An Invitation to Become "Re-Enchanted With Life"
('The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.'- Thich Nhat Hanh)
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I've been off social media for nearly 25 days now...
...and whenever I share this with someone, the response almost always seems to be along the lines of:
"I've been thinking about doing that too. It's been so toxic. It's just not as fun anymore."
I think through the months of November and December I was experiencing this same kind of feeling about life in general. With so much apparent conflict, dissonance, and dis-ease, I felt energetically drained, disconnected, and disenchanted. Life, like social media, was "just not as fun anymore."
I also felt an implication that in order to be present to the collective unrest, I had to function with a baseline level of dissatisfaction and disdain. I almost felt guilty being joyful, as if it was a betrayal of the cultural moment--like I was "taking my eye off the ball" in the battle of "The People v. Oppression."
I even caught myself, when answering the question of, "how are you?", forcing some sort of political acknowledgement into the answer.
"I've been really great, I just had this beautiful weekend
<<BUT ALSO TRUMP, AM-I-RIGHT?!?!!>>"
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I've realized now that this way of being--living life as a continual "angry Facebook post"---is not only not sustainable, but it's actually a form of oppression in itself--
Because being free to choose to be happy, regardless of the actions of others, is a power no one should be able to take from me--
--and choosing to see the beauty of life, alongside the suffering, is the only way I'll be able to sustain my spirit for the next 4 years.
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I heard an inspiring talk this morning from an Evolutionary Astrologer, Megan Zimring, who explained this about our current moment, astrologically:
I really resonated with this.
I am ready for joy! I am ready for beauty! I am ready for love!
I need these things, and they are everywhere, if I choose to look.
I give myself permission to be enchanted again!
(And that doesn't mean I've taken my eye off the ball.
It means I'm seeing both sides of it.)
May you find joy, beauty and love this week.
Your friend,
