The Firefly lights our dark with luciferous magic. In some species it’s only the male, but in others both sexes use this cool heat to signal to each other and we are all beneficiaries of their romantic opera. And it’s a complete opera with every plot twist you can think of; some fireflies impersonate desire only to attract and then kill the hopeful lover. Other fireflies deliberately use a poor impersonation to warn away competing lovers and decimate the field. If attacked, fireflies use “reflex bleeding” to literally poison predators with their blood. This last fact generates warnings never to feed fireflies to your hungry pet reptile! What are we to make of this mix of beauty, falseness and carnivorous intent? Fireflies may be beautiful impostors, but they are never to be envied. They exist only to mate, lay eggs and die. Some fireflies live lives without nourishment. They never even get the chance to dine.
The Firefly
#HAIKU:
False romantic glitter
Draws you in.
Shows how much
I really want you
Thought #52 – False Love, Impersonations: To play “pretend” is a key to learning. In the theatre, “Going through the motions” is called “rehearsal.” Alcoholics Anonymous suggests following a healthful routine no matter how awkward and unfamiliar it may feel: “Fake it till you make it.” Anyone who’s ever been to a job interview knows they are embarking on “ritualistic” behavior that may not in the least match up with their inner selves. At what point does this fakery become pernicious? Intent can change after all; most lovers discover that the meaning f the word “forever” is highly variable to the individual. A firefly could argue that he’s following the demands of Nature; I’ve heard con artists and sociopaths argue the exact same thing. But should we ever rely on the unreliable? The cards say Beware: someone close is not who they seem. Trust? Not before you verify!
LifeKoan #52: Why do we love so many things that don’t love us back? Now that we are organizing our lives, we have to take a look at everything we love that doesn’t love us back. Does it make us stronger, better? Does it ignite our better, higher self? Or does it debilitate us, make us confused and crazy, uncertain about who we even are? Who ARE we really, now that we come to think about it? The Firefly Tarot card is also the impersonation card. We have to ask ourselves, maybe we are not only taken in by impersonations, maybe we have been doing some “impersonating” too. Who exactly are we pretending to be, what is the result? What was the DESIRED result? Often we are shocked at the difference between what we intended and what actually happened. We’ve been making excuses because we want to be the “exception”. Why can’t the laws of time and physics be suspended just for us, just for a few minutes, just for today. If Recovery is a process of “fake it till you make it” how do we tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy “impersonations”? It’s all about the direction. This is why we need clear goals. We have to ask ourselves every step of the way where this or that path is headed and do we really want to “own” the result if we go there. It’s time to Get Real.
The Firefly
#HAIKU:
False romantic glitter
Draws you in.
Shows how much
I really want you
Thought #52 – False Love, Impersonations: To play “pretend” is a key to learning. In the theatre, “Going through the motions” is called “rehearsal.” Alcoholics Anonymous suggests following a healthful routine no matter how awkward and unfamiliar it may feel: “Fake it till you make it.” Anyone who’s ever been to a job interview knows they are embarking on “ritualistic” behavior that may not in the least match up with their inner selves. At what point does this fakery become pernicious? Intent can change after all; most lovers discover that the meaning f the word “forever” is highly variable to the individual. A firefly could argue that he’s following the demands of Nature; I’ve heard con artists and sociopaths argue the exact same thing. But should we ever rely on the unreliable? The cards say Beware: someone close is not who they seem. Trust? Not before you verify!
LifeKoan #52: Why do we love so many things that don’t love us back? Now that we are organizing our lives, we have to take a look at everything we love that doesn’t love us back. Does it make us stronger, better? Does it ignite our better, higher self? Or does it debilitate us, make us confused and crazy, uncertain about who we even are? Who ARE we really, now that we come to think about it? The Firefly Tarot card is also the impersonation card. We have to ask ourselves, maybe we are not only taken in by impersonations, maybe we have been doing some “impersonating” too. Who exactly are we pretending to be, what is the result? What was the DESIRED result? Often we are shocked at the difference between what we intended and what actually happened. We’ve been making excuses because we want to be the “exception”. Why can’t the laws of time and physics be suspended just for us, just for a few minutes, just for today. If Recovery is a process of “fake it till you make it” how do we tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy “impersonations”? It’s all about the direction. This is why we need clear goals. We have to ask ourselves every step of the way where this or that path is headed and do we really want to “own” the result if we go there. It’s time to Get Real.
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