September, 1944: Physical as Symbol of Spiritual

Anais begins this Diary entry with: "The physical as a symbol of the spiritual world. The people who keep old rags, old useless objects, who hoard, accumulate: are they also keepers and hoarders of old ideas, useless information, lovers of the past only, even in its form of detritus?"

She continues: "I have the opposite obsession. In order to change skins, evolve into new cycles, I feel one has to learn to discard. If one changes internally, one should not continue to live with the same objects. They reflect one's mind and psyche of yesterday. I throw away what has no dynamic, living use. I keep nothing to remind me of the passage of time, deterioration, loss, shriveling."

I suppose the same can be said of people in your life. You tend to find people you are meant to be with at a certain point in your life, and purpose is served, after which, both parties may move on. There's nothing wrong with that. If you force yourself to stay in friendships you've outgrown, you may feel trapped and unhappy.

August, 1944: Exchanging Treasures

"You cannot learn, love, or create by stealing. You have to create yourself first, and your work, and then bonds are born of this, genuine ones, and people exchange their treasures. You can't force things," Anais explains to a friend.

Building intimacy, making a meaningful connection with another human being works like this. You have to be willing to go deeper, to be intimate, to be vulnerable and share some truth about yourself with another. After you have opened up, the other person will be more willing to open up, and the exchange of treasures is enabled.

All of us have inside ourselves a multitude of hidden treasures - hopes, dreams, wishes, desires - that we long to share with others. Do you have someone with whom you can exchange your buried treasures?

July, 1944: Sea & Sun

Ahhh... a four-day weekend retreat to Moira's home in Amagansett with friends - eating, drinking, laughing, talking, resting, and relaxing in the warm sun by the sea. Anais loves the water; it calms her and also gives her energy and restores her. She and her friends can forget about the war for a few days and be appreciative of their friendships.

June, 1944: Hope

Anais Nin has started a new book, This Hunger, whose main character is inspired in part by Luise Rainer. This is a good time for Anais as she feels she is expanding, blossoming, always recreating herself, and unblocking not only herself but also others. She feels the affects of the war and is concerned that it kills emotions and destroys feelings in others, although in her stage of emotional maturity, she is able to maintain a larger perspective. For those who have no inner life to sustain themselves or process events, it becomes difficult to maintain hope.

May, 1944: The Inner Life

Anais Nin values the inner life, a place she says is like a photographer's darkroom, like a laboratory, but she says you can't stay there too long or you become solitary, neurotic. Her Diary gives her the opportunity to relive moments, to conserve memories, to record and interpret her life, but she is balanced by passionate living and intense activity. And that is the key - balancing the inner life with the outer life.

April, 1944: Development of the Individual

Anais Nin believes the development of the individual has a more natural, organic influence on history than the development of systems (e.g. political). She believes systems fail because the individuals involved are incomplete as human beings because they do not work on self development; they are corrupt and imperfect. If people develop and grow, systems will not be needed because people will be able to rule themselves, she believes. Anais encourages us to create ourselves as individuals.

April, 1944: Anais has Arrived

With the publication of Under a Glass Bell, Anais Nin makes connections, is reviewed and photographed, receives telephone calls and letters, attends parties, becomes established as a serious writer, and finally stops feeling restless, and instead, feels happiness. Success, activity, hopeful to pay off debts, confidence is hers.