The Unclad Soul

“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public or partisan opinion, when the mood of Beethoven's or Bach's music becomes the mood of your whole life … when your thinking is in harmony, and no longer in conflict, with your feelings … when you let yourself be guided by the thoughts of great sages and no longer by the crimes of great warriors … when you pay the men and women who teach your children better than the politicians; when truths inspire you and empty formulas repel you.” ~ Wilhelm Reich, Austrian Psychoanalyst/Author

I am a huge fan of Downton Abbey, the Masterpiece Theater series on PBS.  Downton Abbey is a fictional countryside estate populated by the very privileged Crawley family and their servants set in the early 1900s. The writing is so good and the cast of characters so engaging that I sometimes forget the time period.  Even though they are all living a hundred years ago in England, the family conflicts, the infighting among the servants, the class prejudices, and the human struggles and tragedies they face are relevant for all times.  Everything the Crawley family and their staff are wrestling with reflects our own daily battles in life and our joys and triumphs as well. In the last episode an amazing series of events unfolded.  If you don’t watch the program these names won’t mean anything to you but you might still get something out of their experiences. Isobel fights to defend Ethel’s damaged character.  Ethel is a young single mother who had to...