Mindfulness & Suffering

This has and continues to be a rough week for me. My son is moving to Las Vegas with his father.

My intellectual brain says, "That's a good and normal thing for your child to move and start his own life. All kids (hopefully) do it and this is just the next transition."

Of course, my mama's brain says something completely different. And then there are the stories I am attaching to this move. About his father, about the sale of his house (that used to be mine too - see another story), about his new wife, about Las Vegas, yadda yadda - you know...

So, what to do with all these thoughts? - Beside scream and rant -

I cried and ranted and cried some more and now I am pulling up all my tools. I am meditating at least twice a day now. I am listening to a great new meditation app, I am reading a great new book about Buddhism and I am just sitting with my thoughts. No more running, no more busyness, no more hiding, and it sucks. It sucks hard.

I think the alternative is worse though. Just ranting and anger and all of it eating at your guts and heart…
How do you move through painful things? How do "get to the other side?"

I had this thought in mediation this morning, that the answer to "getting to the other side" is that you don't.
You sit and let it wash over and through you. You stay with all the feels until, like a thunderstorm, it eventually abates.

If you want to know more and are interested in starting, growing, or trying out a mediation practice, meet me in the community, Carolina Healing Arts. I am going to start a 10-day mediation journey in the community. Each day, I'll add a practice, a tip, or something to read.

We can talk about meditation and mental self-care. As Hemming way so eloquently said, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places." I firmly believe mediation is the glue that mends our broken places.

Love and peace to you.

We all deserve to live in peace, Martha Beck

Liz

💜