I awake this morning with a sense of dread.  I wonder what the day will bring.  Of course I lie in this quiet space and give my thanks for this moment of peace.   It seems every day brings an event, a happening.  We are at the point many of us no longer know what to expect. We no longer know what we thought we used to know.  It all looks different.

The outer turmoil in the air has me edgy.  I allow my mind to travel back 13 years ago when a monster tried to eat me.  The monster had formed a mass in my belly that my hand located on a cold winter morning and it was set on claiming my life.  That day my world shifted in a second.  All that I had previously given importance now took a back seat.  Arguments, disagreements, beliefs all would morph and live in a separate space. Now my focus was on survival.  I come back to the present moment.  I am here and I am alive.  I no longer experience my life as a numb existence.  I watch as so many of us become our arguments.  We find ourselves arguing on social media with complete strangers feeling in some way we can make them see the errors of their ways.  We stand by our opinions convinced we are the ones who hold the answers.  We watch our world collapsing and today’s atrocity will be taken over by the next one tomorrow.  I wonder why deviciveness is now being encouraged instead of the unity we all need to head towards healing.  I feel a deep sadness for this country and its inhabitants.  I hear the heavens ask “when will they learn?”  What wakeup call will we need?

Wake up calls are just that. They grab us and shake us into the light of day. They bring a newness and hopefully we are forever changed. They have the power to send us into a hole so dark and deep, we think we will never crawl out. This is where many of us meet our monsters. We are the lucky ones as the monsters give us a chance to come back into the living. They can shake off the chains of conditioning and help us to see anew.  Monsters come in all sizes, shapes and colors. When they appear we can try to run and hide but they will always find us. I saw my monster and was able to stare it in the eye. I refused to let it eat me.  I refused to cower with fear.  That is what we all need to do, stand our ground and refuse to be eaten with whatever monster shows its fangs. Have compassion with your monster for it brings a gift. Allow it to work its magic. Yes they often bring fear but let it open you.  Feel the compassion. This is a test for us all.Take care of each other.