Everything You Need is Within You

Last month I had the fortunate opportunity of attending a ten day, silent meditation retreat.   I remain incredibly grateful for and continue to process all the meaning from this experience.

I’ve been thinking for weeks now about how I would share this experience with the people I care about. I’ve wanted to illuminate point by point all that I’ve learned, I’ve wanted to describe the range of physical and emotional sensations that passed through me, I’ve wanted to talk about the moments of complete presence that I felt. But my mind is too limited or perhaps too protective of these deeply spiritual moments in my life. My hope is that everyone can feel those things for themselves.

The only thing I can think to share in such a public way is that everything you need is within you. Everything you need for survival, you possess. Your brain is beautiful and is coded to protect and defend you in moments when you don’t feel safe. Trust that it got you through the terrible moments of your life the best it knew how. Be grateful for that. Your intuition is there to serve you. It’s your lifeline to happiness. When you calm yourself enough to hear that quiet whisper,  you don’t have to second guess yourself anymore. Be patient and keep listening. Finally, love. Compassion for yourself, for your loved ones, for those you struggle with…if you haven’t found it, keep searching. Look at a situation or a person or yourself from as many points of reference as possible until you can find that morsel of love. I continue to do this in my life and know that I’m the most content when I’ve found the love. That doesn’t mean I always stay there for long, but when I stray from it, it’s a reminder to me to keep searching inward until I get there again.

My life, a lot like yours, has taken turns I never anticipated. Whether those turns have brought me to high or low places, if I can trust myself and love myself, I am never led astray.