The Two Wells

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3ed4ab0e-de83-4ac1-a1d5-d1787c15ab7eHow Everything Has A Place
I take my blind dog out
under the white and pink blossomed
apple tree
to brush her.
She groans as hair falls
from her old body
into soft golden piles
in the greening spring grass.
Just moments before how I worried
about where I would be a season from now.
Where might I live and

who will share my days?

She rolls around,
such a happy dog

Her golden hair remains behind
an invitation
to the birds now collecting in the trees
take me
use me
to build your nest.

I don’t enjoy worrying or obsessing about what might or might not happen. Just so, I don’t benefit from too much strategizing or planning either. Too much worry or concern about the future removes me from my experience now. It’s particularly challenging these days when the political and communal environment is also stressful.
I use metaphors and symbolic ways to work through hosting edges such as uncertainty and worry. I give myself simple practices that bring forth the best in myself, the situation and others. So, I give myself the Two Wells. 
The one well is poisoned and will only add to my and other’s suffering if I dip into it. So when I get overly concerned about how others see me, or obsess about this or that, or find myself in some negative state, I recognize that I have approached the poisoned well. I bow to it and then turn away from it. I don’t get down on myself for any emotions or thoughts I have — such emotions and thoughts are just evidence that I am a human being. I get to have any and all my emotions. But, I don’t want to dip into this well and poison myself with negative emotions or perspectives.
So, I turn to the clear, clean well, the well that is right next to the poisoned one. This clean well nourishes me and those around me. This well nourishes me through my spiritual practice, with my connection to my Great Friend (my Higher Power), reminds me of what is truly possible and what I am capable of. We have to attend to this well, name what nourishes us.So how and where do we get our nourishment? This can be asked of body, mind and soul. It matters what we eat and how much, and it matters what we give our thoughts to as much as it matters what we give our days to.
Take time to name what poisons you and name what nourishes you. Imagine in your mind the two wells and when difficulty arises, bow to the poisoned well, be with the difficulty but don’t drink from this well. Then, turn to the well of nourishment and drink to your hearts content.So what motivates each of us to bow to the poison well, turn away and then then dip into the nourishing well?
Naming our motivation is always a good contemplation before dipping into any well or taking any action.  For me, being a mother (of an adult child), a writing sherpa, a counselor and spiritual mentor motivates me to do my best. I am always setting an example; I am being watched. So, what I do influences those who seek my guidance and help. I am also motivated to be happy, of service, and to awaken to my full potential as a spiritual human being.
So, when I often find myself asking: “Do I want to be right or do I want to be happy?” I choose happiness; I choose the clear well.
And I dip in.

136 thoughts on “The Two Wells”

  1. Lovely message, Julie. See you soon at the June writer’s retreat in Madison! I’ll share this message with my group. We writers tend to obsess about publication and many things. I agree that it’s best to choose “happy” and let everything fall into place after that.

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