The Wisdom of Eric

On being a tuning fork…

I remember sharing with Eric that I was feeling anxious (and angry) that there was a lot of injustice and poverty in the world right now and that nobody seemed to care.  It felt like a ‘black cloud’ was continually at the edge of my awareness, and it saddened me that I felt powerless to do anything about it.

We explored the idea that within us all we have the ability to tap into our inner resources, to change how we feel, change our circumstances, and for some people it was a choice about whether they did that or not.  The lesson for me was that I cannot help everybody, but importantly though, at least I am awake to my feelings.

Eric explained, that when we are very awake to our feelings, we can act as ‘tuning forks’ and this can resonate deeply within us so that we empathise fully with the pain and discomfort of others.

A theme appeared to be that my ‘caring’ side was really dominant and it was exhausting me.  I felt that I did not have balance in life, when normally I would ‘tap’ into the beauty of the world around me to remind myself that in all of us there is ‘divinity’ and a wonderful ‘spark’ that connects us to each and every one.

Somehow, I had dimmed my spark or pushed it down.  I think I had become too concerned with the materialistic side of the world, and worse, I think I was beginning to take it out on those that matter most to me. It felt like I was being torn apart.

It can be a challenge to remain open and to leave ourselves feeling vulnerable, so much so that we need to ensure self-care and self-love.  In life, we will meet people who will wittingly and unwittingly ‘use our resources’, who will leave us feeling ‘drained’ as they take our agency.  I was reminded to remain true to myself and to honour myself in any and all relationships.

For are we not just containers, in which we can choose to offer ourselves to others to help contain and hold their suffering?  However, if we do not keep our integrity, then we are in danger of losing our boundaries and taking on board everybody else’s distress or creating too strong a boundary so that we become unfeeling to what others are really trying to communicate to us.

I had forgotten an important lesson.  That when I hide my light or my higher self, I am depriving the universe of something special.  I am also depriving myself of the beauty of the world, its people, its flora and fauna and its natural magnificence.

Eric asked me what it was that I feel I don’t deserve?  The honest answer is that I deserve to feel happy and whole and to be able to  tap into my birth right as a human: to have choice, to experience love, respect, to contribute.  To have a sense of purpose and connection to others and the planet.  We all deserve to find our own way and not to be treated differently because we choose to walk a different path.

You can find me at www.harveycounseling.com