1. Truth: Everyone has a unique perspective. This morning, I watched this Instagram reel. Both the video and the caption are powerful reminders that, “Understanding that other points of view exist is the beginning of wisdom.” It reminded me of the comic where there is a number on the ground with two people standing on either side of it. One claims it’s a 6 and the other insists it’s a 9. Both of them are “right,” they simply are seeing things from a different angle. It’s good to remember that individually, we don’t have all the answers, don’t see the full truth of things, don’t possess an entire or complete awareness or understanding. It’s good to be curious, to try and understand things from different perspectives, AND to understand why you might see things the way you do, AND to not see any way as fixed or solid or True. (Of course, there are extreme perspectives that fall outside this logic).

2. Truth: Other people and their perspectives inspire us. I watched another Instagram reel this morning from Hadley Vlahos, a hospice nurse who just published a book of stories from her work, what she’s learned by caring for people who are dying, and in it she talked about the two kinds of people who inspire us: those we want to be like and those who show us how not to be. Both are equally inspiring and maybe you need both to find your path somewhere in the middle. One encourages you to keep showing up and moving forward, and the other keeps you from getting stuck or lost and quitting.

I was also thinking about this after hearing of Sinéad O’Connor’s passing. Even though the family’s statement didn’t share a cause of death, based on her honesty about her lifelong struggles, it’s hard not to guess at why she’s gone. It made me think about how some of the people who inspire us, who make art that makes us feel less alone and keep us from giving up, feel so alone and sad that they give up. Sometimes what the good ones do for us they can’t do for themselves and that’s incredibly sad.

3. Truth: You can trust yourself. I had a decision to make yesterday so I did a Yoga Nidra practice to get into a relaxed enough state that I could hear the truth of what I wanted. (Not trying to be cryptic: My Sunday morning yoga class needs a new regular teacher. I was invited to take over and I was trying to decide if I wanted to take it on.) I didn’t immediately have clarity because it was so nice to be asked, to be seen as qualified, as “good enough.” Also, pre-covid, eventually teaching more was my intention. And yet, it wasn’t an immediate and wholehearted “yes.” During my yoga nidra practice, I had the sense of things falling into place around me, a return or a restart, a clear path, which I could have easily mistaken as meaning I should say yes. As I reflected more on it, I remembered that I am fundamentally wise and compassionate, and therefore can find my way simply by trusting myself. To make the decision, all I had to do was check in with what I really wanted, and it turns out it’s something other than teaching more yoga.

One wish: My wish for you, kind and gentle reader, is for you to trust yourself, to allow yourself to rest in a state of curiosity and self-awareness, and to never forget that you matter, that there most likely is someone out there who was or is inspired by you to keep going, keep trying, keep showing up with their heart open, to not give up.