You Are Not Alone

“No, it’s not just you. You are not alone”.

There’s no story that has not been told or lived. There are teaching stories from various traditions that span thousands of years speaking to the joys and sorrows of life and how others have endured those circumstances.

Yet, when pain arises in our lives, it is personal. When we believe that our suffering is only personal we may remain feeling persecuted by events over which we feel powerless. When we identify too strongly with only the “world out there” we can feel dislocated and disconnected from our heart, mind, and body. A “ghost in a shell” as a friend calls it.

Often times we are at odds with what I call our ‘inner community”: those aspects of our wholeness that have been rejected, left behind, abandoned, disowned. These parts are left behind as we attempt to belong and stay safe.

Belonging and safety are primary needs. When we live our lives tamping down parts of our “inner community” it becomes more challenging to find or create safe and sane outer connections. It perpetuates the lie of separation which eventually is experienced as an estrangement from ourselves.

Exploring how we embody our personal story and how that intersects with the story of the world, offers a gateway for both personal and collective healing. It reveals to us our “place in the family of things”. It acts to break our trance of isolation.

We need the reminder over and over that our commitment to an awakened heart, mind, and body connects us simultaneously to all of life. If we are all connected, then our inner work is an offering to something larger than ourselves. It may not be the initial reason to seek support, but with time it becomes obvious that we are indeed never alone in our suffering.

What I know of myself and with those whom I have the privilege to work, it comes down to one breath, one gesture, and each moment of genuine connection that we and the world are restored.