This week has been a tough one for many in Calgary and across the world. My heart goes out to people in Paris and Beirut...and to all those who are suffering their own private terrors.
It occurs to me this week how scary it has become for people to risk their hearts...to risk connection...to risk trust.
How difficult it has become to ask each other for what we need and how commonplace it has become for us numb out... to live inside the illusion that we must be separate.
I was speaking to a colleague this week about volunteering as a baby cuddler. We spoke about the importance of human touch and the higher infant death rate born in the early 1900's - This... out of our reaction to being told that we were spoiling our children.
We started ignoring our babies in moments where they were reaching out for us.
That was the beginning of our touch-less society.
In our current day we see the need not only for Baby Cuddlers, but for adult nurturing as well.
That's right - there is now a paid occupation as a Professional Cuddler for adults.
With touch being less acceptable between men, it is not surprising to learn that most of the clientele are older men who are willing to pay $80/hour just to snuggle!
What a statement that is about where we have come to!
Let me ask you this....
When we are offered an opportunity to give or receive with an open heart... will we...can we? Have our bodies learned to tighten and pull away or can we open with relative ease...and let each other in?
This, in itself, is a good barometer to show us how healthy or dis-eased we, as a society, have become.
So here we are a century later and how are we doing? How do we heal our broken world?
I have heard that when we choose to heal...when we choose to open and risk our hearts...we help to heal the 7 generations that came before us and the 7 generations to come.
In honor of those who are still reeling from tragedy, wherever they are...I challenge each of us over the next 7 days to...
Take a look at what is right with the world;
Let it be ok for in-to-me-see to feel uncomfortable; Let's stretch ourselves and open to it anyway;
Reach out and ask for what we need;
Step outside of judgement and hold a space for others;
Let ourselves receive what is offered and know that we are worthy;
And give of ourselves to someone in need...with an open heart...to the best of our ability.
I like to think this is where the pianist was coming from when he sat in the midst of the carnage in Paris to play John Lennon's "Imagine". What a profound act of power that was!
I imagine that is all he could do.
~ WhiteFire Woman
whitefirecoaching.org
