Treasure Island

Sometimes the Universe is not subtle. If I don’t hear something the first time, it keeps coming up repeatedly. This week is a case in point.

I was thrilled this week when my writer/artist friend, Donna, and her husband came for a short visit from Colorado. She and I had so much fun writing together. We would draw an Oracle card and write for five minutes on the subject depicted on the card. One of the cards we drew was Treasure Island. Today the Oracle card I drew was also Treasure Island. The subject of today’s lesson in a writing course I am taking was the Treasure Within. I don’t know about you, but I think the Universe is telling me to write about Treasure.

The premise of most stories about treasure is that it is hidden. It is not in plain sight with a sign that says, “get your treasure here.” It is usually buried deep underground or in a deep cavern in an inaccessible, difficult-to-find place. The treasure can’t be found without a search, and it is only found after a long and arduous quest filled with danger and many setbacks.

So where is the personal treasure, the pearl of great price? Is it hidden away in the dark cave of my unconscious, or is it found in the faraway god of the cosmos? Is it in the person lying next to me or in the work that I do or in the guru who promises salvation?

For me the treasure is deep and inaccessible unless I consciously, openly dig for it, not outside of myself but in the shadowy recesses of my darkness. The treasure is found in the darkness within, in the shadow that I don’t want to see. It is found in the grief and sadness that loss and death bring. It is the diamond that is forged from the depth of despair. It is the joy that bursts forth from knowing grief. It is sitting in the muck and blossoming forth with the incomparable beauty of the lotus.

The treasure can’t be found without inner work. It requires work to find it and claim it for myself. Going deep into the shadow and the muck makes finding the treasure even more precious. It isn’t easy to find, it isn’t easy to extract – but when I discover it, after a lifetime of seeking, I value it even more.

For me this treasure my true Self, my Soul self. And that self opens me to love – love for myself, love for others, love for the world. I must truly love myself first, shadows and all, in order to love others and the world. I must see myself as sacred and holy before I can see others as sacred and holy. I must acknowledge and feel grief before I can feel joy. I must get my hands dirty and dig deep, and when I find  my true Self, I treasure that self even more because I have had to work for it.

Where do you find your treasure?

Barbara Garland
January, 2022Treasure Island