“The possibilities that exist between two people, or among a group of people, are a kind of alchemy. They are the most interesting thing in life.”

“When relationships are determined by manipulation, by the need for control, they may possess a dreary, bickering kind of drama, but they cease to be interesting. They are repetitious; the shock of human possibilities has ceased to reverberate through them.”

~ Adrienne Rich, poet and essayist (1929-2012)

The Mirror, 1896. An exquisitely beautiful painting by Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee. [Image Courtesy of WikiMedia]
The Mirror, 1896. An exquisitely beautiful painting by Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee. [Image Courtesy of WikiMedia]
We see a lot of the “manipulation, control, dreary bickering kind of drama” type of pseudo-relating unfolding around us, perhaps locally as well as via the mass-media “theater of the absurd.”

When something in particular stirs it up — like national elections or some particular polarizing controversy — it seems a mad frenzy, almost a sort of insanity.

In a way, it’s the collective shadow being reflected back to us in the collective mirror, coming from what Eckhart Tolle and many others would call the deeply unconscious.

The alchemical possibilities do exist, though, and it’s a beautiful thing to behold when we’re able to experience that more graceful, gracious, skillful relating directly.

If we’re horrified by the degraded, uncivil, and often outright hostile state of relating that we see around us — and many of us are — the shift to higher possibilities begins with us.

Hebe Giving a Drink to Jupiter, 1767, by Gavin Hamilton. Public domain image (date precedes copyright).
Hebe Giving a Drink to Jupiter, 1767, by Gavin Hamilton. PD-US.

For more on the possibilities of relationship and graceful relating, visit (or revisit) these Sophia’s Children posts:

The Beauty Way of Relating

and…

The Hidden Spirit of Relationship

Share your thoughts and insights on the greater possibilities via comments below or direct email — even talking amongst ourselves stirs the inspiration and strengthens the mojo of the ‘higher angels of our nature’.

Big Love,

Jamie

In the Orchard (1912) by Franz Dvorak. Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia.
In the Orchard (1912) by Franz Dvorak. Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia.

Give, Receive & Support the Work

If you’ve found regular inspiration … or a super-handy dose of it … in this and other Sophia’s Children articles and offerings, consider supporting the work in one of these ways:

See Support Sophia’s Children for a variety of options.

Find new inspiration, insight, and vision– or communication clarity, with Jamie as your guide and thought-partner:

Current Featured Offerings … have a look.

Lots of love,

Jamie