There is a line in one of my favorite movies (Smoke Signals) where Thomas Builds-the-Fire says, "We were all traveling heavy with illusions." This line comes to my mind sometimes and, when it does, I immediately feel my perspective change; I feel more grounded. How often do our lives consist of illusions, of projections? When we are feeling sad or sensitive, everything we hear might seems to be sent with thorns. When we are angry and defensive, we might think people are being aggressive toward us. When we are newly in love, we imagine that our beloved is the source of our happiness. The illusion is that someone else is doing something to us. Often, though, what we are receiving from the world is actually coming from us. Acknowledging this can change our perspective, our emotional response, and our circumstances. After the illusion is broken, what remains? One of my mentors used to say, "After disillusionment comes enlightenment," and it is this light of understanding and insight that allows us to see the world and our place within it anew.
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