Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

I'm reading "The Zen of Therapy" a new book by Mark Epstein, a psychaitrist. I've read several of his books before, and I find him easy to read and so helpful with his examples from his own life and his patients. Already, in the introduction, his description of his wfie realizing, without effort or intention, that her mother's worrying had automatically transfered to her, though it was not conscious, caused her to take a look and become aware that worrying was not necessary, and she need not carry it on her own shoulders to prove that she loved her mother. She could let go of worry, once she became conscious of it. It was not a useful habit, and had no origin in her own personality. I've had those epiphanies, where something I'd been hiding from myself I finally allowed myself to look at clearly and face what I'd been avoiding. One time, when I was doing walking meditation on a retreat, I suddenly realized my first husband had tricked me into marrying him so he could stay in this country after he flunked out of college. He did not tell me until later, and I buried it deep because the wound was too great. Another time I saw that the rage my mother and father carried was not mine. In fact, I never knew why they were angry, but I knew it had nothing to do with me. I didn't need to be loyal by taking it on, and it dissolved instantly. If we give ourselves space, quiet and time, we can look at what we were afraid to see and be kind to ourselves and lay down the burden. Meditation has given me that gift, again and again.