Let's inhabit this moment.
This one right here.
Right now.
In this moment.
Inhale.
In this new moment.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Welcome to a hit of hope.
And this one is a wee bit salty.
Inhale.
Exhale.
I've been through some shit.
I bet you have as well.
And by shit I mean pain,
Grief,
Illness,
Despair.
All of those things that come at us that we do not want and that we cannot control.
Sometimes life events become boulders that we have to shoulder and the weight of these events can make it hard to get up,
Let alone move forward.
It's easy to let these stories weigh us down and crush us.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Years ago I was at a writing workshop and an editor from The New Yorker was giving a lecture.
I can't remember exactly what it was about but I have a feeling it was about how we should not let our poems,
Stories,
And essays focus only on the harrowing and the horrible.
Because the one piece of advice that she gave that has stuck with me ever since was edit toward joy.
Edit toward joy.
What does that mean?
And more importantly,
What does that look like in our lives?
One of Michelangelo's most famous sculptures,
His David,
Might help us answer that.
In the biblical story,
David was a shepherd boy who dared to walk out onto a battlefield and face Goliath,
A giant who was all too ready to crush and kill the boy.
In this unfair fight,
David didn't despair.
Rather,
He knew to use what he was most familiar with,
Some stones and a slingshot.
And that's what he used to defeat the monster.
Think about that,
Standing courageously in who you are and playing to your strengths even as you are asked to fight an unfair fight.
Those are two ways you can face down the monsters in your life.
But there's another lesson here.
Michelangelo used a piece of marble that had been abandoned by other sculptors because it was considered too flawed.
One of the most celebrated pieces of art in history came out of a heavy chunk of stone that had been abandoned because of its flaws.
I don't know about you,
But I have felt like that piece of granite,
Flawed,
Abandoned,
Waiting.
Waiting for someone,
Anyone,
To approach with a kind and wise gaze.
Someone who was willing to sit and work with patience and determination to help me crawl out from the crushing load.
But here's the thing,
Waiting for someone else to do this for us,
Well,
That can be a problem.
If there is someone there who can do it,
Great,
Then we can count ourselves lucky.
But sometimes,
Even when it's hardest,
You have to be your own sculptor.
When your life is crushing in terms of the pain and suffering,
When you struggle to continue on,
When your life sucks rocks,
Can you,
Yes,
You,
Edit toward joy?
Can you look at your life like Michelangelo would?
Can you sit with the heavy,
Abandoned stone?
Can you see it for what it might become?
As you patiently use the metaphorical chisels and or water to pull out the most beautiful version of what's inside.
With time,
With patience,
With intention,
Can you turn the heaviness of life into dust that blows away?
Until you reveal a warrior who can rise up into their most fierce and beautiful self.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Yes,
You've been through some shit.
But now,
It's time to do the work and edit toward joy.
To chisel the weight of that away and walk forward,
Stepping fully into your bad ass self.
The one that is ready to help you face with strength and courage,
Whatever is on its way.
Namaste.
