As an exercise, allow yourself to remember that part of the larger stream of life—that the pains you are experiencing are not yours alone to be hidden as if they are shameful but part of “the” pain, our collective human pain, the pain of loss or rejection or not getting what you want. This experience reminds us that life isn’t asking us to be superheroes, swooping in to perform great deeds. It is asking us to join in, to be available, to bear witness to what is happening and respond as kindly and wisely as we can in any given moment.
From Presence: The Art of Being at Home in Yourself by Tracy Cochran. © 2024 by Tracy Cochran. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.