You know the love that surprises you? That shouldn’t make sense, but makes all the sense in the world?
I love Grace. So much.
We met in my office and connected deeply and urgently. Over what matters most—the essentials of a purpose driven life. How it can be overwhelming, cause suffering, and calls us to deeper understanding, common sense, and gentle nudging in a new direction.
Me, the physician, yet knowing our common bond as people with the same aspirations. Like our drive to help make this world a better place. To understand our place in it. Feeling the crushing weight of it at times. Seeking tools, strategies, affirmations, insights, and the wisdom we need to heal.
And yet there are differences in Grace and I too. Differences that tear so many people apart. Differences about politics, who we vote for, and what the solutions to our nations problems might be, for example. (Oh, just that!)
I was shocked to learn her choice for president last year, but I managed to suppress the gasp that threatened to spill over into our sacred encounter. I stayed right with her, with what I KNEW existed between us, and I softened. I released judgment. I let myself reconnect to the truth of our shared bond, of our being women together on our common mission to live our best lives, of our sisterhood…
All was healed. None of those differences mattered.
We’re the same—Grace and I. We want the same things. We love. We strive. We seek the truth. We do our best every day.
The miracle of my job is I get to know all comers, in my sacred space, where we go deep and connect through our common aspiration to heal. Suffering (and healing) is the great equalizer among us.
We can disagree passionately about ideas, but we meet first and foremost through our shared humanity, through our love and loyalty.
For Grace and I, it’s our connection and partnership that matters. That transcends all differences. And we see those differences become what’s beautiful about us. Those things we can’t know or understand yet learn to accept and soften around. That softening opens our hearts. To a higher truth. To love. The only thing that matters.
Have a Beautiful Day!
Karyn
From the Archives:
Karyn Shanks, MD. Forgiveness: Essential Power Tool for Health Resilience. 2017.
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