On being the light + finding ourselves in the pain
It has been difficult to find the words this week...
I know if you're reading this, you feel the same way.
There's so much love in these hearts - spilling out and over - incapable of registering the evil we have just witnessed unfolding in the Middle East & the repercussions happening worldwide.
I've taken space in the pain, the confusion and the complexity of knowing there is no side here to choose.
We're all human.
We each deserve to live these lives we've been given.
Read: There is no one life more valuable than another.
These are fundamental, unarguable truths here.
If you are a stand for humanity, for your own family, for those your work in the world is for,
You also understand this looks like doing the inner work of learning how to:
Put down our grievances
Address the violence within - that which we hold against ourselves & others
Hold with the unwavering belief that a world where unthinkable & hate-fueled atrocities no longer exists (even if that feels impossible to logically consider)
Turn to face & fully witness our grief, our suffering and our own deeply held prejudices
If not *this work* than what are we doing here?
In no way am I oversimplifying what is unfolding within collective humanity, and more specifically in the Middle East, at the moment.
I am, however, rooting myself in what I am personally responsible for.
I am committing myself to being and bringing the light to face the darkness head on.
There is no doubt that we are stronger together in love than we are apart...
May compassion be the window to our collective healing, harmony & surrender our souls are here to experience.
I read a poem before falling asleep the other night that stayed with me and I saved it to share with you on this Sacred Sunday:
Like That by Mark Nepo
I can't take away
your pain or save you
from your life.
But holding the one
who is suffering is the
only raft we have.
Putting your palm on
the surface of a lake, you
can feel the entire lake.
Compassion is like that.
.......
"Holding the one who is suffering is the only raft we have."
Holding with you, dear one.
Here are a few shares that have served me deeply in these last few days:
My dear friend Cathy Heller's share "Be the Rooster"
Carlos Whittaker's post on focusing on the light in the dark
Mark Nepo's heart-felt response
The humanitarian organization I am supporting
We each and all have a different way of navigating trauma, tragedy and that which we cannot understand.
Words, reflection & creating space for coming together is mine.
Sending you boundless & unwavering love across the miles,
xo
Amber