Exiting the Dark Tunnel

There are times when the heart takes a beating.  When the soul feels battered and our minds seem un-anchored and are set adrift among confusion. We seek solace from friends and family or maybe we pull away from them instead.  We try to think deeply and read between the blurred lines of a heated argument or conversation; maybe we try to remember what was said and who said it.  Maybe, we remember all too clearly exactly what happened. 

We don’t sleep; we don’t eat properly, or maybe we sleep and each too much. Either way, we soon feel lost, weak and tired on top of everything else.  We may even overcompensate by taking on too many new challenges or perhaps we do absolutely nothing at all.  Sadness, depression, loneliness and heartbreak; worrisome things each one.  They even feed on each other, like cannibalistic piranhas.    

Trying to fight our way past it is daunting.  It’s like finding ourselves in an endless black tunnel and seeing this pinpoint of light at the end of it.  No matter how long you walk towards the light you never seem to be getting closer.  Sometimes we don’t even see the light at all.

There are no magic words to whisk it all away.  No special series of actions that will erase this in a blink of an eye.  Yes, there is prayer and meditation and they WILL HELP but it will take a concerted effort to work our way out of that tunnel.  We must pick up the pieces of our lives and bit by bit find our way out of that dark place and it will take a persistent pace and a deep self surviving desire to get ever closer to that light.  It can be done.

I have a few friends and family that are going through various stages of these dark emotions.  My heart cries for you.  I understand that pain.  Face it, we've all been through it at some point of our lives.  The duration for each person is as varied as the catalysts that cause them.  Some of us have remained in that dark place longer than others; some of us never really have come out of it and are ever so slowly making progress.  There are even a few who don’t know they are in the tunnel.  They’re walking aimlessly.

I’m here to say, don’t give up.  Don’t stop working to understand your pain.  Don’t ignore it or pretend it’s not there.  Look at it, see it as a black mass of snarled string and then slowly but surely unravel the pieces as you grasp onto the knowledge that you ARE stronger than you think.  Use prayer and meditation to help you focus and reset your heart, mind and soul back onto a path of peace.  This is where faith comes into play. 

If you know someone who is struggling, reach out to them.  They may or may not want to talk but don’t give up on them.  If they want to talk, then just listen.  You may not have and do not have to offer any sage advice; they may just need you to listen.  Be there for them; after all, wouldn't you want someone to be there for you?  We are our brother’s keeper.  It takes a village to raise a child and we are all in this together.  Clichés?  Over used sayings?  Maybe, but that doesn't make them any less true.

If you are struggling with something, don’t give up on yourself.  Know that you are loved and that you can get through this.  Don’t be afraid to seek comfort through a long and deep discussion with God through prayer; you can cry, laugh and talk to Him just as if He were sitting right next to you.  There is a saying that says let go and let God.  I believe that is true.  It means to let God guide you and when He does, you must make every effort to take those steps toward the path of healing that He presents to you.  And that guidance may come through talking to a friend, a family member – or even a professional care giver. 

May the peace of heaven fall down upon you like rain and drench you with the strength to continue your journey out of the dark tunnel of despair.

<3 Always & Peace ∞
07232013 CAG

Live In the Light

The light of the day; the happiness of the moment; the love of the heart should be captured and held in our memories. They need to be treasured and called back from deep memory at a time when the light dims, the happiness fades and love dies down from a raging fire to just embers amidst coal dust.

When you recall those effervescent days gone by, a spark from those memories ignites and once agai...n we are living and loving in the light and we build on it; we add to it. That is how the light, the happiness and love flourishes and never dies.

Hold close those good memories of loved ones and times gone by; cherish them. For when you do, they leave an echo in time that cannot be erased and that is how we become immortal.

Live and Love in the Light for the Life of You Always & Peace Forever ∞
07062013 CAG

Ruminating

Ruminating -

Often a journey of enlightenment is a long arduous route. The road is pitted with the bumps of rock and debris of past relationships gone sour. Overgrown roots of familial strife that have grown underground and unseen for such a long time now poke up through the dirt; making footsteps uneven and often tripping you up. Sometimes boughs of green, sinewy vines and low branches that offer flowers and fruit, the kindred of family and friends, can become distracting with their natural beauty but they slow up your pace. Maybe it’s the call of the wildlings, the good time; the just-until-the-right-man/woman-comes-along, that causes you to lose sight of your true goal. It could even be the yearning for companionship, of other travelers along the way that cause you to lend a hand, to stop and assist, that thoroughly gives you reason to neglect your own journey to a brighter, deeper and necessary understanding of self. Some are of good measure and others are dead ends.

The journey is never straight and it is never, ever easy. During the worst of it, a storm may develop from your own frustration, making you turn down a wrong path or seek solace in a place or with a person whose offer of comfort is temporary yet deceiving. Even worse, you look back and re-live the same mistakes; further hindering your progress and entangling your emotions into a seemingly inescapable knot. Once you’re finally on your way, your overzealous attempts to hasten onward, to try and catch up, may only serve to defeat you. At some point, in seeking to remain in the comfort of the past or your desire to idle in the present, you realize that you have missed a turn that held a secret lesson that was meant only for you; that was meant to prepare you, to educate you, to mold you. You might have to retrace your steps or continue on without that lesson; struggling a little harder than necessary.

The journey of enlightenment requires focus, re-focus and steadfast dedication. Your eyes must always behold the prize and you must do all that you can to remain on course. That is to say, that your mistakes must remain in the past; the temptation for temporary comfort in an old familiar place or with an old familiar love or with old familiar habits should be met with a gentle smile of thanks but no thanks as you march, walk or even crawl forward, especially if there is nothing positive to be gained. If you seek new and better things for your life you probably should not fill up your time with the old, the tried and the untrue. Sometimes you must go on alone, especially if those who propose to walk with you are still mired in the muck of their own lives and the study of their own history.

This journey, this life is sacred and is to be cherished. It is to be given your full attention of love and devotion. It is precious and powerful and each and every single second is a divine gift to be accepted with gratitude and shared with those whose only desire is to continue their own journey in the same manner of peace and grace as you are attempting to do with yours.

CAG 07022013