Hard things happen to all of us. Sometimes it feels like we can’t accept what happened and we try to push the memories away. We think that by ignoring those thoughts and feelings, we can be free of the pain, the anger, the injustice. We think that when some time goes by, the pain will diminish and it often does. Our experience of it diminishes because we gain some perspective or other experiences distract us. But is it really gone?
If you find yourself trying to push away the memories of difficult times in your life, there is another option. Instead of trying to push them away, pull them closer and hold them in your heart. Don’t try to shift them or change them, start with just holding them. Our hearts have a huge capacity to sit with pain. It sometimes feels like the pain is coming from our hearts but look closer. You may find that your heart is simply an open space, an open space that is incredibly strong and loving. It is capable of holding the most difficult and the most painful parts of our lives and being a steady source of comfort.
When we make the shift from pushing away pain to holding it in our hearts, something amazing happens in our lives. Instead of having the impression that we are surrounded by negativity that we need to protect ourselves from, the space around us clears. We have a new sense of lightness and openness. We may still have the pain but we are holding it in a way that works, in a way that allows us to continue living our lives and seeking out newness instead of being closed off.
In time, our hearts will offer up something for our pain. It might be release. It might be completion. It might be forgiveness. Our hearts are designed to digest experiences and break them down into manageable parts. In time, we can see something new or something old in a new way. We can learn to live with the past, whatever it may be. Our hearts don’t see good or bad, right or wrong. Our hearts fully accept what is.
the Living Economy 