On the tomb of Hermes reads the inscription “As above so below, as within so without.” The esoteric meaning behind this is that our outer worlds and experiences are a direct reflection of our inner worlds and experiences. So one tool we use in life coaching is called “The Living Space Tool” where I will guide clients to identify either their most or least favorite part of their living space and write a description. When we begin to explore these exercises it is almost magical, and always mind boggling, just how much these descriptions of the outer environment do reflect the interior world of the client. This reflective nature of our reality, when channeled in coaching or writing like this, can yield major insights and revelations in our lives.
In my coach-infested writer group we often do prompts that ignite self exploration because we all happen to be addicted to that. This poem came as a result of a prompt inspired by the Living Space Tool that one of the coaches suggested in our group. Enjoy!
My Living Space:
My least favorite aspect of my living space is the darkness.
My basement cave is windowless
And so my soul sometimes penniless
I need the light to be more than slight
I get just a little bit through a tiny slit
My skin craves vitamin D and my eyes want more to see
Sometimes it’s cozy with a thriller at night
But the shadows can be crushing, a relentless might
I don’t mind the darkness I just want options
Like opening the drapes to find a golden ray
But the cinderblock dungeon never softens
So I live in the twilight, just barely lit, and thoroughly grey
