Hi there lovely!
Today as I was doing my normal Facebook scrolling I saw something quite beautiful and eye opening. A lovely small business owner opened her heart and offered to host a pop up shop for a family in need. She asked for her community to share stories of someone in their friends or family who were suffering right now, or going through a rough patch and she in turn will choose one to support and donate the earnings from the pop up shop to.
Okay, pause… how absolutely beautiful is that?! The compassion in this business owner just stopped me in my morning coffee… which is pretty hard to do. I think we really need to take the time to acknowledge someone doing something so wonderful for the community.
I am not normally one to share the personal details of my life but I felt totally compelled in that moment to share the struggle that my family is going through right now. And I thought, I cannot think of anyone more deserving than my brother for this cause. And then I watched all the other stories roll in and it made me realize something.
Everyone has pain. Everyone has suffering. Everyone has something going on that you may never ever know. People mask these emotions in different ways. For my family and me, we aren’t much on displaying our problems to the world…. Until this kid started a blog, sorry mom! Heehee. For some, they want to stop you in the grocery store and lay it all on you. And for others there is immense anger or deep depression in this pain.
Spread compassion. Next time you get impatient with a Starbucks worker who is moving a bit slow, realize that there may be something weighing on her mind. Next time a driver accidentally drives under the speed limit in front of you, realize that they might have just received horrible news and needed a moment. Next time you ask a friend how they are and they reply fine with pain behind their eyes, ask for more.
Smile at everyone you see, make someone’s day, send surprise flowers, and know that you are not alone in your pain.
Why are we suffering from the pain? Because we are not focused on the now. The right now. We are most likely future tripping in our pain and thinking about scenarios that aren’t even around yet. Or we are dwelling in what happened in the past in this same situation. When right now, in this very present moment, we have a choice to suffer or not.
Or maybe you are taking on the pain from someone else, you are feeling what they are feeling. Do you think that taking on their pain will help them? Or do you think living in your now and giving them all that you have on the positivity spectrum will help?
I know sometimes it’s hard… hella hard. I so get it. But we are the most courageous when we can pick ourselves up from the pain and be strong. So keep on truckin’ girlfriend, the universe is not done with you yet.
