In our discussion about which group we would be focussing on in our prayers this week at our Prayer/Meditation session today we decided there were so many things happening we couldn’t pick any one group so we’re keeping all those who are struggling with challenges of any kind in the light of love and compassion.
It does feel kind of overwhelming sometimes when we look out onto the world through the news and social media and see all that’s going on. We need to remember that they only report on what’s not working so well and leave out all the good that is going on as well. There is an incredible amount of good when you consider how people help one another, all the things people are celebrating and the love and joy that is shared with families and friends. There are people inventing things and building things to make life easier and better; there are those who are living their passions and feeling fulfilled and purposeful. They aren’t very often in the news, so we need to open our eyes to see them all around us and even within our own selves.
That’s why the practice of gratitude is so powerful. Looking for what we appreciate and the many wonders of the world even in the midst of crisis or disaster can help us through some very challenging times indeed. Sometimes when we’re looking back at our lives, we can get caught up in painful memories but if you really look there’s probably a lot more to be thankful for than there is to complain about.
I remember when I was doing the grief recovery process around my relationship with my mom. I didn’t have the easiest relationship with her, and I had some resentments to let go of and some things to apologize for but what surprised me in the process was how many things I was truly grateful for. It actually changed the way I saw my childhood and my relationship with my mother in a very positive way. Our memories can be very distorted by the traumas and painful emotional incompletes from the past and so can our present be negatively impacted because we tend to keep projecting the unresolved stuff onto situations that remind us of those painful memories. And that obscures the joyful and loving memories.
I am deeply grateful for the healing that happens when I revisit the past with the intention to heal. There is so much more lightness and freedom when I do.
Namaste
