Dearest Readers,
Lately I’ve been blogging a lot about how we can reconcile the difficult, terrifying and atrocious things that happen in the world. As you’ve probably gathered, acceptance is one of the tools that I advocate. Using what I call The Spiritual Solution, or seeing the world from a Higher Perspective, is another.
Yesterday, after reading a short story about a young Irish girl who goes to live with her aunt and uncle for the summer, I remembered one more: balling your eyes out.
I’m not sure if the story moved me so deeply because it was about fathers and daughters or because it took place in Ireland, where I used to live, or because it was about running, which I used to do avidly as a young girl, or whether it was all of these things combined, but I got to the end and friggin’ lost it.
It occurred to me as I wept into the cloth napkin I was holding and tried to finish the bite of salad I’d just taken (I happened to be eating my lunch while reading the story) that I was also crying for the Haitians, the Chileans, my friend with metastasic cancer, and for all the suffering that goes on in the world every single day.
It felt good. To grieve. To feel. It’s tempting to numb out in the face of such deep pain because we’re essentially powerless to change what has happened in any given situation. Our only power lies in our response.
If our response is to take action to make changes in our own lives or support the changes in the lives of others it can sure help to have a good ol’ cry before we begin.
Inspiring Message of the Day: When was the last time I really felt the grief that is created in me through the world’s suffering? I will find a way to feel my feelings deeply so that I can move forward. I will shed a layer of sorrow to make room for hope.
