There is no doubt that life presents us with unmitigated challenges on a daily basis. However, what we choose to do with these adversities makes all the difference in the world. There is absolutely nothing etched in stone that tells us how to deal with hardship, pain and loss. There is no written manual that states how one loss outweighs another loss. There is no written manual that declares that our pain is less or more that another person's pain. Still, there is no written manual on how to survive this earthly plane. There may never be getting over it. Yet, there is getting on with it.
Our true reclamation into living again is through our pain. I know that sounds incredulous! Despite the years we are all great at stuffing our pain inward, the universe has this remarkable way of providing all of us with brilliant opportunities to seize that pain.
I am not
asking anyone not to feel their sadness and happiness concurrently. I
am not asking anyone not to have expectations that are unreasonable. I
am not asking anyone not to sometimes feel discouragement and a sense
of helplessness. What can be done is for all of us to feel that mass
confusion, that disappointment and that pain and manifest it into a
more generous and loving gesture. Despite the paradoxical and harrowing
emotions we feel, we are given the opportunity to be able to reclaim
and reestablish a very deep and very loving connection to ourselves and
to others. Without this rekindling, we all deny what is deeply
fundamental to all of us: Living a more human centered way of living, a
way that touches the very springs of our soul. Living life fully and
being touched by it makes our heart sing. In the midst of surviving
everyday, doing, making everyone else's life manageable, it is easy to
forget our own life.
It is time to awaken! As our daily pulse
of living and trusting becomes more vivid, we must rally with ourselves
as opposed to rallying against ourselves. We cannot change what we will
not acknowledge. In essence we all have this inherent ability to commit
to the openness of our heart, despite our pain. Such a choice enables
us to live on purpose. Like pain, hope is boundless. We can affirm from
our soul a sense of great empowerment to embrace the pain and
participate in it without harsh criticism. Ultimately, we will feel
more integrated, more supported and more constructive. Pain will bring
us far. It will offer faith, trust and hope. More importantly, pain is
a wonderful reminder that being vulnerable lets us see that we are
still alive.
Live now. The greatest thing we have is life
and where there is life, there is hope. Have hope for the human spirit.
Never underestimate the power of it. It is okay to stand alone with
ourselves and share the sunlight as much as we share the rain. We can
share the contradictions of life as much as we can share the splendor
of it. In our worst nightmares, we can be easily enveloped by our
losses. Yet, in our sweetest dream, we can be blessed by the gifts of
them. In order for us to live we must risk the pain. I know how
difficult. As we wake up, we will gently grasp and gather the threads
of our lives with a dignified hope. In closing, trip the light
fantastic. In essence, celebrate!
