We are all Poets, We are all Poetry

I feel different after every trek I complete in the Himalayas, every movie I watch that hits home, every book I read that makes me cry, or every new friendship that makes my heart go warmer.

This week I was in Bangalore for Exploration 3 of Narrative Practices India. It has been so insightful, enlightening, and liberating. Not only did I learn about different practices of narrative therapy, but I also got a chance to experience them first-hand on me, within me. I walked into the week with a spinal cord injury (not too serious), feeling burnt out, and scattered in my head. And, I leave feeling grounded, more connected to myself, my body, my breath, my feelings and thoughts, the people around me, and my surroundings - the weather, the air, the sounds, the birds, the trees (BLR has the best trees!)

Yesterday, after many moons, I wrote poetry as a part of an activity in the class. If you are a closeted poet, you know how enormous this is! :)

I’m somebody who feels a lot. I cry at night remembering what happened in Manipur. I get furious over the news on violence against Dalits. It makes me upset to know stories of injustice and pain of the people I work with. (I am intentionally discarding the word ‘client’ as it feels way too reductive now). For most of my life, I was made to feel guilty for being “oversensitive“. Being perceptive was considered to be weak by many people around me. But, now I’m unapologetic for who I am.

Want to leave you with one of my favourite quotes:

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"