Hard Times

My dad used to say that we (his children) didn’t know what hard times were, that we didn’t know how tough things could be.

Well, he may have been correct. I didn’t have any idea what it was like to live in the poverty in which he grew up. And, maybe the “ease” I experienced in our home did not toughen me enough… But, friends, these feel like truly HARD times.

There are days and nights when I just need a break. I need my neighbors to NOT have a party outside my window. And, I’m grateful they are not having the party over my head any more.

There are days and nights when I just need to stop thinking, to stop making a decision, to stop measuring my every word and gesture. There are days and nights when I just need to BE… And, here, in the Big Apple, that is not an easy thing to do. When I need the comfort of nature and the blessing of silence in the City that never sleeps, what can I do?

 Friends who are also empaths and healers and nurturers – I’ve magnetized a generous network of such friends and they are…WE are shepherding each other through this time of deep transformation.

 Sometimes it is so hard to remember that WE ALL are in this period of transformation together. Take a step back. Or, even better, just sit still. No steps forwards or backwards or even sideways. Don’t pick up the electronic device. Don’t check FB or the news or even a love-filled blog.

 Just sit. Just stand. Feel how Mother Earth is holding me. She’s not releasing me, not yet. That means there is something here for me to do yet. There is some reason I’m still experiencing, witnessing, guiding, breathing through this life.

 Can I just breathe through the moment to the next moment. My qigong teacher says: “When you think you need to release the pose, take three more full breaths: in … and out. Then see if you still need to release the pose.”

 So, don’t release the pose, the commitment, the witnessing, the loving until you’ve taken those three deep breaths – and then maybe three more…and three more for good measure.

 And know: You are loved. You are lovable. You ARE Love.

 Little intimate lessons in transforming hearts.