Sometimes life can be tough. Overwhelmingly tough. It can feel too heavy to push through, and anxiety, panic, despair and hopelessness can suck us into a void all too easily.
Yet deep within those dark places, there lies a glimmer. A tiny, twinkling sparkle of hope, that’s there to grab hold of.
To anchor into.
To provide some grounding in a shifting, ever-changing universe of highs, lows, twists and turns.
Sometimes the dark night of the soul, hitting rock bottom or feeling broken open is the hard landing that leads to the crack in the darkness from which light can shine through once again.
Wherever you are, no matter what you may be facing, grab onto that glimmer of light for dear life.
Find it.
Dare to touch it.
Dare to let it breathe life back into you, as you release your grip on the tightness within your chest, and soul.
As a young African boy from Ghana, who dropped out of school to shine shoes in order to provide for his family, once so wisely shared with me, “Where there is hope, there is life.”
Even in the darkest of darkness, that glimmer exists, and you’ll find it when you’re ready for it, and willing to reach for it.
But only then.
We’re not always ready. And that’s okay.
But once we are, there it is.
If you’re in darkness, dare to lean in. Dare to touch your pain – daring to not look away, numb out, or run…
Dare, as Pema Chodron suggests, to move closer to yourself.
Dare to hold that part of you with more empathy, kindness, compassion and love than you could ever imagine giving another, least of all yourself.
Why?
Because, we stop emotional movement when we deny, suppress, stuff down, distract, or numb ourselves from feeling the difficult emotions.
Although doing so provides a temporary relief, it essentially freezes the emotions in place and prevents them from shifting, healing or flowing through.
If you feel stuck in your pain, and don’t feel any shifts even after allowing yourself to be with it, reach out. Get help.
You’re not alone, even though you may feel that way, and you deserve more than this. Life is here to be lived, and there’s so much life to be had!
Reach out, and reach out, and reach out again until you find that glimmer of light.
It is there.
Waiting patiently.
Ready when you are.