Dear Friends, how is your heart? There are days when my heart is tender, emotions close to the surface. It may not be anything in particular that leads me me here, simply times when I am more porous to it . . . Maybe you know what I mean?
Sometimes my eyes well up at the luminous quality of late afternoon light, or the wonder of human creativity and courage. And often my heart aches at the fragility of our precious lives as we meet sudden and painful loss. Aches at the callous brutality of injustice, or the wounding of Earth’s cherished body. We are conditioned to hold these feelings in isolation. To distract ourselves with busyness or numb ourselves in the many ways we do. We think we should be “stronger,” because other people have it worse . . . But our suffering is collective. And isolation does not transform it. As I write in my book:
We are, all of us, together on this journey. We feel one another—consciously or not. We breathe one another’s air and sense one another’s suffering. Our individual nervous systems are plugged into a collective nervous system; our soul is part of a collective soul.
This connection is not only a prescription for pain, however, it is a resource for healing. Each individual awakening impacts us all. Every act of radical beauty, generosity, courage, or kinship amplifies those qualities in the collective heart and shifts the tide toward liberation. The traumatic imprint is not indelible. We can heal. We can transform. We can get free.
I was interviewed on KPFA radio a while back, and one of the questions was about the despair so many of us are feeling as we face the devastating violence, both at home and abroad. Afterward, I wrote down a few thoughts:
First, is that those feelings of despair (and we could add rage) are real and need to be honored. We despair because we care. Because we love. Because our hearts are broken. They should be broken given all that is going on in the world.
It’s natural to want to disconnect as a form of self-protection, to shield from the pain. Yet the answer is not to disconnect, it is to connect more deeply. None of us can do this on our own—we are not meant to. When something is bigger than we can hold, we can feel ourselves held by something bigger still.
For some people that “something” is God, Spirit, the Divine (however you name and experience the Infinite Is-ness). For others it may be Ancestors . . . or the loving wisdom of Nature . . . or it perhaps the power of community and comrades.
That sense of connection, of belonging, is medicine.
And it’s not only medicine for our pain in that moment. I believe, ultimately, that feeling of belonging to a greater wholeness is what shifts the worldview of separation at the root of the harms, of the violence, the cruelty, the greed and callousness.
These violences are not possible when we remember our oneness with one another, and all of life. When we feel our oneness with Earth. When we recognize it all as sacred.
Obviously, there’s a much larger conversation here, but on a practical tip, ask yourself: what are the practices that help you feel a sense of connection to whatever the larger thing is for you. The practices that renew your spirit and help you breathe again.
It may be prayer or meditation. Or time in Nature. It may be dancing, poetry, or music that opens you to the Larger Life. Perhaps it’s honoring your cultural traditions, or confiding in a trusted friend. Find what works for you and weave it into your days as a consistent practice of remembering you are not alone. Each of us, all of us, belong to a sacred wholeness that sustains us breath by breath.
What are your practices of deepening connection? We can inspire one another by crowd-sourcing! If you are willing, please share in the comments what helps keep that felt experience of belonging alive in you.
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Recent and Upcoming Offerings
Some of you have been asking where to tap into the talks, workshops, and interviews I’ve been doing since the book came out. I’ve just added some new videos to my YouTube page HERE: inspirational talks at a local church, a lecture hosted by the Center for Multi-Religious Studies, and a few interviews. (Please do subscribe there to know when something is added.) There are many more interview/conversations wherever you listen to podcasts.
To know what’s coming up, please check the EVENTS page on my website. And if you or your group is interested in hosting a book study, workshop, or retreat related to the themes in Soul Medicine, please reach out! I’d love to connect with you.
Last, but certainly not least, I send Mother’s Day blessings to all, and special care to those for whom this day is difficult—due to absence, conflict, or hurts. As we honor the Mothering spirit wherever it expresses, I am mindful that the origins of this holiday lie in the women’s peace movement. May the fierce love of the Mother awaken the heart of humanity.
Photo by Yoshihiro on Unsplash
This post includes a short passage from my book, Soul Medicine for a Fractured World: Healing, Justice, and the Path of Wholeness. (Orbis Books, Nov. 2025).
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