KEY POINTS
- Finding balance is important when we’re faced with challenges.
- There are many ways to initiate a grounding practice, such as through meditation and writing.
- Reading and writing poetry can be a powerful way to keep us in the moment.
Life has seemed particularly stormy lately. Between the crisis in the Middle East, and personal and universal struggles, many people feel strained and/or at the end of their ropes.
Change as a Gift
As we travel through change, it’s a good time to see both its beauty and its gift, which can help us persevere. When I am grieving or feeling sad, I usually turn to poetry because of its healing nature and how grounding it can be. In her work, poet Mary Oliver often wrote about sorrow as being a gift. I agree, and I find her poetry offers solace during challenging times. Here’s a short and poignant poem of hers, which she dreamed in her sleep. Hopefully, it will prompt your own writing:
The Uses of Sorrow
Someone I loved once
gave me a box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand that
this too, was a gift.
