In the weekend I re-read a book- Zuleikha open your eyes- that marked a huge impression on me several years ago. Felt then, that I was trapped in story and situation that kept me alone even with partner and friends around me, like a part of me was not seen and acknowledged. That was part of a journey to self- and at the re-reading of the book felt that that part in the meantime was seen. That I am not alone anymore even when alone, and that now I can see in the book the story of several characters transformations through their own personal and learned limiting stories to a new view of the world. Not and easy transformation and all taking place in an extremely brutal environment. The characters slowly open their eyes to appreciating equally good and bad, and the re-evaluation of what they thought they knew and kept them safe and respectable to what they want and brings them joy and fulfillment. In many ways I can resonate to that.
And then thought of a story of an experiment done years ago on a population of monkeys. The first generation were beaten up every time they were trying to pick up bananas from a certain tree. That generation had babies and later on even the threat of violence when approaching the same banana tree was stopped, the monkeys would beat up those that ere approaching the tree, even by themselves were never hit. In many ways we learn the same, we learn the stories that keep up safe, belonging and in a community. But the same like the monkeys experiment maybe we are safeguarding something that does not help us anymore and is time to open our eyer to a new story. And that is life and that is learning- even the un-learning of what we thought we knew. That does require courage and going away from the safe-zone. Or life and history just happening.
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