Breathe in serenity,
Exhale peace and contentment ...
Then Silence
will gather all the worlds within itself,
the waves will return to the ocean
of eternity.
And every word that has been spoken
about peace and love
will be recognized like a bright light
by the spirit that has come to rest.
In a talk about compassion, a former teacher of mine once said that practice prepares the mind, but suffering prepares the heart. Perhaps the final step in the healing of all wounds is the discovery of the capacity for compassion, an intuitive knowing that no one is singled out in their suffering, that all living beings are vulnerable to loss, attachment, and limitation. It is only in the presence of compassion that we can show our wounds without diminishing our wholeness. For those who have compassion, woundedness is not a place of judgment but a place of genuine meeting.