ナオミ・シマダさんのインスタグラム写真 - (ナオミ・シマダInstagram)「To grieve is above all to acknowledge loss, to understand that there is a natural end to endless gain” - alice walker These days I am crying every day, overwhelmed with grief, sadness and despair. I am looking at the world with my eyes wide open and letting myself open up to feel the reality that we cannot undo the harm that has been done and continue to do with no signs of stopping. We are in the dawn of a new era and I am quietly training, studying, contemplating, trying to understand how I can use this supposed influence I have for good. I can hear my soul telling me to prepare so I can be of service in meaningful ways of genuine contribution for this looming difficult future. All suffering is a relational problem, how we relate to each other and the earth is what got us here in the first place. my teacher Margaret Wheatley always asks us to sit with this quote “ethics is how we behave when we decide we belong together”. Humans are the only living beings on earth who don’t want to remember we are undeniably interconnected. Not even COVID could make us learn what all other beings accept as natural. What will it take to remember we belong together? I’m not sure what my path will end up looking like but I know I want to choose presence and loving action instead of distraction and withdrawal. It can often feel lonely when not everyone around me is traversing this same path. But for now, before I can shift it into something new, I am grieving our many losses and just letting those tears flow. I don’t want to pretend that things are ‘normal’ when they are anything but. I want to be able to sit with reality and embrace what this means for us wholeheartedly with others who are willing to do the same. I am asking myself: what is my practice of future being? how do I become capable of this future? and what happens when we stay with the trouble? So every sweet moment, flower (or surprise pink ribbon addition from the local flower vendor!) and surprise that the universe gifts me means more than ever, they are keeping me going, reminding me that I am here and I am alive ~ 💓」5月23日 0時45分