/ Photo by S.AlSadhan /

Have you been to a party before where the main topics were breast implants, home improvements, and who is sleeping with whom? Small talk can be fun to a point, but it can quickly descend into verbal junk food. Sooner or later we yearn for more meaningful conversations.

My husband and I met a dear friend who is Buddhist practitioner and published poet for brunch at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago. We found a lovely corner table with cushions. She told us about a talk she had just attended by the transformational poet, David Whyte. We were jealous. He is an engaging speaker.

During his talk, David Whyte told a story from ancient Ireland. One day the people of a village noticed a band of invading warriors lining up along a ridge overlooking their valley. The villagers faced off against the warriors on the opposite ridge. The invaders drew their weapons and let out their battle cry, ready to charge. The villagers, instead of drawing their own weapons, all turned to one side… and simply stepped into the light, disappearing.

This says so much to me about the ways we choose to encounter aggression and the perception of threat.
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