Books made of paper…and intention

It’s always amazing to encounter people who do not read.

I cannot imagine going a day without reading.

Everybody has their way of coping with life’s ups and downs, mine is books. I look at the library of spiritual and metaphysical texts I have built over the past few years and I see life rafts. Those books and the magic contained within their pages were key to my survival the past few years. They kept me going when I wanted to give up. They helped me understand the nature of how things are. When you know how things are and why, it is a lot easier to accept what life dishes out.

My iPod has a Kindle app on it. Technology is great and I love that I can have several books with me at a time this way, but I will always love a book with pages made of paper. It’s a great feeling to hold a book in my hands. There are books that are so filled with goodness that just having them around raises the energy level of the room they are in.

I’m not sure what it is about the tactile sensation from paper that is so compelling for me, but I have always loved paper and a good writing instrument. Is it because it is trees? I love trees so much. Trees help this world clear its negative energy. Combine the goodness of trees with a person’s beautiful thoughts and you have books.

Just as I have always loved books, I have always had a paper journal. I carry a journal with me wherever I go. There is something magical about a person’s thoughts put down on paper. The power of the writer’s intention is transferred to the paper when people write. I truly believe this. That is why it is helpful to have  certain kinds of books around.

Doreen Virtue has a book called Divine Magic in which she states that it is reported that having a copy of the Kybalion around can bring good fortune to a person whether they read the book or not. In my opinion, the Bible, the Buddhist Sutras, and so many other books of wisdom, ancient and contemporary, belong to that category. I’m fortunate to have many of those books in my tangible library. I have the Kybalion on my iPod, I wonder if that counts…

Words. If I learned anything in law school, it was respect for the power of the word. Lawyers know it, not everyone else does. That’s why lawyers are paid so well. And they deserve it. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Once you know the power of words, you understand the power of thought. Because what are words, but someone’s thoughts expressed symbolically?

I have a lot of gratitude for people who share themselves through writing. We all have something valuable to contribute and every one of us is capable of helping someone by sharing wisdom and insight we have gained through experience.

Thank you to all the writers in the world…and editors…and publishers…and readers.

Forgiveness

This morning I was thinking about how I have learned less about the importance of forgiveness from needing to forgive the mistakes of others than I have from needing it for myself and not knowing if I have it.

Most people can likely relate to what I’m saying, but I don’t know how many have experienced it to the degree I have in the past few years. Everybody has hurt somebody and sometimes we can really feel the weight of our decisions. In my quest to know myself and my relationship to the thing most people call God, people have been hurt. Some of them (my decisions) have been huge and unskillfully made. It saddens me sometimes when I see the effects of my mistakes.

In the past few years I have separated from every person I have ever been close to. Intentionally and unintentionally. It has been the most painful process and series of life lessons I have ever been through, but it needed to happen. Many lessons were learned about relationships and how the universe works. Right now I’m very cautiously considering adding new friends to my life and reestablishing some older connections.

I feel like I can do this now because I am interacting with people again through work and it feels like I am releasing bad karma and building up good. Spending too much time alone is not healthy long-term. Not for me anyway. It automatically encourages too much thinking of oneself. And life is about the other, I am convinced of it.

This is the lesson I have learned over the past couple of years of desolate solitude: My life isn’t about me. My life is about my interaction with the rest of reality. Even when I am alone for long periods of time, I cannot escape the fact that my thoughts determine many things, the impact of which is felt not just by me, but everyone I encounter, however briefly. It is absolutely my duty to cultivate a heart of compassion and forgiveness. We all deserve to be treated with respect, understanding and acceptance. And because we all deserve it, cultivating these qualities in myself is the highest calling to which I can aspire in this lifetime.

This is why I am living life the way I have chosen. Being present and aware is the only way to learn the lessons. Whatever life hands me, my  job is to experience it, to learn from that experience, and with that knowledge, make the world a more loving place.

The really wonderful moments of my life often include these moments of insight. As the answers come to me and I am able to put them into practice, I experience moments of true peace and joy. No external thing can produce, describe or compare to this feeling.

I am doing my best to keep it real, which for me means staying aware, understanding myself and my motivations, and honoring the thing that unites us all. I am hoping that having come quite a distance in the process of holding myself accountable for my experience, I am able to have compassion for those who are still not quite able to. Life lessons come at a high price and I don’t blame anyone for being afraid of going there. Ultimately, my hope is that the quality of my relationships going forward will be much higher than it has been in the past.

The only person I will ever really need to forgive is me. Everyone is doing their best. Anyone I perceive as having harmed me in some way is no exception to that. There is nothing to forgive when you really think about it.

As for me, I have made a lot of mistakes, big ones. But I have never really held a desire to intentionally hurt anyone. My life has been way more about wanting to help than hurt. But I’m human and I have made decisions that have harmed others. I wish to be forgiven for those, especially those I have thus far been unable to correct. It’s never too late and I keep my mind and heart open to opportunities that will lead to neutralizing any negative effects of my actions and to spiritual reconciliation with anyone I have ever harmed. It’s not necessary to have all of these people become a part of my day-to-day life again, but it is necessary for the spiritual connections I have to be of the clearest, highest and most positive frequency.

I have been a bit uninspired to write lately. Fatigue from work combined with thinking hard about people and human nature left me more introspective than expressive for a while. Such are the cycles of life. Things have opened for the moment and there are things to share. This moment will give way to the next, which may again be a moment of contemplation and reflection with little expression. Both are equally valuable.

I have much gratitude for what I have gained through life’s difficulties. Insight is an amazing gift. Seeing more, seeing a grander picture. The world is so much bigger and richer coming from the perspective of awareness.

All the things I went looking for, unconditional love, acceptance, kindness, understanding, and compassion, I found them. Inside.

I am blessed.

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” ~Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”  ~Maya Angelou

“I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go ’round and ’round, I really love to watch them roll. No longer riding on the merry-go-round, I just had to let it go.” ~John Lennon

Words of wisdom

Spiritual practices can be so simple and yet many people, myself included at times, insist on complicating them. What are we really called to do other than have a grateful heart and show compassion and forgiveness to our fellow humans? Not much. After that, everything else is just details.

I am a collector of wisdom. One of the ways I do it is by collecting quotes. Quotes from great literature, philosophy, history, religion, art and science. Collecting bits of wisdom left to us by amazing enlightened thinkers is one of the most solid spiritual practices I have ever done. Because every time I read someone’s gentle thoughts on love, forgiveness, kindness, compassion or gratitude, I am reminded of my purpose and strengthened in my resolve to realize it.

Connecting with someone through their words is connecting with their mind. And when we connect with the mind of another, we connect with the One Mind.

It’s amazing when you think about it. Time and space dissolve when we truly understand someone’s words (thoughts).

The quote that started me thinking about all of this:

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.” ~Meister Eckhart

That’s why it’s important to express ourselves. No matter how uncomfortable it might feel to make yourself vulnerable, you can never predict who might be helped or inspired by what you have to say.

I hope more people start posting blogs.

Life is really beautiful.

Pain

Pain is humbling. I have rheumatoid arthritis and while most days pain levels are tolerable, I have days, probably an average of once a week, where pain is disruptive to my life. Today was one of those days.

I woke up at about 2 a.m. with severe pain in my right leg, whichever is that big joint that connects the leg to the body. I took something, but it was still really painful when I woke up for work and I was having a hard time walking. I went to work and ultimately even sitting was pretty painful, so I came home early and took a nap.

Part of the reason I left work was trying to walk without a limp was really difficult and the idea of limping in front of people is humiliating to me.

This got me to thinking about what messages I am telling myself about this thing I have been living with all these years. I wouldn’t feel humiliated if I didn’t have some pretty strong beliefs about what having a chronic, painful illness says about me. I almost never talk to anyone other than my closest family and friends about this aspect of my health. Part of the reason is I don’t want to dwell on it to the point of identifying with it too much.

I lean toward the belief that illness is mostly mental and that most afflictions are physical manifestations of our thoughts and beliefs.

Shifting gears, lately I have been thinking a lot about forgiveness. This might tie into the arthritis pain issue actually.

Some time ago when my belief systems began to shift dramatically, I began to know that a main purpose in life is to teach people about the importance of forgiveness, of oneself and others. It’s crucial to the ideal of peace that we find a way to do this.

I have noticed a pattern in my life. It seems I find myself in physical pain during the times when I am judging myself most harshly. I’ve come a long way in the past few years, but I still have moments of being absolutely brutal on myself. I expect perfection and I’m constantly disappointed. At least I notice it more quickly now so I can stop myself.

The other aspect of the pattern is that the harder I judge myself, the more I judge others. It’s a terrible cycle and I look forward to the day when I don’t fall into it as often. When I am judging others, people annoy me. I think I still have a lot of patience in those situations, but I can definitely feel how much effort it takes. I am happiest when I am easily able to see the good in people above all else.

Physically, I already feel better. A little bit of rest and reflection was needed, that’s all.

This means tomorrow will be a great day, for which I am very grateful.

Perfectionism is a robber of joy, a thief of peace. Do not give in to it.

 

 

 

Stormy weather

Right up front I am going to admit that this blog is an emotionally charged reaction to something that just happened. It could become rambling and even irrational if I’m not careful.

I had a friend I was in love with. It’s been a little over a year since I last saw him and that’s been weird…though I did promise him I would not let go and I guess I haven’t. This has tormented me over the past year I will admit. When someone in one week’s time, with no discernible provocation, goes from saying he can’t wait to see you to not wanting to see you ever again, it raises questions. Much like what I went through during the breakup of my last serious relationship, I was left with a lot of questions to which no answer would ever be forthcoming from the other person. It’s a difficult thing to work through.

As I have written previously, there is someone at my office who interests me. He’s smart, seems to have a good sense of humor, is gentle and positive. And he’s cute. He’s a sort of nerdy, video gamer sort. I don’t actually know if or how much he plays video games, he just seems very techie.

Today I started thinking about my old friend and how he didn’t respond to the last e-mail I sent to him. He’s been drifting away for this whole past year, so that’s bound to happen. I text or e-mail him once in a while just to maintain the connection because I want this person in my life even if it is by the thinnest spiritual tether.

I was asking the angels earlier if it is time to give up on my friend and move on, maybe find out more about the guy at work. I think he and I could also be good friends. To get an answer to my question, I decided to send a text to my old friend and say hi, just make the connection, see what happens. I realized he might not respond which would be disappointing, but I could survive. Or he could respond and I would get that jolt of lovesick puppy fever again. I didn’t consider that is also possible he would respond, but in a way that is painful to accept.

That’s what happened. I sent him a text message saying hello and asking how he is doing. The response I got was of the most generic, sounded like he was responding to fan mail variety. It was as if he had erased my number from his phone and now didn’t know who the text was from. Which is totally possible I suppose.

So, that hurt. I’m okay now, but I had a few intensely painful moments a little while ago.

Giving up is not always easy. It might be part of my astrological make up, but giving up feels like defeat and I don’t like it. However, in this case, I feel like the events as they unfolded contained a pretty clear message from the angels. It’s time to bless this one and let him go. And that is what I am going to do. I take a lot of lovely memories with me, so it’s okay. I wish for all his dreams to come true. And I wish I could keep my promise to not let go, but I can’t.

So here I am. Free. My life is falling into place again. I am meeting new people…and some of them are adorable.

All is well in my world.

Money…the root of all evil?

Recently I read something that caused me to think about money. Not in the same ways I was there for a while, not with worry and fear, just wondering about poverty and wealth and whether one is more noble than the other. As much as I understand that money is a means to an end and of itself is neutral, I can’t help wondering why then is money such a hot topic for most people. Money is more emotionally charged than sex. It can sometimes break up a marriage faster than issues about sex, for sure.

I learn best by applying the rules of the universe to my situations. It’s also how I learned to think in law school. Apply the rules to the facts to figure out what is going on and what to do about it. The thing I like best about the rules of the universe is they are not arbitrary. Unlike man-made law, which often makes no sense at all, the laws of the universe are…well, universal. Cause and effect.

The book that started me thinking about all of this was addressing ambition and the ego, equating worth with material possessions. There seems to be a lot of this going on in America right now, so maybe that’s why it struck me.

“Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” –Matthew 19:24

What did Jesus mean when he made that statement?

There is another passage in Matthew that comes to mind:

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” –Matthew 6:24

Both of these passages suggest that wealth, the accumulation of material possessions, is at best a slippery spiritual slope and at worst, the path to hell.

Just for the record, I do not believe in hell in the classical Christian sense as a place where souls are sent to spend eternity in torment as punishment for mistakes made while in the body. I recognize hell as more of a metaphor for the torment we inflict on ourselves by living ego-driven lives.

Since wealth is a relative concept, I wonder how I would respond if Jesus (in whatever form he would take) asked me to give everything I have to the truly poor and join him in spreading the gospel, the message of unconditional love. Would I do it? Would any of the people I admire do it? Louise Hay, Marianne Williamson, Oprah, Wayne Dyer. What do you think? These people have a lot more money than I do and I’m not even sure what my answer would be. And it’s not because I am financially comfortable. I’m still way too close to the edge for my liking.

Even the concept of being on the edge financially is relative. I know there are millions of people on this earth worse off than I am. And when one considers all the various levels of materialism, poverty itself is more of a concept or a state of mind than a reality for anyone. Who hasn’t known someone who complains about being poor when they have much more than most people? We all do it to some degree.

There is one more passage from the Bible that comes to mind:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” –Matthew 5:3

The notation for this passage interpreted poor in spirit as: Those who are not spiritually arrogant.

I have had to think hard to understand the passage about being poor in spirit. I don’t think it’s talking about people of weak faith. I think–and I could be wrong–that the passage suggests that we should have the heart of a poor person. Poverty is humbling. Poor people have to depend on others for even their most basic needs sometimes. It is equivalent to being an infant or having a crippling disability. In those cases there is total dependence. I think to be poor in spirit is to rely totally on God as the Source of everything good and to accept humbly and graciously the blessings we are given. Think of how it feels to be truly grateful for what you have. For me, those moments are as close to the kingdom of heaven as I have ever experienced.

At the end of the day it’s not money that is evil, it is what people are willing to do to accumulate and keep it that defines a person. There are a lot of rich people whose goodness is not diminished by what they have. I would like to believe that, like me, they wouldn’t necessarily be eager to give up everything and live a life of material poverty, but if they were called to do so, would do it with as much grace as possible.

Maybe it’s because I have so few possessions now, but there is a part of me that understands the reason monks and nuns take vows of poverty. Not having things is very liberating on many levels. The energy we expend caring for our stuff can be used for the good of the world.

Here’s what I’m thinking about for myself–getting rid of all my debt as quickly as possible and maybe working at a simple job that doesn’t require much from me and earning just enough to comfortably meet my expenses with a little left over to put in a savings account. If more than that comes I will deal with it as it happens, but I am not interested in chasing a lifestyle to the point where that is all I’m doing, trying to earn the money to acquire and maintain things.

Money lessons come the hard way for many people. That has certainly been true for me. The way I have simplified it is to recognize that money is nothing more than a representation of the energy from which it comes. It’s great to welcome it coming from the light, but not to go to the dark side in pursuit of it.

“Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” ~Rumi

“To know you have enough is to be rich.” ~Tao te ching

All by myself

It might just be that I spend way too much time alone and way too much time in my head, but my biggest issue in life some days is not knowing if anyone in the universe knows how I feel or understands the things I think about. I’ve been fortunate a few times in life to have met people who just seem to get me, like we are on the same frequency. Whenever that has happened, in both platonic and romantic situations, it has been a cause of much joy for me.

The thing I am pondering today is whether there really are people who make steady progress toward enlightenment and never feel like they are going the wrong direction or backsliding. I guess I just want some validation that what I am going through is normal, though it really shouldn’t matter. Normal is overrated if you ask me.

I’ve been pretty tired lately. With fatigue often comes a feeling of being disconnected. It is the loneliest feeling on earth. And I don’t think I’d feel it as intensely if I had someone  in my life I could share things with. I’ve always had someone to talk to until recently. And I think I took for granted how good it feels to be listened to. And if it is someone who will listen without judging, it is a gift of healing.

Maybe everyone feels like this sometimes. Adrift, untethered.

I suppose I have read in a few books that the path to enlightenment is sprinkled with dark nights of the soul. Those moments or even days when it feels like I have been forsaken by God. But I always figure out that it is I who have forsaken what is most important to me–my connection to the Source of unconditional love. I am thankful I always find my way back.

This is the same tune I have been singing for a while now, but being single is really hard. I love being around my kids, but it’s not the same as having an adult relationship.

The most difficult moments are the ones in which I wonder why I don’t just give up. Sometimes I get tired. I have a lot of responsibility and not very many outlets for my thoughts and feelings about it. It would be so great to be in a healthy, functional relationship. The kind where you don’t need to be together 24-hours a day to feel supported by your partner, but if you were with them 24-hours a day, that would be great too.

Some time ago my ex-boyfriend said a couple of things to me, about me, that were the epitome of what I want in a relationship. He said he had never before in his life felt that someone truly had his back and he also told me that I was the person who finally convinced him that he was a good person. What those two statements told me is that I had successfully communicated my love to this person. He knew I would do anything for him and at some point, maybe for a brief moment, he saw himself through my eyes and saw the goodness I could see in him.

That is what is missing in my life. And I really want that again. Relationships are not about what we can get, they are about the ways in which we can show another person how beautiful they are. There is nothing that feels better than finding the goodness in another person, seeing their radiance.

Part of this gloomy feeling is that the little crush I had on the guy at work is fading. I still think he’s cute, but I cannot tell if he is interested in me at all, so I am ready to move on from it. If an opportunity came up to invite him out for a drink or something, I’d do it. But until then I don’t want to drive myself nuts wondering about this. I have other things to think about.

I started writing this last night and fell asleep before I could finish…today is a new day and there is new hope. I feel more rested than I did yesterday so hopefully the cloud will lift and I’ll find my connection again and maybe not feel so alone.

Today my horoscope said: “Single? The situation you have been mulling over may finally make some headway today, and you may find that you are not single for much longer.”

I am ready to find out.

Love

This is my 100th post on this blog. It’s been an incredible experience from which I have benefited greatly.

For this 100th post I thought it would be good to revisit the entire reason for the existence of this blog: To spread the message that unconditional love is the greatest force in the universe and creates a direct connection to the Divine.

This morning I read and shared some mystical love quotes and poetry. Mostly by Hafiz and Rumi, two of my favorite thinkers. It led me to think about love and how when we love truly from that holy place in our hearts, the veil between this world and spirit world becomes very thin. Seeing the interconnectedness of all things is beautiful.

Romantic love is a big part of life. Whatever it is that strongly attracts two people, from my experience it’s like looking into the face of God when I find a person who is a perfect mirror. The experiences I’ve had being in love and even having crushes, have been the most joyous experiences of my life. It’s a total celebration of the beauty of a person. The feeling is intoxicating.

The way to have a steady stream of the good feelings love produces is to bless everyone you see or encounter in your daily life. Walking down the street, smile at every person you pass. Nearly without exception, people will smile back. See what you started with one little smile?

Cultivating a happy, carefree attitude that recognizes the truth of impermanence helps one understand the power of the present moment. Now is when we can make a difference in someone’s life. Every moment is an opportunity to bless. I would love to see all people, myself included, seize those opportunities as often as possible and fill the universe with love.

As my awareness increases, I have the power to choose more of the time. Choosing love more often gives others permission to do likewise. In freeing ourselves we open the prison doors for everyone we meet. Doesn’t mean everyone will choose freedom right away, it can be hard for people to leave the comfort of the hell they have created for themselves. But those with the courage to see things from a different perspective will have a big impact on the world.

Take a chance, let the love inside you spill out onto the world.

“Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” ~Goethe

Truly.

Dogs and vampires and work

Last week was a rough week. I finished dog sitting and was able to sleep a little later today. Part of what made last week rough was work. It was crazy busy and while I appreciate that work requires me to focus in ways I did not while unemployed, I have less energy for the rest of my life and when you add dog/house sitting to that, I am wiped out.

There is also something going on at work. Have I ever had a drama free job? I don’t think so…but the common denominator is me, so I have to look at it.

There is a person at this job who wears me out. He seems to need so much attention and validation to be okay. People like that gravitate to me. Most likely because I am accepting and that is what most people long for, to be accepted and loved unconditionally. Last week it felt like this person was trying to take from me what I didn’t have to give and it was exhausting all on its own.

This is not the first time I have encountered this kind of behavior, but now I can recognize it for what it is and take steps to protect myself.

There are people in the world I call black holes. There is not enough praise, admiration or adoration for them. Too bad most of them don’t realize that they have the power to fill themselves with these things and don’t need to draw from others what they already possess.

So this person at work has been bothering me because his need to be validated over and over and over all day every day feels like a burden he is trying to place on my shoulders. I don’t need another burden, thanks. Anyone who has read this blog more than once surely knows this.

Today I found myself actually angry at this person’s incessant need for attention and approval. He repels people with his neediness. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one…or the first. He’s a vampire.

As I became aware of my struggle against my feelings toward this person, I realized that the reason I struggle is I have difficulty reconciling my feelings about him with the unconditional acceptance I wish to give. I struggle because I choose to believe that all people are fundamentally the same and while this person’s behavior bothers me, he is still a person with the same basic desires as I have–to be happy and not suffer. Because I recognize our fundamental sameness, the burden is on me to figure out a way to accept him notwithstanding his behavior at the same time as protecting my own energy to keep my life in harmonious balance.

A friend reminded me earlier this evening that this is not the biggest challenge I have faced in the past few years. He is right. The breakup of my last relationship and its aftermath remain the most difficult challenges I have ever faced and I made it through that okay, so this has to be okay too.

Some people are just harder to love. That doesn’t mean we are excused from our duty to love them. It just means sometimes we have to dig a little deeper to find that common essence, but it’s there. We just have to keep trying. Never give up. It’s not necessary to be a martyr trying to do for others what they need to learn to do for themselves, but even cutting cords can be done with love.

Sometimes I think part of enlightenment [for me] will include never having to give up on anyone because that never even enters the equation. Understanding and forgiveness will flow naturally. That is partly why my life has been challenging. In my relatively short life thus far, I have been asked to forgive many difficult things. But, in learning to do so, the next chapters of my life should go a lot more smoothly.

I’m ready to live in a world where everyone is beautiful and deserves my trust because they love me and only want the best for me. I feel like I’ve earned that much.

The old ways are falling away and a bright, new future awaits.

I’m excited.

New day, new lessons

My dreams are haunted lately. In the past week I had two dreams about the guy who broke my heart a couple of years ago. I actually don’t think he broke my heart as much as I broke my own heart in protest of his choices and actions.

The dreams (one was just this morning) were very vivid and very much future oriented. And very, very unsettling. There were a couple of distinct themes. In both dreams he showed up acting as if everything was normal between us, but I knew that he hadn’t seen or spoken to me in over 2 years in spite of my requests to clear the air so I could move on without the burden I was carrying in my heart. In both dreams I was going along for appearances’ sake, but my heart was deeply troubled by the lack of acknowledgment of what had transpired between us.

There is something to be learned from the dreams, I am sure of it. I guess I haven’t really discerned the overall lesson, but I can see a reflection of some of my past behaviors in how I behaved in these two dreams. I have often carried a troubled heart because I’ve seen things that aren’t right and didn’t say anything.

It’s amazing how quickly it is possible to release something if you acknowledge it and let it happen. I had a very brief cry over these dreams, but it felt like a burden lifted from my heart when I acknowledged that I may always wonder in what ways I pushed this person to make a decision that most certainly hurt me and possibly hurt him as well. Healthy relationships do not end that way, so whatever my contribution was, it was energy put into something unhealthy and dark.

I do not know the reason my ex-boyfriend is suddenly in my conscious mind after all this time. On a day-to-day basis he barely exists in my mind anymore. Though I wish nothing but love and blessings on him, he’s now just some guy I had a relationship with a long time ago. There was a time when I lived in fear of the day I could say that about him, but now that it’s here, it’s not so bad. I will always care about what happens to him and I will always wish him love, happiness and true joy. I got there by choosing the path of unconditional love and forgiveness over the path of blame. And after choosing the path that took more work, I am finally at peace.

For several years I asked the universe to show me how to let go, how to love unconditionally, how to forgive. How did I think that was going to happen? These are big lessons and sometimes the universe has to take drastic actions to get our attention when the stakes are that high. Actions like asking us to graciously accept losing our best friend.

In knowing everyone has experienced loss on some level, I am made aware how important it is to be gentle and compassionate with my fellow humans. We’re all dealing with something, and whenever we make life a little easier on another person, we help them carry their burden for a little while as they go on their way. That is why it must be the same response from the same intention whether we are dealing with our most intimate friend or a random stranger.

This is the gift of forgiveness and unconditional love. Beautiful.