When we CARE about someone who is ill or in depression or in some terrible situation, our inner guidance system gives us the best answer automatically – it takes into consideration the other person’s uniqueness, our own unique abilities / talents / knowledge and the uniqueness of the situation itself.
If the answer doesn’t flow in the moment, then you can use this slight variation of the familiar formula to find out what WE need to know or do for, or about them:
- paying gentle attention to your outward breath, smiling a little and allowing the smile to soften your eyes and then allowing your attention to expand around your body – being aware of any physical sensations, any energy flowing or stuck, any emotions, any thoughts and ideas and just observing them. Just sit with that for a minute or two.
- then think about this loved one and still with those soft smiling eyes, decide to understand how best to support them.
- then smile and get on with your day knowing that the understanding and the answer, including any action that you need to take, will flow when you’re ready.
If this situation is one where our attention is often on someone’s crappy circumstances then it’s also worthwhile using that attention as regular opportunities to quieten / slow down our mind and create the space for our understanding about what’s happening.
Whether these simple exercises suit your way of doing things or not, the one thing we can do that is so incredibly powerful and is common to every situation, is for US to clean up OUR crappy feelings around this situation that the other person is in. Once we understand our own feelings, then we’re in a position of open hearted feeling good ourselves, to Hold Space for them. And THAT folks, unleashes the healing energy of the universe within and around all of us.
Photo: Our animals are so good at helping us understand all these non verbal ways of communicating and feeling. This is our herd leader Boots, back when he was very young and the herd was teaching him the wisdom he’d need to be a leader.
