Rooted in Faith
I’ve been staring at a blank page for a few weeks now with a storm of emotions and words churning in my soul. Yet, still unable to release a coherent sentence. I keep thinking that it’s time to get back to a sense of normalcy, but my mind just can’t accept some of the recurring themes as the new norm. I’m offering condolences and prayers to friends on almost a daily basis. I’m finding it exceedingly difficult to sell encouragement to people dazed and reeling from unrelenting emotional and financial blows. Not only are people still dealing with hardships brought on by this pandemic, but the isolation is also aggravating old wounds left unattended for far too long. I’m having more conversations about depression and the pain of loss, not only from recent deaths but also from revisiting the memories of those lost years ago. I’m regularly reassuring friends that they are not alone because some are embarrassed to be transparent about their struggles. I understand that these are all things that everyone deal with, but I’m just having a hard time wrapping my mind around the frequency lately.
The fact that so many believe that they are alone makes me wonder how we, as a collective, will recover from this. Is there really anyone who has been spared the mental and physical toll of the last few months? Some of the individual challenges are unique, but I believe that we’ve all been allowed an opportunity of genuine spiritual nakedness. A chance to stand in front of a mirror and inspect every crevice of our being. Some of us have used this time to discover new hobbies. Some have finally launched the business they’ve been afraid to. Others have simply been enjoying the quality time with loved ones. But some of us have been pursuing a deepened awareness and trying to figure out purpose and what happy looks like.
For those, like myself, on the path of seeking wholeness, we’re now at the point where the real work begins. This heightened awareness is probably one of the leading causes in recent cases of depression. We’re sitting in front of the mirror with the baggage unpacked, the pain bubbled up to the surface and we know that the only way forward is to acknowledge and deal with it. We realize that we can’t go back to where we were before, but how to move forward is a question for each individual to answer. Just know that you’re not supposed to figure it all out at once. You didn’t arrive here overnight and you definitely won’t solve it all overnight.
Becoming is journey of self-discovery and transformation, not an assignment with an absolute due date. This is the time you’ve been given to nurture yourself — to simply be. Don’t force yourself to do anything because of what everyone else is doing. Your path and timing are unique to you. Allow your mind to purge the waste and permit the things and people that should go to do so. Give yourself permission to grow and evolve.
As for me, I have a deep vein of spirituality which serves as a beacon of light and hope to Illuminate the darkness around me. I know that pain and suffering are not new experiences for any of us. It’s a continual dance with which we’ve coexisted since the beginning of time. As a collective, we will survive this moment just as we have survived those in the past and those still to come. As an individual, you’ve already pushed your way through similar storms, and you’ll make it through this one as well. Allow that knowledge — that certainty — to be your reminder to remain rooted in faith.