1. Truth: Whatever I am experiencing, someone else is living through something worse. I don’t know what this means beyond that, I just know that whatever I am feeling or struggling with, there is always another story where there’s even more suffering, more hurt, more terror, more pain. I haven’t yet decided if this comforts me, makes me feel worse, or expands my heart, fills it full of more compassion and love than it can stand. I think it’s that last one.

2. Truth: My truth is not everyone’s truth. True north for me might be an uncomfortable southwest for you. What I know for sure, can see clearly and understand completely is mine. My story, my path and what I’ve learned might be helpful to you, but just because it’s true for me, doesn’t mean it’s THE truth. It isn’t helpful to force my beliefs on someone else, to judge them for having a different perspective or making another choice.

3. Truth: My current experience is an exercise in uncertainty and fear, impermanence. I know that the antidote is confidence and love, staying present with whatever arises, keeping an open heart. I have struggled with this, with having confidence for many years, often abandoning the practice in exchange for what seemed like safety. I am realizing now (again) that there is no “safe,” no certainty. I am trying to sit with that, to stay with it.

One wish: That we let joy and love find us, even in the darkest moments.