HEALING…..
Reflecting on the opening month of 2020 has not been easy. Looking back at the month of January, I realized the many global and personal challenges that we were faced with over a 31-day period. From natural disasters, the situation in the US, to a plane full of families and couples being shot down, to the shocking loss closer to home of a sweet little girl in our community, to a helicopter bursting into flames and killing everyone on board, and a very close friend of mine going through metastasized stage IV cancer. What a trying month, globally, community-wide and personally.
It is hard to comprehend the reasons. Often people ask me why, knowing that inherent in that question, may not even lie a satisfactory answer. At least not one that we can comprehend or wrap our brain around, in our lifetime here on earth.
I believe that inherent in every problem lies the solution. It is as if every challenge comes with its own key. A key we are asked to discover. And yet I have to say some keys are much harder to reach than others.
Some challenges simply do not come with a clear fix. Rather they lead us unto a new and unchartered path. One we are hesitant to step onto. If we start walking, does it mean we have to leave the challenge behind, our pain, our loss, our suffering? What if we are not ready? What is this path that opens before us, that we never asked for? Wait, was it always there? Perhaps it was, but we never paid that much attention to it. We did not need to.
That path that offers itself to us, waits patiently. In divine kindness, it does not push us, does not force us onto it. But it lets us know it is there. There for us when we are ready. When we feel strong enough. When we so choose to take a first step. No strings attached, it says. Take a step forward, three back, it’s ok. Whatever feels right. Whatever feels possible. There is no destination on this path. This path is a journey.
It is the journey of healing. The path that is opened for us when we are in need. A path unlike any other. One on which we will encounter many people and many experiences. It’s like a new prescription, a new pair of glasses through which life gets filtered. The learning curve is unlike any other, but it is a path we each get to travel at our own pace. People will show up on it, providing support and kindness along the way, often unlike any we would have experienced on any other path. At other times there will be subtle and not so subtle reminders of our pain, that will require all of our strength to avoid falling to our knees. Many things happen on this path. We discover much about ourselves, our strength, how much love and kindness we are truly capable of receiving, of giving to one another and, when there is not much else to give, the extent to which love and kindness can help sustain us when nothing else seems to. It is a path of truth. One that is sacred in its own way.
In today’s world, we all need a little healing. It is after all the premise of tikun olam-healing the world. Let us think of those who need it more than we do and be there. Be the person on their path that offers that support and kindness, that shows them that though we may not be walking the exact same path, we are HERE. Days later, months later, we are still here. We are always HERE. Let us show each other the true power of togetherness.
With much love❤
MARTINE
