I watched a young man once by the water’s edge; his heart seemed weighted by the troubles of ‘world’ as he slunk further still into unrest.

Looking up, he sighed and said, “It’s the only place I can feel at home.” As if I’d dare to judge another wooded path soul.

He went on to explain his most recent trouble — the loss of job, the wounded heart and a spouse who ‘just didn’t understand.’ All leading him to this moment, right here.

I could see it in his eyes; a forever sort of searching – desperate to know the sanctity of inner peace.

“It’s not out there,” I smiled. Even though he was looking outward, I knew – his focus was locked within.

So often we view our lives in terms of an unwavering absolute –“If not this, then I could never be happy.” We lock in, unwilling to allow the heart’s expanse. We forget the greater aspect of being human.

Alexander Graham Bell once wrote that when one door closes, another opens. But that we often spend so much time looking regrettably upon the closed, that we fail to see the blessing of a new path, eager to unfold.

In these moments, we are pulled from the luxury of gratitude into a space where we are unwilling to forgive even ourselves. We harden our hearts just as its true growth begins.

“‘If we want there to be peace in the world,” shares Pema Chodron. “we have to be brave enough to soften what is rigid in our hearts, to find the soft spot and stay with it. We have to have that kind of courage and take that kind of responsibility. That’s the true practice of peace.”

We talked, he and I, for just over an hour. By the end, I could feel his energy softening – malleable to the lesson as it needed to be shared.

In peace…

Namaste ❤️