by Eileen Norman

Created on: October 06, 2009

Hiding Places and Safe Places

Grown ups have hiding places,

ones where we hide

from ourselves.

The bottom of a bottle is a

traditional favorite.

Toxic relationships are another -

in those, we just focus

on the "other."

Conformity is a camouflage

of many different colors:

a church, a club, a cause.

But most popular are

roles or titles:

mother, teacher, CEO,

policeman, criminal,

priest or "ho"

even being gay .

You see, sometime long ago,

we hid our patchwork

selves away.

But a hiding place and a safe place

are not the same.

Safety only comes when we have

nothing left to lose;

are not clinging to any idols

or hiding in an image.

Only then, when all else fails,

we explore the darkness

deep inside us.

And coming face to face

with our emptiness,

we find God

and peace.

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