Recovering Our Sense of Meaning

A lot of healing lies in the recovery of a personal sense of meaning — a capacity which both enables us to endure difficulties and allows us to find, and draw, on strengths we were unaware we even possessed. But in times of crisis, meaning is strength. And the deepest meaning is buried in the unconscious mind, whose primary means of communicating with the conscious mind is through the language of dreams.

Poetry also speaks this language, although many individuals are not familiar (nor comfortable) with expressing themselves in such a manner. But when one dares to venture into the landscape of poetic therapy, one is pleasantly surprised by the ease with which she is able to find meaning in the events of her life — her past — (often) for the first time. And finding such meaning feels like revelation, like grace even.

The experience of writing poetry — and sharing it with others — also helps in healing loneliness. After all, what is true for someone on the deepest level is often true for us all, which is why reading and listening to the poetry of others makes one feel less removed, less alienated from a world that feels so emotionally disconnected.

These days, we mask so much of ourselves and our lives, only posting the most social media-worthy moments that we think will garner the most likes. But with poetry, we feel empowered to remove the masks we have worn for so long — to feel safe, to protect ourselves, to win the approval of others. And in taking off these masks, we discover that we feel less vulnerable, less alone. And our pain becomes just that: pain. It is no longer that which fuels our suffering.

Unmasked Souls by Sidney Hall

Poetry allows us to take off the mask

we’ve worn for so long,

which once created

the illusion of safety,

and deluded us into thinking

that maybe,

just maybe,

we could hide

from a world where one must

wear a mask

to win the approval of others,

whose obsession with manufacturing

their #pictureperfect lives

feels nothing but fake and contrived.

A world where one must pretend

that everything is forever okay,

because the truth makes people

“uncomfortable,"

which leads so many astray,

mistakenly believing

that it is better to join the crowd

and to mirror their

exact same

messed up

ways.

But by speaking our truth

through verses and lines,

by removing the mask

for a worthy pursuit

in such disconnected times,

we find that we no longer feel

like imposters in our own lives;

we find that being raw and real

makes us feel more connected

and less concealed.

And our pain becomes just that: pain.

It is no longer the means

by which we suffer,

nor do we still believe

that this human plight,

which affects us all,

is something one must

bear alone, while

wearing a mask to fit in

with a society addicted

to getting its next fix

of self-induced cortisol.

- unmasked souls

....

Thanks for reading! To see more of my work, check out @hallofsidney on Instagram.