Recently, I listened to this Sarah Blondin 6 minute meditation on Insight Timer. It resonated with me because I’ve been thinking about why so many of us struggle so much. Some of her thoughts in the meditation helped with my contemplation…
Basically, if you struggle, it’s because you care. You care about life, you give it meaning, you want to make the most of it, you want to show up to the world in the best way that you can. And all of that is complex, and enormous, and challenging. I have always wanted to make the most out of my life, but it has left me questioning whether I am doing things right, or whether I am missing out on opportunities.
But Sarah Blondin reminds me in her meditations that I struggle because I love, I have a desire for life and want to grab it with all I can. That love, that hope for life is what brings the friction, the tussle, we know how incredible and expansive and exciting life can be, and we want to make the right choices to experience that. And actually that is a beautiful thing. Sarah Blondin uses the mantra ‘I am here, and I care’ which I find really grounding. If I am in struggle it’s helpful to take a moment to remind myself I am here in this struggle because I care. I am showing up.
Further to that it helps me to eventually let go of the struggle to think about Cheryl Strayed’s ‘sister ship’ idea. This is the idea that there will be paths that we don’t choose in life, and that’s ok. She says this:
“I’ll never know, and neither will you, of the life you don’t choose. We’ll only know that whatever that sister life was, it was important and beautiful and not ours. It was the ghost ship that didn’t carry us. There’s nothing to do but salute it from the shore.”
So my encouragement for you this week is to acknowledge your commitment to life if you feel in any way in struggle. You are struggling because you care. And then to try and remember that some things don’t need to be struggled with, we can let them set sail and know that they weren’t the paths meant for us to begin with.
With love as always, Hannah and Team Bird
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash