Life is Brutiful
One of my work mentors offered me this mash-up word: Brutiful.
Yup, I thought. That sums up my experiences lately.
Author Glennon Doyle coined the term “brutiful” to describe life as a combination of beautiful and brutal experiences. As I talk with my community, I see that so many people are struggling with at least one major life upheaval: the loss of a loved one, massive health issues, loss of homes, family members in mental distress, personal mental distress, and financial loss.
There may be a momentary clearing, but the heaviness returns. Can't we just get a break?
That is the one guarantee in life: You may have joy and ease, but they will inevitably be followed by heaviness and sadness.
As Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti writes, “ The world is a beautiful place to be born into if you don’t mind happiness not always being so very much fun, if you don’t mind a touch of hell now and then, just when everything is fine because even in heaven they don’t sing all the time…” (thanks to Dorothy for sharing that poem!)
Amid my own hardships, I realize there is no bridge to the land of Never Struggle. Life is a constant play of these ups and downs. My practices ground me and keep my body strong and my mind clearer. But life still ebbs and flows with both joy and pain.
The beauty is in being fully present in all the struggles. We must remember that we have each other to help us through. We must be strong enough to be there for someone else in need.
Glennon Doyle says: “Life’s brutal and beautiful are woven together so tightly that they can’t be separated. Reject the brutal and reject the beauty. So now I embrace both and live well, hard, and real.”
Let's support each other in overcoming hardship. We must be well enough to help each other through these times of need.
Peace to All,
Angie
“The stroke has given me another way to serve people. It lets me feel more deeply the pain of others, to help them know by example that ultimately, whatever happens, no harm can come. ‘Death is perfectly safe,’ I like to say.”~Ram Dass
