Send love and peace with every breath.
Life has shown me that we all have our blind-spots and our triggers-points. So each day I practice being present and compassionate with myself and all human beings.
I learned about blind-spots and trigger-points the hard way. Many years ago, I was studying The Course in Miracles. It was such an eye–opener. I read it like a menu, savoring all the new life it stirred up in me. Then I joined a local CIM study group. I immediately liked the woman running the group. After studying for some time with them, I realized one of the reasons I liked her so much, was that she reminded me of a younger version of my grandmother, who I adored.
One day when I had a moment alone with this woman, I happily shared how she reminded me of my grandmother, with a big smile on my face. Of course, I meant for it to be a compliment and a moment of deeper connection. My grandmother was someone I loved and trusted. But the woman reacted in an odd way, saying “I hope I don’t look like her.” I didn’t know what to say. She was visibly angry.
I was baffled. It was … awkward.
Later, when I shared it with a friend, she helped me to realize that maybe the group leader had some triggers around the subject of age, beauty or the women in her own life. I just never thought of it that way. When I tried to clear it up with her, I could see it was going nowhere. That made it worse.
It happens. We say things innocently. We blunder. We don’t realize the impact of our words. We feel misunderstood, the other feels betrayed, attacked. In the living of life, we bump into one another’s insecurity, fears, vulnerabilities. It is in this tender moments, that we find our own wounds and have the potential to open to greater compassion for ourselves and others.
It took me a long time for me to forgive myself for revealing my heart. I beat myself up for a long time on this for the words I used. For my blind-spot and my word choice. But as I began to practice self-compassion, I let it go. I had a sweet intention that met her trigger-point. It happens. I learned to lean into the pain. So I began to picture this woman, breathing in all the emotions of the situation and breathing out love and kindness to her specifically.
There will be more blind-spots and trigger-points, sprinkled amongst long stretches of beauty and ease. We will meet one another, crashing and near-missing in the Bumper Cars of Life. But when we live with open hearts, recognizing we each really are doing the best we can… eventually we can step off the Ride and laugh about all of it. It’s in the bumps that we learn the most about who we are and what we really want.
This is my prayer. That we all lean a bit more into our pain, allowing the flowering of compassion, awakening a little bit more today, and sweetly laugh about the all of it.
I pray that we know our exquisiteness and beauty in our capacity to love.
So Much Love,
SusanJoy
EmpoweredEssentialYou.com
