This too shall pass.

Things have been heavy for me lately, not gonna lie. My mom passed in December. Grief is thick for me right now, but there’s more going on . . .

There’s a kind of spiritual maturation that happens as a result of living through a crisis. We sometimes call these life chapters the dark nights of the soul. Circumstances bring us into difficulties, dark times, crisis.

But this is when we go through our richest growth periods. We develop insights, we see strengths we never knew we had. Hidden parts of us come forward. We behave differently than we normally would because we’re under stress. The stress doesn’t feel good, but once we’re on the other side of it we might see that we gained strength and skill.

It’s helpful to stay conscious and aware of everything that we’re experiencing. Even joy can happen in the midst of crisis. If you are in one of these chapters, keep “knowing” all that you are experiencing. Even the painful things. This is life. And this is how we develop compassion. Rest in deep compassion for yourself for how difficult this is. All things change… so know that this too shall pass.

I’m trying my best to stay in this knowing and compassion. It’s a practice and a process.

Photo by Conrad Ziebland on Unsplash