Connections
We are all connected on some level, and in some mystical cosmic way....(yes, I'm running the risk of sounding a little too "new-agey" here, but hey, it's how I'm wired). We are all basically the same at the core....in our humanness, our vulnerabilities, hopes, fears, and joys. These make us one. In this season of Spring, with all it's renewal and rebirth, I'd like to focus on our interconnectedness. It's more then we realize.
One year ago I was knee-deep in isolation and fear. I felt connected to NOTHING, NO THING, and certainly NO ONE, not even my children, and it pains me to write that. But in the process of losing myself over fourteen years I had allowed myself to disconnect from even that which was intrinsically connected to me. I lost my humanity in that I did not feel a kinship with any other human being. It was a self-imposed hell born out of forgetting my true identity. It happens. What I didn't realize was that all I had to do was look up and out from my little world at the bigger one around me. I won't rehash the whys and wherefores, I have already written about that here when I first started this blog last year, but I will say it was an extremely emotional day when I actually saw myself as part of a whole again! It brought me to my knees, and I've decided to stay there in gratitude for the healing I experienced. Spring in all it's symbolism was not lost on me last year. No, it smacked me upside the head instead!
Have you ever been to a party or any other kind of event where you felt entirely out of place? We all have. Do you recall a time when you could feel yourself shrink, literally shrink in significance when you were in a crowd? It's a universal dis-ease, this detachment thing we do when we're not in touch with our heart's center, our core, our soft underbelly. I understand introverts and many times I admire them and their restraint from adding to the noisy chaos of this world! But what I'm talking about here has nothing to do with people who choose to withdraw, the ones who choose to lead quiet lives (again, I admire you), what I want to address is the disconnect that happens when we refuse to feel the unseen cord that binds us all together. For instance.....
The Homeless Man/Woman on the street, reeking and muttering to themselves. The Single Mother shouting at her children in the grocery store. The Angry Road Rage Prone Driver. The Bubble Headed Teenager at the mall. The Protestor. The Republican. The Democrat. The Atheist. The Italian Fisherman in his little boat off the coast of Naples. The Women Of Darfur (remember Darfur?). The Girl Sold Into The Sex Industry In Thailand. The Small Town Gossip. The Transgendered. The Corrupt Politician. The Woman With Too Much Eyeliner On and Clothes Two Sizes Too Small. The Vet. The Shell Shocked. The Red-Headed Knock-out. The Lost. The Forgotten. The Children of Alcoholics. The Thief. The Monk. The Queen of England. The Drug Addict. The Millionaire. The Little Blue Haired Old Lady That Drives Too Slow. The Frightened Dark Eyed Muslim In Her Burka. The AIDS Patient. The Actress. The Oil Field Worker. The Janitor. Your Neighbor.
Random? Far fetched? Can't relate? We're all connected. If I am honest with myself I can see a part of me in every one of these people. Every one, at one time or another. There is more then one way to see yourself in other people, if not literally, then certainly symbolically. There is something in us that understands. And if any of these people anger you, or make you feel that in no way would you ever be connected to them....then I would ever so gently suggest you take a second look and see if there isn't on some level, deep within you, a tiny moment when you have felt like one of these, done something you weren't proud of, or maybe just thought about doing something similar. My point is this....it wasn't until I learned to embrace that which makes us different, that I was able to open my heart to living a whole life again. This was my way out of pain and isolation, but it may not be your path or desire, and that's okay. But you see, today I had an Aha! moment. As I sat outside in the warm sunshine, profoundly glad for the beautiful day we were having, I felt my heart expand in my chest. Unbidden, my heart opened to accept and embrace all of humanity, with all it's imperfections. I felt larger then my mere body encased in 118 pounds of flesh and blood. I felt a part of all that lives and moves and breathes. My heart was vibrating with love for everyone I saw. I can't explain this moment I had. I can't tell you why this is even important to write about, but write I must, and here it is for what it's worth. This may be a blog entry that won't get as many hits today, or it won't be read past the first paragraph (when it starts to get "new-agey"), but write I must....and this is the musing of my heart today.
Sit in nature for a while this week. Please. Somehow take a a few moments to connect to the sun, the air, the hum of life going on around you. Think of the fisherman in his little boat off the coast of Naples and for a moment see if you can't connect your heart to his as an experiment. See if you don't feel a broadening, an opening to the unseen....and it's in the unseen places where the answers are held, not hid, but held....waiting for us to connect to them. Connect to the humanity that surrounds us. You're not alone. We Are One. How does that feel?
Maybe ponder this question. Or not.
Until next time....blessings upon your heart
Cindy
One year ago I was knee-deep in isolation and fear. I felt connected to NOTHING, NO THING, and certainly NO ONE, not even my children, and it pains me to write that. But in the process of losing myself over fourteen years I had allowed myself to disconnect from even that which was intrinsically connected to me. I lost my humanity in that I did not feel a kinship with any other human being. It was a self-imposed hell born out of forgetting my true identity. It happens. What I didn't realize was that all I had to do was look up and out from my little world at the bigger one around me. I won't rehash the whys and wherefores, I have already written about that here when I first started this blog last year, but I will say it was an extremely emotional day when I actually saw myself as part of a whole again! It brought me to my knees, and I've decided to stay there in gratitude for the healing I experienced. Spring in all it's symbolism was not lost on me last year. No, it smacked me upside the head instead!
Have you ever been to a party or any other kind of event where you felt entirely out of place? We all have. Do you recall a time when you could feel yourself shrink, literally shrink in significance when you were in a crowd? It's a universal dis-ease, this detachment thing we do when we're not in touch with our heart's center, our core, our soft underbelly. I understand introverts and many times I admire them and their restraint from adding to the noisy chaos of this world! But what I'm talking about here has nothing to do with people who choose to withdraw, the ones who choose to lead quiet lives (again, I admire you), what I want to address is the disconnect that happens when we refuse to feel the unseen cord that binds us all together. For instance.....
The Homeless Man/Woman on the street, reeking and muttering to themselves. The Single Mother shouting at her children in the grocery store. The Angry Road Rage Prone Driver. The Bubble Headed Teenager at the mall. The Protestor. The Republican. The Democrat. The Atheist. The Italian Fisherman in his little boat off the coast of Naples. The Women Of Darfur (remember Darfur?). The Girl Sold Into The Sex Industry In Thailand. The Small Town Gossip. The Transgendered. The Corrupt Politician. The Woman With Too Much Eyeliner On and Clothes Two Sizes Too Small. The Vet. The Shell Shocked. The Red-Headed Knock-out. The Lost. The Forgotten. The Children of Alcoholics. The Thief. The Monk. The Queen of England. The Drug Addict. The Millionaire. The Little Blue Haired Old Lady That Drives Too Slow. The Frightened Dark Eyed Muslim In Her Burka. The AIDS Patient. The Actress. The Oil Field Worker. The Janitor. Your Neighbor.
Random? Far fetched? Can't relate? We're all connected. If I am honest with myself I can see a part of me in every one of these people. Every one, at one time or another. There is more then one way to see yourself in other people, if not literally, then certainly symbolically. There is something in us that understands. And if any of these people anger you, or make you feel that in no way would you ever be connected to them....then I would ever so gently suggest you take a second look and see if there isn't on some level, deep within you, a tiny moment when you have felt like one of these, done something you weren't proud of, or maybe just thought about doing something similar. My point is this....it wasn't until I learned to embrace that which makes us different, that I was able to open my heart to living a whole life again. This was my way out of pain and isolation, but it may not be your path or desire, and that's okay. But you see, today I had an Aha! moment. As I sat outside in the warm sunshine, profoundly glad for the beautiful day we were having, I felt my heart expand in my chest. Unbidden, my heart opened to accept and embrace all of humanity, with all it's imperfections. I felt larger then my mere body encased in 118 pounds of flesh and blood. I felt a part of all that lives and moves and breathes. My heart was vibrating with love for everyone I saw. I can't explain this moment I had. I can't tell you why this is even important to write about, but write I must, and here it is for what it's worth. This may be a blog entry that won't get as many hits today, or it won't be read past the first paragraph (when it starts to get "new-agey"), but write I must....and this is the musing of my heart today.
Sit in nature for a while this week. Please. Somehow take a a few moments to connect to the sun, the air, the hum of life going on around you. Think of the fisherman in his little boat off the coast of Naples and for a moment see if you can't connect your heart to his as an experiment. See if you don't feel a broadening, an opening to the unseen....and it's in the unseen places where the answers are held, not hid, but held....waiting for us to connect to them. Connect to the humanity that surrounds us. You're not alone. We Are One. How does that feel?
Maybe ponder this question. Or not.
Until next time....blessings upon your heart
Cindy
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