The Journey Toward an Undivided Life

We arrive in this world undivided, integral, whole. But sooner or later, we erect a wall between our inner and outer lives, trying to protect what is within us or to deceive the people around us. Only when the pain of our dividedness becomes more than we can bear do most of us embark on an inner journey toward living “divided no more.”

Here is the ultimate irony of the divided life: live behind a wall long enough, and the true self you tried to hide from the world disappears from your own view!

True self will come to our rescue, if we let it. The divided life is pathological, so it always gives rise to symptoms – and if we acknowledge the symptoms, we may be able to treat the disease. In my case, the symptoms became impossible to ignore. My depression returned in full force, and I was compelled to ask myself “Who am I?” not as an abstract exercise but with the urgency of real life.

-Parker Palmer  A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward An Undivided Life