fight for your freedom
Across America, we will fill our holiday weekend with little league games, a bike ride or two, yard work, parades, and BBQs. It’s a weekend that welcomes mindfulness to help us simultaneously hold space for sorrow and gratitude as we appreciate those who fought for freedom and reflect on how we wish to live.
Over the last several decades, we have witnessed tremendous technological advances, medical innovations, and wealth creation (albeit concentrated) that have shaped how we live; however, the loss of control, chaos, uncertainty, and conflict has created unprecedented suffering.
More people died from overdoses last year than were lost fighting in Vietnam. The prevalence of auto-immune disease is rapidly growing, the male suicide rate is rising, gambling addiction is metastasizing, established freedoms are threatened, and I don’t think Mother Nature is happy with us.
I’ll pause here because it’s a lot and only scratches the surface.
We are not living well.
Our stress and trauma are breaking us.
I realize this is a heavy topic, but we can be honest with ourselves. We break, chip, crack, and crumble. Sometimes our fractures are physical; other times, emotional. They can be recent or date back to our childhoods, and they don’t make us less than; they make us wonderfully human.
But it’s impossible to soothe what’s hurting when we reject reality, numb our pain, or walk around with open wounds. We can’t transform into golden symbols of kintsugi resilience without accepting that we break.
“The wound is where the light enters you” – Rumi.
Healing is messy, non-linear, and requires patience because, at any given moment, it might not feel like we’re getting better. However, when we’re willing to make almost invisible ripples after ripples, lay brick by brick, and breathe each breath slowly, things begin to transform.
During my healing journey, I discovered that medicine comes in many forms, from acupuncture, surgery, community, therapy, food, music, movement, and mindfulness. But none of these worked if I wasn’t willing to look in the mirror, accept that I was hurting, and do something healthy.
Things may seem grim, but, like our three springer spaniels, I’m eagerly optimistic – I have faith in us. We can live better, heal, and do hard things when we slow down, just a bit, practice mindfulness, and fight for the freedom to live differently.
I invite you to join our live meditation on Monday at 8 am Eastern and do something that will help you honor your health and freedom.
Until next week, have fun storming the castle.
Michael
p.s., Tomorrow I will be sharing a new series with you called: 100 Everyday Moments to help bring awareness to our moments between our moments. If you would like to share one of your everyday moments, please let me know, and I’ll include it in our list of 100.
