Hello and welcome.
My name is Tanya and I am coming to you from Gundungurra,
Andhara country,
Here in the Blue Mountains.
A few years back when I was going through a challenging period,
I bumped into a friend who,
After hearing my story,
Said,
At least you know that you are alive.
Of course those words provided no comfort to me at the time,
Especially against what I was feeling.
However those words stayed with me and this is my understanding of them now.
I think being human,
What makes you human,
Is showing up for the full range of emotions and experiences that life offers.
And in doing so,
It can actually bring you to life.
It's hard though when grief calls.
The heart aches and the tears seem constant,
But feeling it and allowing it to exist is essential.
The time alone with yourself,
With this pain,
Is an invitation to explore and understand the hurt that is in your heart.
It's an invitation to say to yourself,
I am listening without judgment and I'm here to be the kindest friend that I could wish for.
And in doing so,
Your truth is seen and heard by the most important person,
By you.
It's necessary to remind yourself that these feelings are simply an expression of this moment in time and they will pass.
They are visiting with the intention to remind you that you are alive and to live your life with truth in your heart.
They provide great and significant lessons about life that prove quite difficult to hear any other way.
In between the tears,
Find the gifts in the lesson.
Breathe through the discomfort,
Trusting in the journey that you are on and trust that you have everything you need to be okay.
I know the pain can exacerbate loneliness and it feels like there is no one else who could be having a worse experience than you.
Yes,
Your circumstances are unique,
But the feeling is not.
It is a path that is well worn.
In sharing your pain and loneliness,
You start to see you are not alone and recognizing your commonality with others,
Your humanness.
You can actually start to open your heart and you can find connection.
When your heart is open,
That is when there is an invitation for love to replace the fear,
For grace to replace pride,
For wonder to replace expectation,
And for gratitude to replace loss.
Love,
Grace,
Wonder and gratitude,
These are the doors to being alive and to living your truth.
All of this takes time.
Give yourself time to experience the full range of emotions,
But don't let this gift of aliveness pass you by without unwrapping it.
There are new perspectives,
New ways of looking at things and new understandings that you may now be ready to receive.
Don't be scared of your own heart and your own truth,
For they are your path for living a life with meaning and purpose.
