Like many of us, over the past year I’ve been trying to figure out how to make my way in this world that seems more contentious and divided than I can ever remember. I’ve flailed about and stumbled along, just trying to get my bearings. I’ve come out swinging against what I felt was unjust and what I believed to be inhumane. I’ve ranted and raged. I’ve cried so, so much. I’ve kept up with the news and obsessed about the headlines. I’ve signed petitions, commented on Facebook posts, and donated to organizations that were fighting right alongside me.

And while doing all of these things may have brought me relief for a little while, I found myself spiraling into (and hanging out for much longer than I ever intended to) a dark and negative place that just didn’t feel good at all. I found myself getting further and further away from my soul – from who I truly am. And I found myself absolutely exhausted and completely depleted.

My human self kept telling me to buck up, to fight, to swing my fists at everything that was wrong in the world. It wanted me to get out there into the arena and speak up and shake things up and yell and scream and do whatever it took to make things right again. Yet, my soul had other plans. It asked me to hold off to respond. To wait. To allow the anger to flow out first – to not react from that space. It asked me to focus on love and goodness and to believe – truly believe – that change would come through these powerful emotions even more easily than it could ever come from the darker ones. It promised that I would feel so much better along the way if I somehow could manage to keep myself on the frequency of these emotions as much as possible. It encouraged me to go within and get clear on what I was feeling before sharing it with others. And it gave me permission to feel okay with not sharing how I was feeling at all if the timing didn’t feel right. It let me know that it was perfectly fine to take action behind the scenes and to not feel obligated to share every single thing on social media.

I stared listening to my soul. And what I noticed is that when I began taking my soul’s advice, I began to feel better. I began to feel joyful and lighter. I began to feel happier and more energized. 

While putting my head in the sand and ignoring what was happening all around me certainly didn’t feel like an option, neither did spending every single second of every single day stewing and pacing in anger. So I tried to find some middle ground – to still be aware of what was happening but not react so strongly to it – to not get my emotions so tied up in it that it literally made me sick. I started doing my best to take action from an inspired and clear-headed space. And I did my best to focus just on what I was doing or not doing – to not pay attention to anyone else. And all of this has helped me to feel so much better.

Some of you may remember when our beautiful dog-ter, Xena, died in 2013. I took it much harder than I ever imagined I would, and I cried every day for over a year. Every single day. She was everything to us – much more like a child than a dog. And my heart was more broken than it had ever been. During this time, no one ever told me that I had grieved for long enough. No one ever suggested that I was taking too long or that I should just get over it already and move on. No one ever put me down for experiencing the full range of grief that I was going through. They simply allowed me to heal in whatever time it took. And eventually the tears stopped flowing and my heart started to mend. I still miss her terribly and think of her every day, but the pain isn’t nearly as intense as it once was.

And that’s what I’m trying to focus on right now as we all do our best to find our way in what is uncharted territory for many of us: to allow ourselves to feel what we’re feeling and to allow ourselves to find the soulful sweet spot between taking action and still feeling good in our own hearts. To not be influenced or pressured to act based on what others are doing but instead to listen to what our soul wants us to do and act from that wise space. And to do our best to not judge others for either not believing that they are taking enough action or for believing that they are taking too much action. To simply allow ourselves and each other to be exactly where we are and to trust that this is exactly where we’re meant to be. We’ll get through this. I know we will. And we’re learning so much about ourselves, each other, and our world in the process.

And while I still have many moments when I’m unsure how I’m going to get through them and when I still feel so powerless and angry and saddened and disheartened, I have to trust in my soul and in the universe. I have to believe that it’s all going to be okay. And I have to trust in myself enough to know that I’m doing what I can in each moment to make my own world and the world at large just a little more love-filled. I have to trust that I’m taking action when that feels right, that I’m speaking up when that feels right, and that I’m going within and giving myself space to process it all when that feels right. For me, it always comes back to what feels open and love-filled versus what feels constricted and dark. I want to spend as much of my time as possible in the light – to know what’s happening in the darkness and then move to the light and take inspired action from that loving space. Because, for me, that feels better. And if it makes you feel a little better, too, then that’s such a beautiful bonus.

Hugs,

P.S.  A special thank you to each of you who have ordered my new book, Soul Bursts! I’m so grateful for the sweet feedback that you’ve been sending me about it! If you haven’t ordered it yet, I would love for you to do so by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

Ready to Write Your Soulful Book? I Can Help!

Sign up for my free "Write Your Soulful Book in 2024" Workshop that's happening on Dec 12 at 3 pm pst!

You have Successfully Subscribed!