Emotional pain is no freaking joke.
So what the heck does it mean to embrace pain as equally as we embrace joy?!
I actually love the word "embrace" because I LOVE hugs, for any reason... greetings, goodbyes, celebrations, grief... to all the hugs I say, "Yes, please! ...and Thank You!"
So, how can we hug our pain instead of reject it, run away from it, or hide from it (as if we could ghost our pain)?
About 10 years ago I thought my son was going to kill himself and there was nothing I could do to stop him. I remember feeling worried with so much intensity I thought I'd implode with pain. A good friend listened to me with compassion and I remember feeling grateful for her friendship. Even so, as I left her home and got in my car I was still feeling so powerless and so much dread and heart-crushing pain. Then suddenly, a rush of Spirit penetrated and filled my mind and heart and in a flash, I understood what people meant when they say, "Life is a gift."
Words do no justice to a spiritually transformative experience.
It takes SO many words to explain, so much time to illustrate what I suddenly knew in that nanosecond that transmuted all my pain into profound awe and unlimited Love. My tears of dismay turned instantly into tears of gratitude in one swift burst of Spirit. I began laughing with joy as I realized how truly blessed I was to have the gift of knowing and loving my child, no matter how long or short our time together is here on Earth.
To know another human being and love them, wow... the "normal" was no longer taken for granted... I could see and feel relationships and love in a way I can't explain beyond a miraculous, spiritual gift.
Did you know you're ability to love someone is such a gift? I didn't before this experience.
My entire body relaxed and I felt a kind of peace that's completely inexplicable.
"Blessed are those that mourn for they shall be comforted."
That was me. Comforted no matter what would transpire.
Now, I feel like all roads lead to Love, even pain roads.
(This could be your Divine Inner Union)
But we're so afraid of pain that we avoid feeling it, or we reject it and fight it, or we run run run away from it in one way or another.
When we do that, we're ultimately delaying our inevitable experience of Love. And in a way, we're diminishing and ignoring the good reasons why we're in pain... we're capable of pain because we're capable of loving and that's all any of us really want anyway, right?
Well, mostly... peace, love and fulfilment perhaps... but fulfillment (for me anyway) comes ultimately from loving connections with others, genuine intimacy.
My son never did kill himself, but I got to experience what felt like an awakening for about 3 whole days because of all that pain getting soothed by Spirit.
I imagine embracing my pain now in the same way I embrace my grandchildren when they get hurt, or my adult children when they have emotional pain. I just love them and hold them as long as they'll let me.
Of course I practice digesting my pain, my negative emotions all the way through to The Other Side... I invite Spirit into my experience on purpose to help me dig up the root cause of my pain and fill it with Light and Divine Illumination.
Each of us gets to decide what meaning will come from our own suffering and how we want to channel that energy into growth and purpose when we're ready.
Ya know, there's an ancient message from Pachamama that can gently serve and guide us through this human life experience... listen deeply to the Mother's Heart who is always there for you.
When contemplating the unconditional Love and accpetance of Pachamama, I saw myself planting Calendula seeds in my yard to say, "Thank You for the sensuous gift of this life in a body full of Spirit."
I see her bright orange blossoms now, bringing smiles to all who walk this path.
How will you choose to walk in beauty today to honor all life?
What's tugging at your soul?