"What is really happening when we feel the ache? What is it we truly want? ...
"There is no fulfillment in it. No meaning. No luminosity. No joy. No love.
'This ache is loneliness. This ache is boredom. It is the sadness we cannot shake. The anger we're trying to hide. The fear that grips us in our solitude. The insecurity, anxiety and stress tightly wound into a ball lodged in our solar plexus that demands release. We crave something authentic. And yet we reach for its opposite. A band-aid. A balm.
"What would happen if instead we simply sat and felt the ache? What would happen if we stopped running? No one has ever died of this ache. You are not alone. We all feel it. We all know. The ache is like a knock at the door. We look through the peephole and don't recognize the stranger waiting on the other side. We're frightened. What will happen if we open the door, if we let the stranger in? What we don't realize is this: The stranger is not a stranger. The stranger is us. The stranger is a part that we have shunned, cast off. The part we need to embrace in order to once again make ourselves whole.
"Consider the ache as an awakening."
From Discovering Your Soul Signature by Desai Panache
Photo of porch by Acestyles
That is one of the most beautiful blog posts ever.
ReplyDeleteMs Moon, sometimes other people say what I'm feeling better than I can.
DeleteThank you for sharing this. I needed this reminder.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I needed it too. xo
DeleteYou've said that to me, in different (your own) words. They ring inside of me, often. This will, too.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, funny how we seldom hear ourselves in any lasting way yet we can find the ring of truth in the words of others. Thank you for hearing me when I couldn't hear myself. Love.
DeleteHello, ache. You wanna come in for a drink?
ReplyDeleteDenise, sounds like a good plan!
DeleteMy Zen teacher used to say very similar things: Don't be afraid of pain -- just feel it, be aware of it, try not to push it away or deny it. Easier said than done, of course, but ultimately a more realistic acknowledgement of our lives.
ReplyDeleteSteve, what choice do we have but to make peace with it, I suppose.
DeleteThis rings so true. I forget it and need reminding. My restless mind wants to escape and too often I let it escape to things that are not one tenth as rich as what's there for me, right in front of me, to know. Thank you for this reminder.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, i know what you mean. A little distraction can be a good thing, though. Especially since the mind always brings us back to what we have not yet resolved. xo
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