Tag: Vulnerability

The Universal Language of Grief

The brokenness and vulnerability of grief forces me out of myself. It opens me to a new way of seeing, to a new breadth and depth of empathy and love. It connects me to others in a way that nothing else does. It is the one language that everyone eventually speaks and understands.

Goddess Inspired

September 24, 2021

Tagged Common Language, connection, container, Grief, Universal

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The Universal Language of Grief

I have been writing a lot about grief and loss, mostly because grief is so present in our lives right now. Everywhere we look, there is death – obviously, death from Covid, but also a myriad of other deaths and losses both large and small. Not only is there tangible and physical death, but also the death of civility, respectful discourse, empathy, and connection. Our world, more than ever, seems to have lost the capacity for coming together. Instead of uniting for the common good, we seem to be retreating into our own, “What’s in it for me?” stances. We act as if we have nothing in common with anyone else. We act as if our actions affect only ourselves, when in fact, everything we do separately affects the whole world collectively.

Yesterday I learned of the death of another friend and colleague. It is one more loss in a year that has been a rollercoaster of loss. So many old friends have passed, not from Covid, but from other causes. Each loss fills me with grief and the anticipation of my own demise.

Of course, I am not the only one who has experienced grief. There is a deep, collective grief that everyone seems to be feeling right now. Grief is the one thing that we all have in common. It is a universal emotion that, sooner or later, everyone experiences. It is not something that we can avoid or pass through unscathed. It is not something that can be smoothed over. It is not something that we can buy our way out of. When grief arrives, it cracks us open and brings us all to our knees. It changes us irrevocably.

I believe that those of us on a spiritual path are called upon to hold the container for grief. We are called to be still and to allow the grief to flow through us, and in that flow, to allow that grief to be transmuted into love.

And that just sucks! I don’t want to feel all this grief! I don’t want to carry this burden! I want to go back to the days when I didn’t know grief, when the heaviness didn’t fill my soul. And yet, if not me, who?

Grief is also a catalyst to action. While I hold the container for grief in one hand, I am compelled to act with the other hand. As I open space for my grief and the grief of my friends, I am compelled to respond with empathy and love. If I am grieving over something like racism or climate change or women’s issues, I hold the grief, while at the same time, I march in protest to make changes.

So then, I accept the challenge of holding the container for grief. I accept the challenge of opening my eyes and heart to a grieving world. I accept the challenge of speaking the common language of grief with people with whom I deeply disagree. The language of grief may just be the language that can heal a broken world.

Barbara Garland
September, 2021

When Does the Spiritual Become Political?

An Interconnected Life

As we live our lives in this interconnected web, it is helpful to remember that we are not alone. Our vibrations make a difference to others, just as theirs make a difference to us. We are called to boldly share our vulnerabilities, our love, and our hearts during our time in these earthly bodies. What part of your vibrations are you willing to share?

Goddess Inspired

February 26, 2021
2 Comments on An Interconnected Life

Tagged courage, Interconnectedness, Sharing, Unconditional Love, Vulnerability

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Grandmother Spider
She who creates the web of the world
Weaver of lives, of hopes, of dreams.

Beautiful Goddess
Come to me as I weave the strands of my life
First this way, then that – over, under – weaving together beauty and sorrow.
Creating a strong place to lie – an interconnected realm
Where the vibration that is me travels to the whole,
Where my actions reverberate for myself and the many.

Grandmother Spider
Teach me to love each strand in the web.
Each strand has its place.
Each strand contributes.
Teach me to weave the lovely and not so lovely strands
Into the whole tapestry that becomes my beautiful self.

An Interconnected Life

In my spiritual imagination, I am floating blissfully in the cosmos, soaking up the unconditional love of the Infinite Source. I am filled to overflowing with such a vast love that I cannot fully comprehend it. I am also aware of an infinity of souls which are connected by the threads of this love. Most of these souls, however, are not conscious of these threads of love which bind us all together. In my spiritual imagination, I send out love along those threads. Through my own awareness, the threads of love vibrate and move. Some souls are awakened by this vibration. Some stir a little and go back to sleep. I am not the only one in this web who is aware. There are countless others who are awake and who are also sending loving awareness to others.

Since I began to write this blog and put it out into the world, I have become aware that sharing my struggles and my vulnerability with others acts much like that silken web in my spiritual imagination. The vibrations that are released into the world become catalysts for others to birth their own struggles, their own ideas, their own epiphanies into the world. My “Dance of Yes,” opens someone else to their own “Dance of Yes.” My vibrations help others to awaken, just as the vibrations of others have helped me to become more conscious.

We are all intimately connected by invisible strands of love and by shared (but many time unspoken) experiences. We are more alike than we are different. Each of us is a spiritual being having a human experience, and our experiences tend to be universal. We all desire love, acceptance, security, food, and shelter. We all long for connection with something greater than ourselves, although we are not always conscious of what we long for.

Many times, all it takes is someone courageously sharing their own story to create a spark of recognition in me. A book, a phrase, a song, a painting, a conversation – these can all be aha moments which move me to greater understanding and deeper awareness. I, personally, have been blessed by many such moments in my own life. These moments have allowed me to see that I am not the only one with doubts and struggles. I am not the only one who feels lost and alone. I am not the only one who thinks the way I do. And in that realization that I am not the only one, I am encouraged to stay on my path, to be brave, to stand in my truth, to claim my own inner strength, and to share with others.

Barbara Garland
February, 2021An Interconnected Life

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New blogs will be added to this post every Friday.

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About Me

I am a seeker of truth, a truth teller, a lover of the Divine Feminine, an aspiring writer, a mystery, an open book, a work in progress. I have lived a long and varied life, and now in my seventies, I am being called to share some of what I have learned over the years. I hope to share the wisdom of the deep Feminine that is being channeled through me.

If the Goddess has ever whispered to you, I invite you to join me on an incredible journey of love and discovery. May you hear Her wisdom through these words.

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