Signs of Winter on the Creek
The pain we feel for our world is a living testimony to our interconnectedness with it. If we deny this pain, we become like blocked and atrophied neurons, deprived of life's flow and weakening the larger body in which we take being. But if we let it move through us, we affirm our belonging; our collective awareness increases. We can open to the pain of the world in confidence that it can neither shatter nor isolate us, for we are not objects that can break. We are resilient patterns within a vaster web of knowing. Joanna Macy
As I prepare to bid this current cycle adieu (none to soon in the view of most) the quote above reminded me that pain is a part of living life beautifully. Macy also reminds us of this: We are resilient patterns within a vaster web of knowing. We are part of a unified field of being, each a field within fields … but I digress.
Because we tend to collapse pain with suffering (and who among wants to suffer?), all too often we deny our pain. Yet, as Macy suggests, pain is a doorway, a portal to recognizing the beauty of our interconnectedness, the unity of all life. We need not deny pain its place in order not to suffer. We need only embrace our pain and allow it to reveal its wisdom. Tears may flow. Joy is sure to follow.
As I reflected on the questions that emerged in last week’s post (click here if you missed it), I experienced a felt sense of having walked this earth before. Recently, I’ve been drawn to explore ancient civilizations and the startling discoveries rocking the world of archeology. Such unearthings are the nature of growth and change: new discoveries guide us to understand differently what we once thought of as ‘truth’.
A part of living life beautifully is opening to whatever pain new discovery may bring. Our pain is likely to include the discomfort of letting go of treasured understandings. We cling to the old at our peril. We suffer when doing so is our choice.
Although I am optimistic about the future, I hold no illusion that a new year, a new presidential administration, a vaccine will return us to the ‘normal’ that so many long for. That ‘normal’ was and is deeply flawed. Its social, economic, and environmental injustices were and are vastly out of sync with Universal law, not to mention common decency. Change we must, individually and collectively. That for me is living life beautifully.
My heart, indeed my whole being, aches for those who are facing health challenges, loss of the physical presence of loved ones, economic hardship, discrimination and other social injustices. I feel my connectedness with them, and I wonder what role I can play in bringing light to the darkness, healing to the pain. What do I need to change in me to be part of the healing, the growth, the love standing ready to be revealed?
And, my. heart, indeed my whole being, aches for our planet and the vast abuses our ‘normal’ has cast upon her. I know that my heart beats with Mother Earth. What do I need to change in me to be part of the healing, the growth, the love standing ready to be revealed?
Living life beautifully is living life aligned with our true nature, a nature that knows nothing of the ills that plague our culture. Finding our unique alignment is the key to unlocking a path to a world that works for all.
Still in Flow