It’s easy for us to hide in plain sight.

We hide in our busyness and in our distraction.

We hide by saying only part of what’s true, and withholding the rest.

We hide by leaving parts of us out – our courage, our vulnerability, our truthfulness.

We hide by throwing ourselves into our work,

and thereby saving ourselves from showing up outside it.

And we hide by throwing ourselves away from our work,

and saving ourselves from showing up within it.

We hide in our addictions, in numbing ourselves, in scrolling the facebook feed.

We hide in pretending to be happy, when inside we’re crying.

We hide in our self-importance, and in overdoing our smallness.

We hide behind rules and regulation, policy and procedure.

And we hide in meetings through our silence and compliance.

We hide by shutting down our hearts in the face of the suffering of others.

We hide by stifling our ideas and holding back what only we can say.

We hide in our pursuit of money and status.

We hide ourselves in looking good and avoiding shame.

And we hide by refusing to ask for help when we need it.

And every moment of our hiding robs us, and the world,

of wonders that only we can bring,

from seeing that only we can see,

and from words,

perhaps the most necessary words,

that only we can say.

Banner image: Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Wrapped Coast, 1969