if you would know
the secret to healing
it is this:
the answer
lies not
in despair.
Tag: healing
it is what it is.
Because it is.
That’s why.
This is the life you were given.
It has meaning simply because it exists.
Don’t run from it.
Face it.
Face the ugly parts,
the beautiful parts,
and especially the parts
that are beautiful and ugly at the same time.
Don’t try to reason with it.
Life does what it wants.
It won’t ask for your opinion,
and worrying won’t alter its course.
Life chooses us.
Our own choice lies in response, not in circumstance.
There is comfort in realizing you don’t have to orchestrate it all.
Given time, most things take care of themselves.
When we feel we have been denied something,
we miss what we have been given.
Honor:
the wound, not the victimhood;
the emotions, not the drama;
the pain, not the resistance to it.
Your coordinates in time and space are merely a starting point.
More important than what you make of it
is how you allow it to move you;
what you allow to bridge the gap
between form and possibility.
what if
what if
pain isn’t always wrong
tired isn’t always bad
boredom isn’t wasted time
what if
life isn’t about
feeling good
but about
finding meaning
what if
you create meaning
simply by
accepting discomfort
what if
no longer expecting
to feel good
is strangely liberating
what if
you can just rest
knowing that
who you are
where you are
exactly how you are
is just right.
what comes alive for you
What comes to life
at your touch
What meets your eyes
and looks back?
In what do you breathe
the breath of life
In whom do you place
your faith?
Who looks at you
and sees a hero
Which winds kiss
your face?
What seals your hands
together in prayer
What forces buckle
your knees?
When and where
do you bow your head
Where do you rest
when you’re weary?
Whose ears can you trust
to listen
Whose words do you take
for truth?
Whose smiles are
the sun to you
Whose voice
a lifelong echo?
A hint: instead of answers
seek wonder.
intention
good news
for the hopeless:
to set an intention
means to plan
for hope
even if
especially if
you don’t feel it yet;
to set an intention
means to plan
for faith
not because you feel it
but because you dare;
intention
comes from the Latin
for stretch
& set
is an old word
for sit;
so
to set an intention
is to sit with yourself
no matter how hopeless
burned out
weary
even faithless
you feel.
& as you sit with yourself
& all of your pain
in time you may find
your spirit moves
stretches
reaches
through it
in a way that can only
be described as
miraculous.
so sit with yourself
dear one
& reach.
love note to an empath
your ability to feel—
that is your super power.
feel so deeply
that it breaks you
yet against all odds
you withstand the pressure
& inexplicably
remain whole.
maybe it’s your job to be broken
so you can teach others
how to be broken
& still shine anyway.
the cure
if you feel sick
you probably need to create something.
(illness
=
blocked creative
energy
?)
the cure:
allow yourself to be sick for a while
& see what comes up.
reason
maybe it’s not so much that everything happens for a reason
but that you can make a reason out of everything that happens.
Knowing
“Master,” said the student, “I come to you with a troubled mind.”
“Good,” replied the Master, a calm smile on her face.
The student continued. “I am suffering,” she said. “My mind just doesn’t seem to work. I can’t remember things properly. I can’t think things through.”
“Good,” said the Master, nodding her head.
Confused, the student nevertheless continued. “It’s not just my mental performance,” she said. “I can’t seem to think happy thoughts. Or if I do, it requires a lot of effort. Most of the time, I am terribly sad. Sometimes I think about very frightening things.”
“Good,” said the Master, her smile broadening.
The student gave her Master a wounded look. “Master,” she said, “I am opening my heart to you. These things have been troubling me for some time. I am suffering terribly. Why do you only smile and say ‘Good’?”
The Master regarded her student with clear, steady eyes. “Because,” she replied, “Relying on your mind, you have grown weak. It is my hope that with the dysfunction of your mind, you will grow strong again.”
“How can that be possible?” exclaimed the frustrated student.
The Master tapped the center of her chest. Automatically, the student followed suit.
“Here,” said the Master. “Here is the source of strength you have forgotten. Here is what you need to survive.”
“But I can’t think with that! How will I survive?”
“You don’t need to think. You don’t even need to feel. It is beyond thought and emotion. You simply have to Know.”
“And how will I…know?”
“Take a deep breath.” The student did, and her Master nodded. “Feel it. Be still. This is your Knowing. You can’t describe it. There are no words for it. But in your Knowing lies your power. And you will find that with your Knowing, you will move without needing to think at all.”
The student took a deep, still breath, and smiled.
beyond happiness
maybe it’s a relief to be unhappy
because trying to be happy all the time is exhausting.
maybe there’s a place beyond happiness and unhappiness.
not between.
not in the middle.
BEYOND.
BEYOND = accepting both happiness and unhappiness.
they are part of every day.
expect them.
you don’t have to welcome them.
you don’t have to be glad to see your old friend unhappiness.
but if you’re upset, be upset.
if you need to cry, cry.
maybe if you allow them to be there
your tears will dissolve.
remember, your tears won’t dissolve into happiness.
don’t fall into that trap—
doing your spiritual work and still waiting for perfect happiness.
my hope for you is that you come to a place where you’re unhappy—
and THAT’S OKAY.
you haven’t done anything wrong
unless being human is wrong.
do not mistake peace for happiness.
peace is not a utopian state of ecstasy, pleasure or even comfort.
peace “goes beyond understanding.”
i can tell you this much—you know it when you feel it.
your heart settles
and your body is lighter.
gravity is less of a burden.
and even if things aren’t good, they’re still alright.
no matter what, my hope for you
is that you find a place inside yourself
BEYOND yourself
where you can finally rest.
face to face with the sky 