
One need not be a Chamber — to be Haunted —
One need not be a House —
The Brain has Corridors — surpassing
Material Place —
Far safer, of a Midnight Meeting
External Ghost
Than its interior Confronting —
That Cooler Host.
Far safer, through an Abbey gallop,
The Stones a’chase —
Than Unarmed, one’s a’self encounter —
In lonesome Place —
Ourself behind ourself, concealed —
Should startle most —
Assassin hid in our Apartment
Be Horror’s least.
The Body — borrows a Revolver —
He bolts the Door —
O’erlooking a superior spectre —
Or More —
Here, Dickinson’s representation of our inward battle in trying to conceal who really truly are as people, leads me to a definition of the “inner-self.”
Our inner-selves are
raw
unrelenting
selfish
naked.
wounded
vulnerable
dependent
needy.
What I’d like to suggest here is that when we confront our true selves and are willing to come to grips with the fact that we might be arrogant, insecure, broken-hearted, envious, or even belligerent people, we can begin to repair our inner-self through the one who repairs all. I am talking about Christ, people. Coming to grips with the fact that we are broken human beings, incapable of healing ourselves by our own means, is a large part of moving toward mending the wounds that ail us the most. Let me be clear, what I am not suggesting is the neglect of therapy, counseling, or even medication. To neglect the helpfulness of those tools that we as humans have set in place, would be foolish. I am simply trying to nudge your mind in an even more helpful direction. Pairing an intimate and personal relationship with Christ, with the usefulness of therapy is one of the best ways to repair our inner-selves.
Often, stumbling through life trying to hide our brokenness is more damaging than we think. We suffer through traumatic events in life: the death of a loved-one, a spouse/significant other that cheats, an abusive parent, molestation, and the list goes on. To think that we can somehow move through the bumps of everyday life, carrying the emotional scars of the issues we are not willing to face, is a grave mistake, my friends. When we learn to rely on the one who created us, for healing, emotional peace, and genuine love, that is when the mending of the inner-self begins.
When Life Gives You Lemons... 