Ram Dass wrote:
“I feel so much love for that being who is going through this process of incarnation that my heart opens wide because I recognize none other than myself.”
Read it again, slowly.
So much love.
For us. For each of us. We need it.
Because notice how you look at yourself when you struggle.
Not usually with love.
With commentary. With judgement.
There are often two layers to suffering.
The first is the hard thing itself.
The loss.
The diagnosis.
The season that doesn’t end.
That layer is real.
Then there is the layer we add.
I should be handling this better.
Everyone else seems fine.
What is wrong with me?
The first layer asks us to carry the pain.
The second asks us to carry a verdict about the person in pain.
And there is something gentle hidden in that distinction.
You cannot always remove the first layer.
But the verdict was never required.
That is what Ram Dass is doing in the quote.
He looks at a being in the middle of a difficult incarnation and adds nothing.
No judgment.
No scorecard.
Just love.
And because he adds nothing, his heart opens wide.
What if you tried that with yourself?
Just for one breath.
Look at the one going through your life right now.
Tired.
Trying.
Still here.
Oh. There you are.
A soul, wearing a costume,
Going through this life, this incarnation.
That is acceptance.
Not approving of what happened.
Not pretending it does not hurt.
Simply declining to make the pain mean something terrible about you.
When the verdict grows quiet, the pain may remain.
But you are no longer abandoning yourself inside it.
For one breath, look at the being going through your life.
No judgment.
No scorecard.
No winning.
Just love.
Share this with someone you love has been hard on themselves. Who knows what can heal and inspire.
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