I am with you...
If we are truly all one, as the spiritual ancient wisdom teachings tell us then I want you to know that I am with you.
I am with you navigating this world right here, right now.
The one that seems so dark and quite frankly f*cked up.
I am with you.
To state that so much has happened lately feels like an understatement. The magnitude of shocking, jarring, and heartbreaking news we've been witnessing is overwhelming. The fact that this is a collective experience adds more difficulty because I realize for many of us, it is slamming down on top of our very personal and individual traumas. This can bring up a lot of emotions and unearth deep layers within us that are still screaming out for healing. I am with you.
The pain we are all experiencing is enough to bring the strongest of us to our knees and make the sanest of us feel as if we are losing our minds. I was reminded today reading an article, that our nervous systems aren't equipped to handle these chronic states of shock we are all being traumatized by. From devastating natural disasters to mass shootings and hate crimes, our sense of safety is being shaken with tremendous force.
It is scary.
It feels heavy.
It is hard.
It might even feel like too much.
I am with you.
Unfortunately, this is life right now, and the truth isn't always comfortable or pleasing. At times it can feel like a punch in the gut and can be a sobering reality.
Striving for consciousness and acceptance is hard work when times are turbulent and painful. It takes courage, strength, and compassion. And may we never forget that courage helps to restore hope to the heart. And right now, we could all use a bit more hope. Are you with me?
Personally, 2017 has been an extremely challenging year, and I've witnessed so many others also have their inner strength tested with what seems like little to no reprieve. If this feels true for you too, I am with you.
Another sobering truth?
Suffering is hard.
It actually f*cking sucks.
Yet it is part of the human experience, and no one is immune to it. It's also a big part of the healing process for many of us. And unfortunately, suffering can be excruciating to witness. However, may we all be reminded that the origin of the word compassion literally means "to suffer, with, together."
Knowing this context, how does it feel to ask yourself if you are truly capable of having compassion for yourself and others?
It's a tough one. I'm working on it too. I'm still with you.
What I've witnessed time and time again (I'm also guilty of it) is when we aren't willing to sit with the discomfort of our own pain, we can't bear witness to someone else's. Therefore we are not able to show pure, authentic compassion for ourselves or others. So the questions we must sit with are...
1. Can I sit with the discomfort of my own pain long enough to acknowledge it and see what it's trying to show me?
And
2. Can I put my own pain down long enough to see, acknowledge, and validate someone else's pain?
Again. So hard. I am still with you.
But this leads me to the importance of deep, authentic connection. Not just this surface level crap where we show up the way others want us to instead of how we truly are. That is superficial and creates a false sense of relation.
It wrecks more havoc.
It actually cultivates more separation.
More isolation.
And it leaves us aching.
When you dismiss someone else's pain because of your own discomfort, you destroy the potential for a real connection that has depth and truth.
So approach pain instead with gentleness, reverence, patience, and grace.
You are so worthy of it, and so is everyone else.
And...I am with you.