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Power Haunt

 In his book White Noise Don DeLillo writes this of a blended family with his and her kids :

Babette and I do our talking in the kitchen. The kitchen and the bedroom are the major chambers around here, the power haunts, the sources. She and I are alike in this, that we regard the rest of the house as storage space for furniture, toys, all the unused objects of earlier marriages and different sets of children, the gifts of lost in-laws, the hand-me-downs and rummages. Things, boxes. Why do these possessions carry such sorrowful weight? There is a darkness attached to them, a foreboding.

Even without them being boxed, past-life remains can carry with them darkness and foreboding. You can remove them from sight and be aware that they exist and imply things that you do need to resolve. The other approach is to attempt a peaceful integration with the here and now. That can be a mixed bag to depending on the kinds of triggers such amalgamation brings about at inopportune times. I found DeLillo's description of kitchen and bedroom as power haunts for such couples very poignant. Food for the body and soul, sleep, and love - that is what it takes to keep such unions in a state of peace and tranquility.



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